Biography
In the closing years of the 1970s, the thunderous velocity and volume that characterized Motörhead's heavy metal approach stood out as among the most innovative contributions to the style. Although Lemmy Kilmister, the band's guiding force, drew from his background in Hawkwind's hard-driving space rock, the group abandoned that outfit's progressive leanings in favor of intensifying Hawkwind's rugged biker-rock aspects by incorporating punk rock's pace. Not belonging to punk rock themselves—having formed prior to the Sex Pistols and embracing biker imagery over the pinned and torn attire associated with punk—Motörhead nevertheless became the initial metal act to channel such vitality, thereby originating both speed metal and thrash metal. Motörhead differed from numerous peers by sustaining performances well into the following century. Despite undergoing repeated lineup shifts, with Lemmy—who died in 2015—serving as the sole unchanging presence, their ferocious sonic character remained unaltered.
Born Ian Fraiser Kilmister on December 24, 1945, as the offspring of a vicar, Lemmy first took up rock & roll performance in 1964 by joining the Rainmakers and the Motown Sect, a pair of local R&B outfits from Blackpool, England. Throughout the remainder of the 1960s he performed with additional groups including the Rockin' Vickers, Gopal's Dream, and Opal Butterfly, and he briefly served as a roadie for Jimi Hendrix. He joined Hawkwind, the heavy prog rock band, as bassist in 1971. Though originally intended as a six-month stint, his time with the group extended to four years, during which he composed and performed several tracks, among them the band's signature number three U.K. hit "Silver Machine" from 1972.
Following his dismissal from Hawkwind in spring 1975 after five days in a Canadian prison on drug possession charges, Kilmister returned to England and began assembling a fresh band. Initially planned under the name Bastard, he soon settled on Motörhead, drawn from the final track he had written for Hawkwind. He recruited Pink Fairies guitarist Larry Wallis and drummer Lucas Fox to complete the initial roster. Motörhead made their live debut supporting Greenslade in July. Two months later they entered the studio for their United Artists debut album under producer Dave Edmunds. Clashes over the recording's direction led the band to dismiss Edmunds and bring in Fritz Fryer instead. Fox departed at year's end, with Lemmy replacing him by his friend Philthy Animal, born Philip Taylor, an amateur musician.
Early in 1976 Motörhead submitted their debut album to UA, only for the label to reject it. Shortly thereafter "Fast" Eddie Clarke, previously of Blue Goose and Continuous Performance, joined on guitar. After a single rehearsal as a quartet, Wallis exited, leaving Motörhead as the trio later remembered as their classic lineup. The group spent most of 1976 without a contract or manager, playing shows that yielded little income. Late in the year they recorded the Stiff Records single "White Line Fever"/"Leavin' Here," which remained unreleased for two years. By summer 1977 they secured a one-album deal with Chiswick Records, issuing their self-titled debut in June that reached number 43 on the U.K. charts. One year later they moved to Bronze Records.
Released in spring 1979, Overkill, Motörhead's inaugural Bronze album, climbed to number 24, with its title track marking their first Top 40 single. Momentum built as concert attendance rose and the follow-up Bomber, issued that fall, reached number 12. UA then issued the previously rejected album as On Parole at year's end. Ace of Spades, released in fall 1980, peaked at number four, while the title single attained number 15.
Although Ace of Spades marked Motörhead's first American release, they remained a cult act stateside. In England their popularity peaked in 1981, highlighted by the chart-topping live album No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith and the hit collaboration Headgirl with the all-female group Girlschool. Internal friction, especially between Clarke and Lemmy, surfaced during the 1982 Iron Fist tour, prompting Clarke's departure over Kilmister's planned work with Wendy O. Williams. Former Thin Lizzy guitarist Brian Robertson stepped in.
The revamped lineup delivered Another Perfect Day in summer 1983, which stalled at number 20 in the U.K. Robertson exited two months later, succeeded by Phillip Campbell from Persian Risk and Wurzel, born Michael Burston. Taylor soon departed for Robertson's band Operator and was replaced by former Saxon drummer Pete Gill. This configuration released the September 1984 single "Killed by Death," after which the group left Bronze; the label imposed an injunction that blocked releases, including a Lemmy collaboration with page-three girl Samantha Fox, for two years.
