Ace Of Spades (song)
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"Ace of Spades" is a song by English heavy metal band
Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock band formed in London in 1975 by Lemmy (lead vocals, bass), Larry Wallis (guitar) and Lucas Fox (drums). Lemmy was also the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band are often considered a precu ...
and the title track to the album ''
Ace of Spades The Ace of Spades (also known as the Spadille and Death Card) is traditionally the highest and most valued card in the deck of playing cards in English-speaking countries. The actual value of the card varies from game to game. Design The orn ...
''. It was released as a single in October 1980.


Overview

Initially issued as a 7" vinyl single on 27 October 1980 as a preview to the album ''
Ace of Spades The Ace of Spades (also known as the Spadille and Death Card) is traditionally the highest and most valued card in the deck of playing cards in English-speaking countries. The actual value of the card varies from game to game. Design The orn ...
'' and autumn tour, the song was also released by Bronze Records as a 12" vinyl pressing in special Christmas picture sleeves, limited to 50,000 copies. The picture of the band in Santa outfits used on the cover was taken at the
Aylesbury Aylesbury ( ) is the county town of Buckinghamshire, South East England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery, David Tugwell`s house on Watermead and the Waterside Theatre. It is in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wy ...
Fair, while the band were on tour. Bronze also issued German and Spanish 7" vinyl versions which had a different sleeves, as well as a Japanese release, with a colour picture insert with song lyrics in English and Japanese. One sided test pressings (not mis-presses, but used in the trade) escaped the pressing plant and are on the market. The song opens with an
overdriven Distortion and overdrive are forms of audio signal processing used to alter the sound of amplified electric musical instruments, usually by increasing their gain (electronics), gain, producing a "fuzzy", "growling", or "gritty" tone. Distort ...
bass intro played by Lemmy. For the lyrics, he said he "used
gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three el ...
metaphors, mostly cards and
dice Dice (singular die or dice) are small, throwable objects with marked sides that can rest in multiple positions. They are used for generating random values, commonly as part of tabletop games, including dice games, board games, role-playing g ...
—when it comes to that sort of thing, I'm more into the one-arm bandits actually, but you can't really sing about spinning fruit, and the wheels coming down". On 6 September 1980, Lemmy was interviewed by Graham Neale on
BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
's ''Rock on Saturday'' show, "
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 ...
", "Ace of Spades" and "Love Me Like a Reptile" were played. The following month, on 6 and 20 October, the band played the song on
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
TV show ''
Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...
''.Burridge, Alan. ''Illustrated Collector's Guide to Motörhead''. Published: 1995, Collector's Guide Publishing. .


Commercial success

The song spent 13 weeks in the
UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
, and originally peaked at number 15 upon its initial release. At the midweek point in January 2016 it reached No. 9 and in the official Friday chart they reached number 13, following the death of frontman
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 ...
in December 2015 and subsequent dissolution of the band. It has sold 208,830 digital copies as of January 2016. It reached the top of the
UK Rock & Metal Singles and Albums Charts The UK Rock & Metal Singles Chart and UK Rock & Metal Albums Chart are record charts compiled in the United Kingdom by the Official Charts Company (OCC) to determine the 40 most popular singles and albums in the rock and heavy metal genres. The ...
on 9 January 2016.


