The Motörhead 40th Anniversary Tour was a concert tour performed by the English heavy metal band in celebration of their 40th anniversary, as well as in support of their 22nd and final studio album, ''

Bad Magic ''Bad Magic'' is the twenty-second and final studio album by the British rock band Motörhead. Released on 28 August 2015, it is the fifth release under the UDR / Motörhead Music collaboration of the previous five years. Due to the death of ...

''. It would be the band's final tour before the death of

Lemmy Ian Fraser Kilmister (24 December 1945 – 28 December 2015), better known as Lemmy Kilmister or simply Lemmy, was an English musician. He was the founder, lead singer, bassist and primary songwriter of the rock band Motörhead, of which he wa ...

on 28 December 2015. Lemmy's undisclosed health issues resulted in several concerts being cancelled. Nevertheless he continued to front Motörhead until his final concert just two weeks before his death in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. After Lemmy's doctor had given him between two and six months to live, he had been meaning to make his diagnosis public in early 2016 but he died before a press release could be released.

Background

Concerts

During the first leg of the tour, Motörhead had to curtail and cut several shows because of health issues. Beginning in Salt Lake City on 27 August 2015 (in the Rocky Mountains), Motörhead ended their performance early due to Lemmy's breathing problems (the result of an altitude sickness). They also had to cancel an appearance at Denver Riot Fest on 28 August 2015. Their tour restarted on 1 September 2015 at Emo's in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

(it was moved from the

Cedar Park Center H-E-B Center at Cedar Park is an indoor arena located in Cedar Park, Texas, near Austin. Originally named the Cedar Park Center, the arena is home to the Texas Stars of the American Hockey League and the Austin Spurs of the NBA G League. T ...

) but the band were again forced to abandon their set after three songs and cancel subsequent shows in Texas from the September 2015 to 5 September 2015. Despite these setbacks, Lemmy was able to return in time for the band's annual Motörboat heavy metal cruise from

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

The Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

between the 28 September to 2 October 2015. Motörhead was joined by bands such as

Slayer Slayer was an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California. The band was formed in 1981 by guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style ...

Anthrax Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium ''Bacillus anthracis''. It can occur in four forms: skin, lungs, intestinal, and injection. Symptom onset occurs between one day and more than two months after the infection is contracted. The sk ...

Exodus Exodus or the Exodus may refer to: Religion * Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible * The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan Historical events * Ex ...

, Suicidal Tendencies and Corrosion of Conformity. The second leg of Motörhead's 40th Anniversary Tour began in Europe in November. The band played concerts in Germany, Sweden, Norway and Finland. However, their 15 November show at Zénith in Paris was postponed after the

November 2015 Paris attacks The November 2015 Paris attacks () were a series of coordinated Islamist terrorist attacks that took place on Friday, 13 November 2015 in Paris, France, and the city's northern suburb, Saint-Denis. Beginning at 9:15p.m., three suicide bombers ...

. Two concerts on the 28th and 30th of November in Germany were also postponed due to guitarist Phil Campbell suddenly requiring hospitalisation. These two shows were then moved back to 9 and 11 December; these would become the last ever concerts played by Motörhead. Speaking after Lemmy's death, drummer

Mikkey Dee Micael Kiriakos Delaoglou (born 31 October 1963), known professionally as Mikkey Dee, is a Swedish musician, best known as the last drummer for British heavy metal band Motörhead from 1992 until its dissolution in 2015. Dee also played temporari ...

said: "He was terribly gaunt. He spent all his energy on stage and afterwards he was very, very tired. It's incredible that he could even play, that he could finish the Europe tour. It was only 20 days ago. Unbelievable."

Opening acts

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

(North America, Europe) * Crobot (North America) *

(North America) *

Girlschool Girlschool are a British rock band that formed in the new wave of British heavy metal scene in 1978. Frequently associated with contemporaries Motörhead, they are the longest-running all-female rock band, still active after more than 40 yea ...

(Europe)

Setlist

# "

Bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped ...

" # "Stay Clean" # "Metropolis" # "When the Sky Comes Looking for You" (added on November 17) # "Over the Top" # Phil Campbell guitar solo # "The Chase Is Better Than the Catch" # "Rock It" # "Lost Woman Blues" # "Orgasmatron" (added on November 17) # "Doctor Rock" with Mikkey Dee drum solo # "Just 'Cos You Got the Power" # " No Class" # " Ace of Spades" Encore #

"Whorehouse Blues" (added on November 17) # "

Overkill Overkill may refer to: * Overkill (term), the use of excessive force or action to achieve a goal * Surplus killing, when a predator kills more prey than it can eat * Overexploitation, depletion of a natural resource through overharvesting ** Ove ...

" ;Other performed songs included * "Going to Brazil" * "Damage Case" * "We Are Motörhead" * "Shoot You In The Back" * "Rosalie" ( Thin Lizzy cover)

Tour dates

Personnel

Lemmy Kilmister Ian Fraser Kilmister (24 December 1945 – 28 December 2015), better known as Lemmy Kilmister or simply Lemmy, was an English musician. He was the founder, lead singer, bassist and primary songwriter of the rock band Motörhead, of which he wa ...

– bass guitar, lead vocals, harmonica on "Whorehouse Blues" * Phil Campbell – guitar *

– drums, guitar on "Whorehouse Blues"

References

{{Motörhead Motörhead concert tours 2015 concert tours