Motörhead resurfaced in 1986 with a contribution to the Hear 'n Aid charity compilation and the Bill Laswell-produced Orgasmatron on their new GWR label. The album succeeded with their devoted English and American cult following and earned some of their strongest reviews to date. Rock 'N' Roll followed in 1987 with comparable success. The live No Sleep at All appeared in 1988, the same year Lemmy made his acting debut in the comedy Eat the Rich. Two years later the band signed to WTG and issued The Birthday Party. Taylor returned briefly in 1991 for that year's 1916 before Mikkey Dee, formerly of King Diamond, assumed drumming duties. Dee's first album with the group, March or Die, failed to chart in the U.S. yet appealed to their U.K. following. WTG dropped them after the release, prompting Motörhead to launch their self-titled label distributed through ZYX, which issued 1994's Bastards.
Throughout the rest of the 1990s Motörhead emphasized touring over new recordings. Outside the band Lemmy appeared in British insurance commercials and acted in Hellraiser 3, also taking a cameo in the pornographic film John Wayne Bobbit Uncut. In 1997 the group moved to the metal-oriented indie Receiver and released Stone Dead Forever; the live Everything Louder Than Everyone Else followed in 1999, with We Are Motörhead arriving a year later. Hammered appeared in 2002, followed by 2004's Inferno. Sanctuary reissued deluxe two-CD editions of Overkill, Ace of Spades, and Iron Fist in 2005. Kiss of Death arrived in 2006, succeeded by Motorizer in 2008. In 2010 the band launched a 35th anniversary tour supporting their 20th studio album, The Wörld Is Yours, issued via a new deal with German label UDR. After an enforced 2012 hiatus while Lemmy recovered from laryngitis, they began writing material for the next album. Recording at NRG Studios in North Hollywood with producer Cameron Webb yielded Aftershock, among their most aggressive releases in years, which appeared in October 2013.
Though Motörhead's fan base remained robust, Lemmy's health deteriorated as decades of drinking and smoking took their toll on the leader, then in his mid-sixties. He contended with heart problems and diabetes, receiving an internal defibrillator in 2013 to regulate his heartbeat. European festival dates were canceled after a hematoma diagnosis, and the band curtailed their set at the 2013 Wacken Open Air Festival when Lemmy lacked strength to continue. Eventually yielding to his condition, Lemmy quit cigarettes and substituted bourbon and cola with wine and occasional vodka. By late 2014 Motörhead resumed activity. They returned to their heavy touring schedule and entered the studio in early 2015 for a new album. The resulting XXX: Bad Magic appeared in late August 2015. Lemmy's health worsened further; the day after Christmas he received a cancer diagnosis and died two days later on December 28, 2015. The band's final recording captured two typically blistering sold-out shows at Munich's Zenith concert hall only a month before his death. The live album Clean Your Clock, released in spring 2016, marked the 40-year-old band's last release after their decision not to continue without their revered frontman.
Born Ian Fraiser Kilmister on December 24, 1945, as the offspring of a vicar, Lemmy first took up rock & roll performance in 1964 by joining the Rainmakers and the Motown Sect, a pair of local R&B outfits from Blackpool, England. Throughout the remainder of the 1960s he performed with additional groups including the Rockin' Vickers, Gopal's Dream, and Opal Butterfly, and he briefly served as a roadie for Jimi Hendrix. He joined Hawkwind, the heavy prog rock band, as bassist in 1971. Though originally intended as a six-month stint, his time with the group extended to four years, during which he composed and performed several tracks, among them the band's signature number three U.K. hit "Silver Machine" from 1972.
Following his dismissal from Hawkwind in spring 1975 after five days in a Canadian prison on drug possession charges, Kilmister returned to England and began assembling a fresh band. Initially planned under the name Bastard, he soon settled on Motörhead, drawn from the final track he had written for Hawkwind. He recruited Pink Fairies guitarist Larry Wallis and drummer Lucas Fox to complete the initial roster. Motörhead made their live debut supporting Greenslade in July. Two months later they entered the studio for their United Artists debut album under producer Dave Edmunds. Clashes over the recording's direction led the band to dismiss Edmunds and bring in Fritz Fryer instead. Fox departed at year's end, with Lemmy replacing him by his friend Philthy Animal, born Philip Taylor, an amateur musician.
Early in 1976 Motörhead submitted their debut album to UA, only for the label to reject it. Shortly thereafter "Fast" Eddie Clarke, previously of Blue Goose and Continuous Performance, joined on guitar. After a single rehearsal as a quartet, Wallis exited, leaving Motörhead as the trio later remembered as their classic lineup. The group spent most of 1976 without a contract or manager, playing shows that yielded little income. Late in the year they recorded the Stiff Records single "White Line Fever"/"Leavin' Here," which remained unreleased for two years. By summer 1977 they secured a one-album deal with Chiswick Records, issuing their self-titled debut in June that reached number 43 on the U.K. charts. One year later they moved to Bronze Records.
