ShockHound

In 1975, Lemmy (b. Ian Fraser Kilmister, 24 December 1945, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England; vocals/bass) was sacked from Hawkwind after being detained for five days at Canadian customs on possession charges. The last song he wrote for them was entitled "Motörhead', and, after ditching an earlier suggestion, Bastard, this became the name of the band he formed with Larry Wallis of the Pink Fairies on guitar and Lucas Fox on drums. Together they made their debut supporting Greenslade at the Roundhouse, London, on 20 July 1975. A projected album for United Artists Records was shelved, although the sessions were eventually released on 1979"s On Parole. Fox left during these sessions to join Warsaw Pakt, and was replaced by "Philthy Animal" Phil Taylor (b. 21 September 1954, Chesterfield, England; drums), a casual friend of Lemmy's with no previous professional musical experience. Motörhead was a four-piece band for less than a month, with Taylor's friend Eddie Clarke aka "Fast" Eddie Clarke (b. 5 October 1950, Twickenham, London, England) of Continuous Performance as second guitarist, until Wallis returned to the Pink Fairies. The Lemmy/Taylor/Clarke combination lasted six years until 1982, in which time they became one of the most famous trios in heavy metal. With a following made up initially of Hells Angels (Lemmy had formerly lived with their president, Tramp, for whom he wrote the biker epic "Iron Horse"), the band made their official debut with the eponymous "Motörhead"/"City Kids". A similarly titled debut album charted, before the band moved over to Bronze Records. Overkill and Bomber (both 1979) firmly established the band's modus operandi, a fearsome barrage of instruments topped off by Lemmy's hoarse invocations. They toured the world regularly and enjoyed hits with "Ace Of Spades' (one of the definitive heavy metal performances, it graced a 1980 album of the same name that saw the band at the peak of their popularity) and the Top 5 EP St. Valentine's Day Massacre (as Headgirl or Motörheadgirlschool). Their reputation as the best live band of their generation was further enhanced by the release of No Sleep "Til Hammersmith, which entered the UK charts at number 1 in 1981. In May 1982 Clarke left, citing musical differences, and was replaced by Brian Robertson (b. 12 February 1956, Clarkston, Scotland), who had previously played with Thin Lizzy and Wild Horses. This combination released 1983's Another Perfect Day, but this proved to be easily the least popular of all Motörhead line-ups. Robertson was replaced in November 1983 by Würzel (b. Michael Burston, 23 October 1949, Cheltenham, England; guitar) - so-called on account of his scarecrow-like hair - and Philip Campbell (b. 7 May 1961, Pontypridd, Wales; guitar, ex-Persian Risk), thereby swelling the Motörhead ranks to four. Two months later and, after a final appearance on UK television's The Young Ones, Taylor left to join Robertson in Operator, and was replaced by ex-Saxon drummer Pete Gill (b. Peter Gill, 9 June 1951, England). Gill remained with the band until 1987 and played on several fine albums including their GWR debut Orgasmatron (1986), the title track of which saw Lemmy's lyric-writing surpass itself. By 1987 Phil Taylor had rejoined Motörhead, and the line-up remained unchanged for five years, during which time Lemmy made his acting debut in the Comic Strip film Eat The Rich, followed by other celluloid appearances including the role of a taxi driver in Hardware. In 1991, the band signed to the Epic Records subsidiary WTG, releasing the acclaimed 1916. The following year's March Ör Die featured Tommy Aldridge (b. 15 August 1950, Pearl, Mississippi, USA) and Mikkey Dee (b. Michael Delaouglou, 31 October 1963, Gothenburg, Sweden, ex-King Diamond) on drums after Taylor was fired after recording just one track, and guest appearances by Ozzy Osbourne and Slash (Guns N'Roses). The title track revealed a highly sensitive side to Lemmy's lyrical and vocal scope in the way it dealt with the horrors of war. On a more traditional footing, the band performed the theme song to the horror movie Hellraiser 3, and convinced the film's creator, Clive Barker, to record his first promotional video with the band. Lemmy also hammed his way through insurance adverts on UK television, taking great delight in his press image of the unreconstructed rocker. Dee was subsequently hired as the band's full-time drummer, making his live debut in August 1992. Another change of record label followed, with ZYX releasing the following year's Bastards, but the union proved