Motörhead
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- "Motorhead" redirects here. For the video game, see Motorhead (video game).
- The title of this article contains the following characters: ö. Where they are unavailable or not desired, the name may be given as Motorhead.
| Image:Mortorheadlogo.png
<tr style="text-align: center;"><td colspan="3">Image:Motorhead (1995-present).jpg </td></tr> | ||
|---|---|---|
| Background information
<tr><td>Origin</td><td colspan="2">Image:Flag of England (bordered).svg London, England</td></tr><tr><td>Genre(s)</td><td colspan="2">Heavy metal |
Motörhead are a British heavy metal band formed in 1975 by bassist, singer and songwriter Lemmy Kilmister (real name Ian Kilmister) after his ejection from the iconic space-rock band Hawkwind. The name was derived from a slang term for an amphetamine user.
It has been said that "Motörhead's overwhelmingly loud and fast style of heavy metal was one of the most groundbreaking styles the genre had to offer in the late '70s" and suggests that their blending of punk rock's speed and attitude with more traditional heavy metal "created speed metal and thrash metal."<ref>Stephen Erlewine Biography - All Music Guide</ref> Whether they created these genres might be subject to debate, but Motörhead was unquestionably influential.
While the band are typically classified as heavy metal or speed metal, Kilmister, just like AC/DC's Angus and Malcolm Young, has refused such labels, preferring to describe Motörhead's style simply as "rock and roll." Motörhead's lyrics cover such topics as war, good versus evil, abuse of power, promiscuous sex, substance abuse, and "life on the road" (the latter is portrayed in songs like "(We Are) The Road Crew", "Iron Horse/Born to Lose", and "Keep Us on the Road").
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] Early years
After being sacked from Hawkwind in 1975, supposedly for "doing the wrong drugs" <ref>BBC Stoke and Staffordshire article Lemmy: White Line Fever - from, er, Stoke URL last accessed on <2006-10-09></ref>, Kilmister decided to form a new band, originally to be called Bastard. Doug Smith, the band's manager, advised him that, "It's unlikely that we're going to get on Top of the Pops with a name like 'Bastard'." Lemmy figured he was right and decided to call the band Motörhead, after the last song he had written for Hawkwind.<ref>Kilmister, Lemmy and Garza, Janiss White Line Fever (2002) — Simon & Schuster p. 99 ISBN 0-684-85868-1</ref> His stated aim was for the outfit to be, "the dirtiest rock n' roll band in the world" and that, "if this band moved in next door - your lawn would die".<ref>Guardian Unlimited article The 10 children of the cloth URL last accessed on <2006-10-09>.</ref>
The first line-up of the band featured Larry Wallis (ex-Pink Fairies) on electric guitar and Lucas Fox on drums. Their first gig was at The Roundhouse, London, on July 20, 1975. They recorded sessions at Rockfield Studios in Monmouth, during which Fox left. He was replaced by drummer Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor. The sessions were not released until June 1979, once the band was becoming popular.
Deciding that two guitarists were required, the band recruited "Fast" Eddie Clarke, but Wallis left during the auditions, so the idea was shelved. The trio of Kilmister, Clarke, and Taylor is today regarded as the "classic" Motörhead line-up.
Initial reactions to the band were unfavourable; they memorably won a poll for "Worst Band in the World" in one music magazine. <ref>Rolling Stone article Motorhead Roll On URL last accessed on <2006-10-09>.</ref>
[edit] Rise to success
The band's first official album was the self-titled, Motörhead, released in November the second 1977. By this time, the standard of their performances had improved considerably, and the uncompromising nature of their music was beginning to garner a following from enthusiasts of both metal and punk. Follow-up albums, Overkill and Bomber, cemented their reputation as one of Britain's foremost heavy metal groups.
In the early 1980s, they had UK Top 40 chart hits with singles and EPs such as "Ace of Spades", "Motörhead (live)", "Iron Fist", The Golden Years and the St. Valentine's Day Massacre EP (their collaboration with 'apprentices' Girlschool). Many fans regard "Ace of Spades" as the definitive Motörhead anthem. They also consider the albums Ace of Spades and the live No Sleep 'til Hammersmith to be among the best such works of their era, as well as the band's most commercially successful releases.
[edit] Departures from the band
In 1982, Motörhead recorded and released, Stand By Your Man, a cover version of the Tammy Wynette classic, with Wendy O. Williams and the Plasmatics. Clarke felt that this compromised the band's principles and resigned. He was replaced by Brian Robertson, formerly with Thin Lizzy.
Robertson only lasted for one album (1983's Another Perfect Day), having caused friction in the band due to his refusal to play their most popular tunes <ref>Q & A Session with Lemmy on the official website URL last accessed on <2006-10-09></ref>. The group then returned to the concept of dual guitars by hiring Würzel and Phil Campbell (ex-Persian Risk).
In 1984, the short-lived line-up of Kilmister, Campbell, Würzel and Taylor played "Ace of Spades" in Bambi, an episode of the British sitcom, The Young Ones. Taylor left the band after that recording, and was replaced by Pete Gill, formerly of Saxon.
