Motörhead | Artist

Motörhead was an English heavy rock band formed 1975 in London by bassist, singer, and songwriter Ian Kilmister aka Lemmy. Lemmy came from Hawkwind and recruited Philthy Animal Taylor on drums and guitarist Larry Wallis. Wallis was soon replaced by Fast Eddie Clarke. Motörhead was one of the most successful heavy metal bands of their era and influenced later generations of Metal. They were a precursor to New Wave of British Heavy Metal bands such as Def Leppard, Iron Maiden and Saxon. By 1977, living in squats and with little recognition, Taylor and Clarke wanted to quit the band but agreed to do a farewell show at the Marquee Club in London. Lemmy knew Chiswick Records founder Ted Carroll and asked him to bring a mobile studio to the show to record it for posterity. Carroll was unable to get the mobile unit to the Marquee, but showed up at the gig and offered them two days at Escape Studios with producer Speedy Keen to record a single. The band took the chance, and in two days laid down 11 unfinished tracks. Carroll gave them a few more days at Olympic Studios to finish the vocals and the band completed 13 tracks for release as an album. Chiswick issued the single "Motörhead" in June '77, followed by the album of the same name in August, which spent one week in the UK Albums Chart at number 43. The band's commercial breakthrough came with 1980's "Ace of Spades" single and album, and the live album No Sleep 'til Hammersmith which reached No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart in June the following year. Outstanding Motörhead albums include Overkill, Bomber, Ace of Spades, Inferno and No Sleep 'til Hammersmith. Of interest, before becoming one of the world's most popular heavy rock bands, Motörhead won a poll for "the best worst band in the world" in the music magazine NME.

Artist Website: imotorhead.com

Featured Albums: Motörhead

Related Artists: Motorhead, Hawkwind, Lemmy