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Welcome to www.motorheadengland.co.uk, a new site for all Motorhead fans. |
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The Motorhead Story
The son of a vicar, Lemmy Kilmister first began playing rock & roll in 1964, when he joined two local Blackpool, England, R&B bands, the Rainmakers and the Motown Sect. Over the course of the '60s, he played with a number of bands -- including the Rockin' Vickers, Gopal's Dream, and Opal Butterfly -- as well as briefly working as a roadie for Jimi Hendrix. In 1971, he joined the heavy prog rock band Hawkwind as a bassist. Lemmy was originally slated to stay with the band only six months, yet he stayed with the group for four years. During that time, he wrote and sung several songs with the band, including their signature song, the number three U.K. hit "Silver Machine" (1972).
Lemmy
was kicked out of Hawkwind in the spring of 1975, after he spent
five days in a Canadian prison for drug possession. Once he returned
to England, Kilminster set about forming a new band. Originally, it
was to have been called "Bastard," but he soon decided to
call the band Motörhead, named after the last song he wrote for
Hawkwind. Lemmy drafted in Pink Fairies guitarist Larry Wallis and
drummer
Overkill,
Motörhead's first album for Bronze, was released in the spring
of 1979. The Ace of Spades became Motörhead's first American album, yet the group was making little headway in the U.S., where they only registered as a cult act. Back in England, the situation could hardly have been more different. Motörhead was at the peak of its popularity in 1981, releasing a hit collaboration with the all-female group Girlschool entitled Headgirl and entering the charts at number one with their live album, No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith. The success for a band like Motorhead was simply unheard of and proved difficult to maintain when the studio follow up to Ace of spades was released. Iron Fist had some great moments but the band admitted it was hurried and not up to the standard the had wished for. A collaboration with Wendy O. Williams of The Pasmatics on the Country and Western favourite "Stand By your Man" was recorded but tempers flared in the studio and Fast Eddie who was acting as producer quit. Discussions as to who would replace him resulted in former Thin Lizzy guitarist Brian Robertson stepping into the spotlight.
Lemmy and Phil set up reheasals to find a replacement. When undecided who out of former Persian Risk member Phillip Campbell and Wurzel (born Michael Burston) they both found themselves hired. Shortly after, Taylor left to join Robertson's band Operator, and was replaced by former Saxon drummer Pete Gill. This lineup released a single, "Killed by Death," in September of 1984, but shortly afterward the group left Bronze and the label filed an injunction against the band. As a result, Motörhead was prevented from releasing any recordings including a bizarre collaboration between Lemmy and page-three girl Samantha Fox for two years.
Motörhead
finally returned to action in 1986with the Bill Laswell-produced
For the remainder of the '90s, Motörhead concentrated on touring more than recording. Outside of the band, Lemmy appeared in insurance commercials in Britain. He also acted in Hellraiser 3 and had a cameo in the porno movie John Wayne Bobbit Uncut. In 1997, the group moved to the metal-oriented indie label Receiver and released Stone Dead Forever; the live Everything Louder Than Everyone Else followed in 1999, and a year later they returned with We Are Motörhead. Hammered appeared in 2002 and was followed by 2004's Inferno. In 2005 the Sanctuary label reissued some of the band's classic albums (Overkill, Ace of Spades, and Iron Fist) in two-CD deluxe editions. A collection of all-new material, Kiss of Death, arrived in 2006. by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
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Motorhead in London June 16th 2007
Lemmy Action Figure due in November
Eddie Clarke's Fastway reform
More Fast Eddie news here
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Contact me at
Site compiled and owned by Steve H. All content featured in this website is for educational purposes only. All information contained within is to the best of my knowledge true. All Concert dates are assumed to be correct at the time of writing, however always contact the venue before travelling. |
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