Question: Rips the Covers Off was an album by the hard rock band formed in what year?

 As of 2017, the lineup consists of Phil Lewis (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Tracii Guns (guitar), Michael Grant (guitar), Johnny Martin (bass, backing vocals) and Shane Fitzgibbon (drums).  The first incarnation of the group was formed by Tracii Guns in 1983 and merged with fellow Los Angeles group Hollywood Rose to form Guns N' Roses in 1984.  In 1985, the group was reformed by Guns and singer Paul Black adding Mick Cripps and Nickey Alexander.  Black would soon be replaced by former Girl singer Phil Lewis while former Faster Pussycat bassist Kelly Nickels was added to the group. L.A. Guns are an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1983.  Later, Alexander would be replaced by former W.A.S.P. drummer Steve Riley with this being known as the "classic lineup" of L.A. Guns.  They achieved moderate chart success in the late 1980s and early 1990s.  However, the group went through numerous lineup changes (with Riley being the most consistent member) and failed to regain mainstream attention. <SEP> AC/DC are a hard rock band formed in Sydney, Australia in 1973 by brothers Angus and Malcolm Young.  Although the band are considered pioneers of heavy metal, its members have always classified their music as "rock 'n' roll".  AC/DC underwent several line-up changes before releasing their first album, "High Voltage", in 1975.  Membership remained stable until bassist Cliff Williams replaced Mark Evans in 1977.  In 1979, the band recorded their highly successful album "Highway to Hell".  Lead singer and co-songwriter Bon Scott died on 19 February 1980, after a night of heavy alcohol consumption.  The group briefly considered disbanding, but soon ex-Geordie singer Brian Johnson was selected as Scott's replacement.  Later that year, the band released their best-selling album, "Back in Black".  The band's next album, "For Those About to Rock We Salute You", was also highly successful and was their first album to reach number one in the United States.  AC/DC declined in popularity soon after the departure of drummer Phil Rudd in 1983.  Poor record sales continued until the release of "The Razors Edge" in 1990.  Phil Rudd returned in 1994 and contributed to the band's 1995 album "Ballbreaker". " Stiff Upper Lip" was released in 2000 and was well received by critics.  The band's new album "Black Ice" was announced in June 2008 and was released on October 20, 2008.  The album's first single, "Rock 'N Roll Train", earned AC/DC a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Group or Duo with Vocals.  Another "Black Ice" track, "War Machine," gained AC/DC their first Grammy Award win, for Best Hard Rock Performance. <SEP> Rips the Covers Off, some copies of which are titled Rips Off the Covers, is an album by Phil Lewis's version of L.A. Guns, their first with guitarist Stacey Blades. <SEP> "Motorhead" is the eponymous song of the British hard rock band of the same name.  It was originally recorded by the space rock band Hawkwind, of whom the song's author, Motörhead frontman Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister, had been a member from 1971 to 1975.  It was the last song that he had written for them, but it had only been released as the B-side of the single "Kings of Speed", in March 1975.  In May of that year, Lemmy was fired from Hawkwind and formed a new band, naming it after the song.  It indicated the direction in which he planned to go: hard rock, not space rock.  Motörhead recorded two new versions of the song later that year, one as part of a demo session with producer Dave Edmunds and then another as part of the sessions for what was meant to have been Motörhead's debut album.  However, their record label, United Artists Records, decided to shelve the project and dropped the band without releasing any of the material.  Over a year later, the song was recorded yet again for Chiswick Records, during the session for their actual debut album and was released ahead of it, in June 1977, as their second 7" single.