short-lived. Wurzel left Motörhead in 1996 to form his own band, Wvkeaf. The line-up of Lemmy, Campbell and Dee continued to release albums on a regular basis for the CMC and SPV labels into the new millennium, showing no signs of slowing down. They received their first Grammy in 2005, winning the Best Metal Performance award for their cover version of Metallica's "Whiplash" from the Metallic Attack: The Ultimate Tribute Album. The idiosyncratic Lemmy singing style, usually half-growl, half-shout, and with his neck craned up at 45 degrees to the microphone, remains in place. DISCOGRAPHY: Motörhead (Chiswick 1977)***, Overkill (Bronze 1979)***, Bomber (Bronze 1979)****, On Parole 1976 recording (United Artists 1979)***, Ace Of Spades (Bronze 1980)****, No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith (Bronze 1981)****, Iron Fist (Bronze 1982)****, What's Words Worth: Recorded Live 1978 recording (Big Beat 1983)***, Another Perfect Day (Bronze 1983)**, Orgasmatron (GWR 1986)****, Rock 'N' Roll (GWR 1987)***, Nö Sleep At All (GWR 1988)***, Blitzkreig On Birmingham '77 (Receiver 1989)**, Lock Up Your Daughters (Receiver 1990)**, Live 1983 (Streetlink/Castle 1991)**, 1916 (WTG/Epic 1991)***, March Ör Die (WTG/Epic 1992)***, Bastards (ZYX 1993)***, Live At Brixton 1987 recording (Roadrunner 1994)***, Sacrifice (CMC 1995)***, Overnight Sensation (CMC 1996)***, King Biscuit Flower Hour 1983 recording (King Biscuit 1997)**, Snake Bite Love (CMC 1998)***, Everything Louder Than Everyone Else (SPV 1999)**, We Are Motörhead (SPV 2000)**, Hammered (SPV 2002)**, Live At Brixton Academy 2000 recording (SPV 2003)**, Inferno (SPV 2004)***, Kiss Of Death (SPV 2006)***, Better Motörhead Than Dead: Live At Hammersmith (SPV 2007)***. COMPILATIONS: The Best Of (Bronze 1984)***, No Remorse (Bronze 1984)****, Anthology (Raw Power 1985)***, The Collection (Castle 1987)**, Ironstrike: 14 Rock Hard Hits (Avanti 1989)**, Dirty Love (Receiver 1989)**, Best 20 (Bronze 1990)***, From The Vaults (Sequel 1990)**, Welcome To The Bear Trap (Castle 1990)**, Grind Ya Down (Castle Communications 1991)**, Meltdown 3-CD box set (Castle 1991)***, Headbangers (Elite 1991)**, Jailbait (Receiver 1992)**, All The Aces: The Best Of Motörhead (Castle 1993)***, Ace Of Spades (Ariola 1993)***, The Best Of (Roadrunner 1993)***, Aces High (Karussell 1994)**, The Best Of - II (Roadrunner 1994)***, Fistful Of Aces: The Best Of Motörhead (Griffin 1994)***, The Rock History: The Best Of (Castle 1995)***, Ultimate Metal (Karussell 1995)**, Fast, Loose & Live! (Emporio 1996)**, Best (Victor 1997)***, Stone Dead Forever (Receiver 1997)**, Protect The Innocent 4-CD box set (Essential 1997)****, Archive (Rialto 1997)**, Take No Prisoners (Recall 1997)***, The Best Of Motörhead: Deaf Forever (Castle 1998)***, The Singles Collection: The Bronze Years 1978-1994 (Cleopatra 1998)***, Today: The Encore Collection (BMG 1998)***, The Early Years (Superdisc/BMG 1998)***, Born To Lose, Live To Win: The Bronze Singles 1978-1983 10-CD box set (Raw Power/Castle 1999)****, Golden Years: The Alternate Versions (Cleopatra 1999)**, Ace Of Spades (Castle 1999)***, Motörhead (Delta Music 2000)**, The Best Of (Metal-Is 2000)****, Over The Top: The Rarities (Castle 2000)***, The Chase Is Better Than The Catch: The Singles A's & B's (Castle 2000)***, No Class! (Castle 2002)***, Tales Of Sin (Sanctuary 2002)***, The Bronze Age 4-CD box set (Castle 2002)****, Shoot You In The Back - The Early Years (Sanctuary 2002)***, Extended Versions (BMG 2002)**, Aces (BMG 2002)****, Hellraiser: Best Of The Epic Years (Sony 2003)****, Rock Classix (Sony 2003)***, The Complete Best Of Motörhead (Victor 2003)***, Stone Deaf Forever! 5-CD box set (Sanctuary 2003)***, England 3-LP box set (Earmark 2004)****, Essential Noize: The Very Best Of (Metro 2005)***, BBC Live & In-Session (Sanctuary 2005)***, The Essential (Union Square 2007)***, Collections (Epic 2007)***. VIDEOGRAPHY: Live In Toronto (Castle Communications 1982), Deaf Not Blind (Bronze 1986), The Birthday Party (Enigma Music 1990), Live: Everything Louder Than Everything Else (Sony Music Video 1991), 25 & Alive: Boneshaker (SPV 2001), Classic Albums: Motörhead - Ace Of Spades (Eagle Vision 2005), Inside Motörhead (Classic Rock Legends 2005), Stage Fright (SPV 2005). BIBLIOGRAPHY: Motörhead: Born To Lose, Live To Win, Alan Burridge. Motörhead, Giovanni Dadomo. Lemmy: In His Own Words, Harry Shaw. Motörheadbangers: Diary Of The Fans Volume 1, Alan Burridge. White Line Fever: A Warts And All Autobiography, Lemmy. Encyclopedia of Popular Music Copyright 2008 by Muze Inc.; all rights reserved.