Taylor returned to Motörhead in 1987 and continued playing in the group until 1992. In 1992, he was fired after recording, "I Ain't No Nice Guy", because he did not learn the drum tracks. Mikkey Dee became his permanent replacement, after the short and disappointing engagement of Tommy Aldridge on the album March or Die. When Würzel left in 1995, Motörhead returned as a three-man line-up. Later that year, they celebrated Lemmy's 50th Birthday with Metallica.
[edit] Motörhead in WWE
Motörhead are well-known in the professional wrestling community for performing popular wrestler Triple H's entrance music, "The Game", from Christmas 2001. In addition to the track being heard on numerous occasions on WWE RAW and at other pay-per-view wrestling shows, the band have performed the song live at two WrestleMania events, WrestleMania X-Seven and WrestleMania 21. They also provided the entrance music for Triple H's (now defunct) faction "Evolution" titled Line in the Sand. "The Game" was released on both the Hammered album and WWF The Music Volume 5, and the Evolution theme song was released on the WWE ThemeAddict album.
Since then, Motörhead have performed a new track titled "King of Kings", emphasizing Triple H's new "King of Kings" character, which made its debut at WrestleMania 22. "King of Kings" is also featured on the WWE Wreckless Intent CD.
Triple H has said that he has been a lifelong Motörhead fan [citation needed]. He sports a chinless beard similar to Lemmy.
Lemmy Kilmister and Phil Campbell were both in the audience on the May 8, 2006 edition of RAW along with Luke Perry and Billy Gibbons.
[edit] Recent events
In 2005, Motörhead picked up their first Grammy Award in the "Best Metal Performance" category for their cover of Metallica's "Whiplash".
On December 10th 2005 in Perth, Western Australia, Motörhead and Mötley Crüe played an encore together onstage of the popular Sex Pistols song, "Anarchy in the UK".
In 2006, Motörhead released Kiss of Death on August 29 via Sanctuary Records. A video was made for the song "Be My Baby".
[edit] Snaggletooth
Snaggletooth (full name Snaggletooth B. Motörhead, A.K.A Warpig) is the name of the fanged face that serves as a symbol of Motörhead. Artist Joe Petagno created it in 1977 for the cover of the band's first released album. Snaggletooth's broken tooth mirrors Lemmy's own broken tooth.
Petagno created the image by researching wild boar, gorilla, and dog skulls, resulting in a "hybrid skull of a dog-gorilla type thing with over-dimensional wild boar horns" which met Lemmy's approval, later adding the chains and helmet himself. <ref>About Joe Petagno – interview section on Inferno 30th Anniversary edition bonus DVD, SPV69748</ref>
It has remained a symbol of Motörhead throughout the years, with Petagno creating many variations of Snaggletooth for the covers of ensuing albums (e.g., Overkill, Another Perfect Day, and Orgasmatron).
[edit] Band members
| 1975 Line-up #1 | |
|---|---|
| 1975 Line-up #2 |
|
| 1976 Line-up #3 |
|
| 1976-1982 Line-up #4 |
|
| 1982-1983 Line-up #5 |
|
| 1984 Line-up #6 |
|
| 1984-1987 Line-up #7 |
|
| 1987-1992 Line-up #8 |
|
| 1992 Line-up #9 |
|
| 1992-1995 Line-up #10 |
|
| 1995 to present Line-up #11 |
|
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
| Year | Title | UK Chart | Label | Other information | Line-up # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Motörhead | Chiswick Records | Recorded in two days | #4 | |
| 1979 | Overkill | #24 | Bronze Records | #4 | |
| 1979 | Bomber | #12 | Bronze Records | #4 | |
| 1979 | On Parole | United Artists | Unofficial release of 1975 recording sessions | #1/#2 | |
| 1980 | Ace of Spades | #4 | Bronze Records | #4 | |
| 1981 | No Sleep 'til Hammersmith | #1 | Bronze Records | Live album | #4 |
| 1982 | Iron Fist | #6 | Bronze Records | #4 | |
| 1983 | Another Perfect Day | #20 | Bronze Records | #5 | |
| 1984 | No Remorse | #14 | Bronze Records | Two disc compilation album | #4/#5/#7 |
| 1986 | Orgasmatron | #21 | GWR | Working title was Ridin' With The Driver | #7 |
| 1987 | Rock 'n' Roll | #24 | GWR | Guest appearance by Michael Palin | #8 |
| 1988 | No Sleep at All | GWR | Live album | #8 | |
| 1991 | 1916 | #24 | WTG | Nominated for a Grammy | #8 |
| 1992 | March ör Die | #60 | Epic Records | Guest appearances by Ozzy Osbourne and Slash | #8/#9/#10 |
| 1993 | Bastards | ZYX | #10 | ||
| 1995 | Sacrifice | CMC | #10 | ||
| 1996 | Overnight Sensation | CMC | #11 | ||
| 1998 | Snake Bite Love | CMC | #11 | ||
| 1999 | Everything Louder Than Everyone Else | SPV GmbH | Live, two disc album | #11 | |
| 2000 | We Are Motörhead | CMC | #11 | ||
| 2000 | The Best Of | Metal-Is/Sanctuary | Two disc compilation album | #11 | |
| 2002 | Hammered | Steamhammer/SPV | Guest appearance by Triple H | #11 | |
| 2003 | Live at Brixton Academy | Steamhammer/SPV | Live, two disc album | #11 | |
| 2004 | Inferno | #95 | Steamhammer/SPV | Guest appearance by Steve Vai | #11 |
| 2005 | BBC Live & In-Session | Sanctuary | Two disc, various live recordings from 1978-1986 | #4/#7 | |
| 2006 | Kiss of Death | #45 | Steamhammer/SPV | Guest appearances by Zoli Teglas, C. C. DeVille and Mike Inez | #11 |
[edit] Audio samples
- "Motörhead" (file info) — play in browser (beta)
- Released in 1977 as a single from Motörhead
- Problems listening to the file? See media help.