Released in spring 1979, Overkill, Motörhead's inaugural Bronze album, climbed to number 24, with its title track marking their first Top 40 single. Momentum built as concert attendance rose and the follow-up Bomber, issued that fall, reached number 12. UA then issued the previously rejected album as On Parole at year's end. Ace of Spades, released in fall 1980, peaked at number four, while the title single attained number 15.
Although Ace of Spades marked Motörhead's first American release, they remained a cult act stateside. In England their popularity peaked in 1981, highlighted by the chart-topping live album No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith and the hit collaboration Headgirl with the all-female group Girlschool. Internal friction, especially between Clarke and Lemmy, surfaced during the 1982 Iron Fist tour, prompting Clarke's departure over Kilmister's planned work with Wendy O. Williams. Former Thin Lizzy guitarist Brian Robertson stepped in.
The revamped lineup delivered Another Perfect Day in summer 1983, which stalled at number 20 in the U.K. Robertson exited two months later, succeeded by Phillip Campbell from Persian Risk and Wurzel, born Michael Burston. Taylor soon departed for Robertson's band Operator and was replaced by former Saxon drummer Pete Gill. This configuration released the September 1984 single "Killed by Death," after which the group left Bronze; the label imposed an injunction that blocked releases, including a Lemmy collaboration with page-three girl Samantha Fox, for two years.
Motörhead resurfaced in 1986 with a contribution to the Hear 'n Aid charity compilation and the Bill Laswell-produced Orgasmatron on their new GWR label. The album succeeded with their devoted English and American cult following and earned some of their strongest reviews to date. Rock 'N' Roll followed in 1987 with comparable success. The live No Sleep at All appeared in 1988, the same year Lemmy made his acting debut in the comedy Eat the Rich. Two years later the band signed to WTG and issued The Birthday Party. Taylor returned briefly in 1991 for that year's 1916 before Mikkey Dee, formerly of King Diamond, assumed drumming duties. Dee's first album with the group, March or Die, failed to chart in the U.S. yet appealed to their U.K. following. WTG dropped them after the release, prompting Motörhead to launch their self-titled label distributed through ZYX, which issued 1994's Bastards.
Throughout the rest of the 1990s Motörhead emphasized touring over new recordings. Outside the band Lemmy appeared in British insurance commercials and acted in Hellraiser 3, also taking a cameo in the pornographic film John Wayne Bobbit Uncut. In 1997 the group moved to the metal-oriented indie Receiver and released Stone Dead Forever; the live Everything Louder Than Everyone Else followed in 1999, with We Are Motörhead arriving a year later. Hammered appeared in 2002, followed by 2004's Inferno. Sanctuary reissued deluxe two-CD editions of Overkill, Ace of Spades, and Iron Fist in 2005. Kiss of Death arrived in 2006, succeeded by Motorizer in 2008. In 2010 the band launched a 35th anniversary tour supporting their 20th studio album, The Wörld Is Yours, issued via a new deal with German label UDR. After an enforced 2012 hiatus while Lemmy recovered from laryngitis, they began writing material for the next album. Recording at NRG Studios in North Hollywood with producer Cameron Webb yielded Aftershock, among their most aggressive releases in years, which appeared in October 2013.
Though Motörhead's fan base remained robust, Lemmy's health deteriorated as decades of drinking and smoking took their toll on the leader, then in his mid-sixties. He contended with heart problems and diabetes, receiving an internal defibrillator in 2013 to regulate his heartbeat. European festival dates were canceled after a hematoma diagnosis, and the band curtailed their set at the 2013 Wacken Open Air Festival when Lemmy lacked strength to continue. Eventually yielding to his condition, Lemmy quit cigarettes and substituted bourbon and cola with wine and occasional vodka. By late 2014 Motörhead resumed activity. They returned to their heavy touring schedule and entered the studio in early 2015 for a new album. The resulting XXX: Bad Magic appeared in late August 2015. Lemmy's health worsened further; the day after Christmas he received a cancer diagnosis and died two days later on December 28, 2015. The band's final recording captured two typically blistering sold-out shows at Munich's Zenith concert hall only a month before his death. The live album Clean Your Clock, released in spring 2016, marked the 40-year-old band's last release after their decision not to continue without their revered frontman.
Albums
