Motorhead

Motörhead or Motorhead are an English rock band formed in June 1975 by bassist, singer and songwriter Ian Fraser Kilmister, professionally known by his stage name Lemmy, who remained the sole constant member until his death on 29 December 2015 at the age of 70. The band are often considered a precursor to, or one of the earliest members of, the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, which re-energised heavy metal in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Motörhead are typically classified as heavy metal, and their fusion of punk rock into the genre helped to pioneer speed metal and thrash metal. Their lyrics typically cover such topics as war, good versus evil, abuse of power, promiscuous sex, substance abuse, and, most famously, gambling. The name "Motörhead" is a reference to users of the drug amphetamine. The band's distinctive fanged-face logo, with its oversized boar's tusks, chains, and spikes, was created by artist Joe Petagno in 1977 for the cover of the Motörhead album and has appeared in many variations on covers of ensuing albums. The fanged face has been referred to variously as "War-Pig" and "Snaggletooth".
==Links To Peel ==
Lemmy was originally a part of Hawkwind, a band that John supported in their formative years. When Lemmy was fired from Hawkwind and formed Motörhead (bringing with him a Hawkwind song of that name), Peel was keen to hear the group, and it appears that he was initially supportive of their punk/metal fusion: the fact that they were label-mates of the Damned on Chiswick might have been a factor in this. Lemmy also stood in for the band at gigs when they had no regular bassist. When Motorhead signed for Bronze, which hitherto had included Manfred Mann's Earth Band in their roster, JP played their first single on the label, Louie Louie, adding appreciatively, "How comforting it is to know that Motorhead are still working away out there somewhere." A session followed in September 1978: Peel's reception of it was rather muted, with only the use of the word "resounding" giving any indication of his opinion. In addition, he seemed vague as to whether the band had recorded for his show before. They had not recorded for Radio 1 at all, as it happened: they did one for Tommy Vance's Friday Rock Show in 1980 and another for David Jensen in 1981.
Their material appeared sporadically on Peel's show until the early 80s, but he then neglected to play them for many years, as it tended to stick to a formula he was unwilling to promote and which in any case was adequately covered by Tommy Vance. One airing of a live track from a flexidisc came with the (undoubtedly tongue in cheek) comment, "Poignant to a fault, that Motorhead." In 1987, a listener requested Peel to play a Motorhead track on Peel 058 (BFBS), which he replied to by saying:
"This is for Nobby, who wrote asking for Motörhead. I'm afraid I gave all of my Motörhead records to the village playgroup."
Nonetheless, in his latter years there were occasional outings for the band on Kat's Karavan.
==Sessions==
*thumb|330x330pxThe band only did one session, available on Motörhead ‎– BBC Live & In-Session (2005, Sanctuary Midline)
1. Recorded: 1978-09-18. Broadcast: 25 September 1978. Repeated: 03 November 1978
*Louie-Louie / Tear Ya Down / I'll Be Your Sister / Keep Us On The Road
==Other Shows Played==
(The following list was compiled only from the database of this site and Lorcan's Tracklistings Archive and is certainly incomplete. Please add further details if known.)
;thumb|330x330px1977
*26 May 1977: White Line Fever (album - Motörhead) Chiswick WIK 2
*18 August 1977: Lost Johnny (album - Motörhead) Chiswick WIK 2
*18 August 1977: Iron Horse/Born To Lose (album - Motörhead) Chiswick WIK 2
*19 August 1977: ? (probably White Line Fever) (album - Motörhead) Chiswick WIK 2
*19 August 1977: Keep Us On The Road (album - Motörhead) Chiswick WIK 2
*01 September 1977: The Watcher (album - Motörhead) Chiswick WIK 2
*26 September 1977: Vibrator (album - Motörhead) Chiswick WIK 2
;1978
*21 August 1978: Louie Louie (single) Bronze (JP relates how when he managed bands in Oklahoma the promoters asked if they could perform Hang On Sloopy, Gloria and Louie Louie, if yes then they got the gig)
*22 August 1978: Louie Louie (7") Bronze BRO 60
*08 September 1978 (Paul Gambaccini): Louie Louie (7")' (Bronze)
*19 September 1978: Louie, Louie (single) Bronze
*29 September 1978: Louie Louie (single) Bronze (tape flip during track)
;1979
*27 February 1979: Overkill (7") Bronze BRO 67
*14 March 1979: Overkill (7") Bronze BRO 67
*15 March 1979: Overkill (7") Bronze BRO 67
*17 April 1979: Overkill (7") Bronze BRO 67
*19 April 1979: Limb From Limb (LP - Overkill) Bronze
*24 April 1979: Metropolis (LP - Overkill) Bronze
*30 June 1979 (BFBS): No Class (7") Bronze BRO 78
*03 July 1979: No Class (7") Bronze BRO 78
*11 December 1979: Bomber (7") Bronze
*22 December 1979 (BFBS): Bomber (7") Bronze BRO 85
;1980
*30 August 1980 (BFBS): Train Kept A Rollin' (album - Motörhead) Chiswick WIK 2
*27 October 1980: Ace Of Spades (7") Bronze BRO 106
;1981
*05 February 1981 (with Girlschool): Please Don't Touch (7" EP - St. Valentine's Day Massacre) Bronze BRO 116
*10 February 1981 (with Girlschool): Please Don't Touch (7" EP - St. Valentine's Day Massacre) Bronze BRO 116
*01 June 1981: The Train Kept A Rollin' (Flexidisc) Flexipop
;1987
*26 January 1987: Ace Of Spades (LP - Ace Of Spades) Bronze
;1989
* 03 January 1989: Motorhead (v/a LP - Indie City) New Musical Express
;1993
*07 August 1993: 'Ace Of Spades (CCN Remix) (12" white label)’ (WGAF Records)
*14 August 1993 (BFBS): Ace Of Spades (CCN Remix) (12") WGAF
;2003
*16 January 2003: 'Overkill (7")' (Bronze)
*16 January 2003 (Radio Eins): Overkill (7") Bronze
;2004
*12 August 2004: Ace Of Spades (Album: Ace Of Spades) Bronze Records
== Covered ==
(The list below was compiled only from the Cover Versions page of this site. Please add more information if known.)
Artist | Track | First Known Play
*Battalion Of Saints: Ace Of Spades 08 December 1987
*Blue Meanies: Ace Of Spades 08 June 1996
*Terry Edwards: Ace Of Spades (session) 19 May 1999
*Headcleaner: Ace Of Spades (session) 04 July 1992
*More Fiends: Yellow Spades ('Yellow Submarine' / 'Ace Of Spades') (session) 08 November 1989
*Mudhoney: Over The Top 25 October 1992 (BFBS)
*Paska: Ace Of Spades 29 January 1993
*Shop Assistants: Ace Of Spades (session) 08 December 1986
*Superchunk: Sister ('I'll Be Your Sister') 15 May 1992
== Top Of The Pops ==
*01 April 1982 (TOTP): Iron Fist #33
== See Also ==
*Gigography 1979
*Sounds
==External Links==
*Wikipedia
*Discogs
*Official website
;Footnotes
Category:Artists
Category:Covered