A Short History of Motorhead

Lemmy, leader of metal punksters Motorhead, really doesn't get the credit he deserves. He was the bassist in psych-noodlers Hawkwind for five years and five albums. Not just the bassist but the real driving force behind the band. Of course, he wasn't responsible for writing their songs and he wasn't held in the same hippy regard as Hawkwind's main muso Dave Brock, or poetic fantasists Robert Calvert or even Michael Moorcock who weren't even in the band but were credited for Hawkwind's success. But it was his grooving, solid and hard bass playing that grounded the space rockers incense covered music. Many bands, including the likes of Gong, always tried hard but were never able to match what Lemmy brought to the show. The Hawkwind hit 'Silver Machine' got to number three in the UK charts, on the back of Lemmy's bassline alone. And their albums, the likes of 'Space Ritual Alive' and 'Warrior On The Edge Of Time' caught the attention of people like John Lydon and Jello Biafra simply because Lemmy was playing bass on them.

When Motorhead began their idea of rock was a totally new concept. The music was fast, it was heavy metal, there was a lot of distortion and the vocals were gruff and shouty. Very much like the Sex Pistols but more direct and raw, relying less on the studio. However this was a year or so before the Sex Pistols were formed. Motorhead's first few gigs were in 1975. Their influences could be put down to the MC5 in some respects. However, Motorhead were setting new benchmarks for speed metal and hardcore punk. Of course, none of these labels meant a thing to the band members who simply rejoiced in their ability to make hard and fast rock'n'roll.

Lemmy was a vicar's son and his first band was called the Rocking Vicars. They wore dog-collars and Finnish national costumes on stage and, at the request of President Tito of Yugoslavia they became one of the first (if not the first) western rock bands to play behind the Iron Curtain. Lemmy also lived at the house of Ronnie Wood's mother for a while and was entertained within the same court as Hendrix. Legend has it that he was thrown out of Hawkwind due to being busted for drug possession in Canada, however all charges were dropped. At the time he was hanging out with the Hell's Angels, and maybe it was this that his fellow Hawkwinder's didn't like. After he left, Hawkwind went all prog-jazz rock and noodled themselves away for a couple of decades. The very opposite of Lemmy's new band called Bastard. Wisely (or sadly depending on your point of view) they changed their name to Motorhead in 1975.

The band's debut album, simply called 'Motorhead', was issued on Chiswick Records in 1977. It was a punk label. This was followed by a number of quickly recorded albums rooted firmly in the blues and basic rock'n'roll structure. Yet it was faster and more aggressive than retro rock'n'roll. And of course it was much, much louder. On these albums there were get-down and boogie songs, there were bluesy songs and there were urgent drum-driven songs. It was like a more energized version of Texas' ZZ Top, who were operating at much the same time. The songs were about women, drinking, gambling, women, drinking, and women and drinking. Albums like 'Ace of Spades', 'Iron Fist' and 'Bomber' all contain fine heavy rock'n'roll but it was their 1981 album called 'No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith' which really showed what the band was capable of. It was a live album with no overdubs and all mistakes left in. Simply a hard rocking band playing hard rocking music very well indeed and although their subject matter or their subtlety would never win any art-prizes, that really wasn't the point.