- "Ace of Spades" (file info) — play in browser (beta)
- Released in 1980 as a single from Ace of Spades
- Problems listening to the file? See media help.
[edit] Trivia
- The main riffs of "No Class" and "Stone Deaf in the USA" are each other backwards, while the riff in "No Class" was borrowed from ZZ Top's "Tush".
- At the age of 12, Phil Campbell got Lemmy's autograph after a Hawkwind gig.
- Phil Campbell and Persian Risk supported Motörhead at some of their last dates with Brian Robertson.
- Campbell used to play drums, backing caberet acts and strippers around South Wales.
- Würzel earned his nickname due to the likeness of his hair to Wurzel Gummidge.
- Lemmy was a roadie for The Nice and Jimi Hendrix.
- Lemmy was originally a guitarist. He didn't play bass until he joined Hawkwind.
- The solo on "Capricorn" was recorded whilst Eddie was tuning his guitar.
- The band's mascot, Snaggletooth, was used by manga artist Kazushi Hagiwara as a stone golem's visage in the very first volume of his fantasy manga Bastard!.
- Motörhead performed "Ace of Spades" on the British television show, The Young Ones. During the performance, the character, Vyvyan Bastard, shoved a doughnut in his mouth and gave a two-fingered salute to the attendant.
- The umlaut over the ö in their name is a record-cover art conceit, possibly derived from the similar "Heavy metal umlaut" in the name of the Blue Öyster Cult. However, this umlaut does not alter the pronunciation of the band's name. Lemmy is quoted to have, "put the umlaut on the middle-O in order to make the name more 'German-looking' - meaner!"
- The Greenbank B under-10s football team from Lincoln, England landed a sponsorship deal with the band, with the band's name as well as Snaggletooth on the team's shirts. The deal was made due to the team's manager, Gary Weight, knowing Lemmy Kilmister from years before, and the idea apparently amused Lemmy. <ref>BBC News - Rockers to sponsor under-10 team</ref>
[edit] Notes
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Motörhead official website
- Motörhead official forum
- Motörhead on SPV.de
- Gigwise band profile
- BBC Gig Review
- Motörhead Forever
- Motörhead at the Open Directory Project
- Motörhead at Encyclopaedia Metallum
- Motorheadbangers Fan Club
| Motörhead |
| Members |
|---|
| Lemmy Kilmister - Phil Campbell - Mikkey Dee |
| Former members: Larry Wallis - Fast Eddie Clarke - Brian Robertson - Würzel |
| Lucas Fox - Philthy Animal Taylor - Pete Gill |
| Discography |
|
Albums: On Parole - Motörhead - Overkill - Bomber - Ace of Spades - No Sleep 'til Hammersmith - Iron Fist - Another Perfect Day - No Remorse - Orgasmatron - Rock 'n' Roll - No Sleep at All - 1916 - March ör Die - Bastards - Sacrifice - Overnight Sensation - Snake Bite Love - Everything Louder Than Everyone Else - We Are Motörhead - The Best Of - Hammered - Live at Brixton Academy - Inferno - BBC Live & In-Session - Kiss of Death |
| Related articles |
ca:Motörhead cs:Motörhead da:Motörhead de:Motörhead es:Motörhead eo:Motörhead fr:Motörhead gl:Motörhead io:Motörhead id:Motörhead is:Motörhead it:Motörhead he:מוטורהד lv:Motörhead hu:Motörhead nl:Motörhead ja:モーターヘッド no:Motörhead pl:Motörhead pt:Motörhead sq:Motörhead simple:Motörhead sk:Motörhead sr:Моторхед fi:Motörhead sv:Motörhead tr:Motörhead zh:摩托头
Categories: Articles with unsourced statements | Articles with large trivia sections | Articles lacking sources from December 2006 | All articles lacking sources | Motörhead | Bands with only one constant member | English musical groups | Speed metal musical groups | Rock trios | British heavy metal musical groups