Critical reception

The song – which "put a choke on the British music charts and proved to all that a band could succeed without sacrificing its blunt power and speed" – is considered the definitive Motörhead anthem, albeit not by Lemmy. "I don't see the song that way at all," he said in 2000. "I believe we've done our best work since Eddie left the band in 1982." In March 2005, ''Q'' placed it at No. 27 in a list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks, stating, "This song has an intro which wouldn't be out of place ushering in the end of the world." In 2009, it was named the tenth greatest hard rock song of all time by VH1. In 2012, ''
Loudwire ''Loudwire'' is an American online media magazine that covers news of hard rock and heavy metal artists. It is owned by media and entertainment business Townsquare Media. Since its launch in August of 2011, ''Loudwire'' has secured exclusive ...
'' ranked the song number one on their list of the top 10 Motörhead songs, and in 2021, ''
Louder Sound ''Classic Rock'' is a British magazine and website dedicated to rock music, owned and published by Future. It was launched in October 1998 and is based in London. The magazine publishes 13 editions a year, mainly covering rock bands from the 60, ...
'' ranked the song number two on their list of the top 50 Motörhead songs. In 2014, ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' ranked it number 155 in a list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In May 2019, "Ace of Spades" was named the favorite poker-themed song in a survey of 1,000 customers of online poker site
PokerStars PokerStars is an online poker cardroom that was a part of The Stars Group until it was sold to Flutter Entertainment on May 5, 2020. It can be accessed through downloadable poker clients for the Windows, macOS, Android and iOS. It is the large ...
. The song reportedly "not only won, but crushed" the other finalist, " Poker Face" by
Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...
. It was ranked No. 442 on Rolling Stone's "Top 500 Best Songs of All Time".


Track listing

# "Ace of Spades" ( Ian Kilmister, Eddie Clarke, Phil Taylor) – 2:49 # "Dirty Love" (Kilmister, Clarke, Taylor) – 2:57


Personnel

*
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 ...
bass, vocals * "Fast" Eddie Clarkeguitars *
Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor Philip John Taylor (21 September 1954 – 12 November 2015), better known as "Philthy Animal", was an English drummer. He was a member of the rock band Motörhead from 1975 to 1984 and 1987 to 1992, recording eleven studio albums and four live ...
drums


Certifications


Live version

"Ace of Spades (live)" is a 1988 7-inch vinyl release of the song by Motörhead. The single has no picture sleeve; it was issued (and withdrawn) in a plain white paper cover. All three songs on the single appeared on the band's ''
No Sleep at All No (and variant writings) may refer to one of these articles: English language * ''Yes'' and ''no'' (responses) * A determiner in noun phrases Alphanumeric symbols * No (kana), a letter/syllable in Japanese script * No symbol, displayed ðŸ ...
'' live album, which was recorded at the Giants of Rock Festival in
Hämeenlinna Hämeenlinna (; sv, Tavastehus; krl, Hämienlinna; la, Tavastum or ''Croneburgum'') is a city and municipality of about inhabitants in the heart of the historical province of Tavastia and the modern province of Kanta-Häme in the south of F ...
, Finland on 2 July 1988. The band had wanted "Traitor" as the A-side, but "Ace of Spades" was chosen instead, when the band noticed the change, they refused to allow the single to be distributed to the shops. So despite the popularity the song had achieved, this single was not as successful as the original version, which reached No. 15 in the
UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
in 1980, as it became only available at gigs and through the Motörheadbangers fan club. The song became a staple of the band's live set, with Lemmy acknowledging that despite becoming "sick" of performing it, they "can't ditch Ace of Spades, it wouldn't be right. If I go to see
Little Richard Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the " ...
, I expect to hear ''
Good Golly Miss Molly In most contexts, the concept of good denotes the conduct that should be preferred when posed with a choice between possible actions. Good is generally considered to be the opposite of evil and is of interest in the study of ethics, morality, ph ...
'', or I'd be pissed off". However, Lemmy softened his view on performing Ace of Spades live later on, saying "I used to have that thought occasionally, but I killed it. "Ace of Spades" has been really good to us, and it's one of the best songs that I ever wrote. So I suppose you have to put up with it, because everybody wants to hear it, every night." Live versions have appeared on the albums ''
No Sleep 'til Hammersmith ''No Sleep 'til Hammersmith'' is the first live album by English rock band Motörhead, released on 22 June 1981 via Bronze Records. It peaked at number one on the UK Albums Chart. It was followed by the release of the single " Motorhead" (backed ...
'' (1981), ''
Nö Sleep at All ''Nö Sleep at All'' is the third live album by the band Motörhead, released in October 1988 by GWR Records, their only live album and last release with the label as legal matters continued between the parties. Background Motörhead and thei ...
'' (1988), ''
Everything Louder than Everyone Else ''Everything Louder than Everyone Else'' is the sixth live album by the band Motörhead, recorded on 21 May 1998, and released on 9 March 1999, on Steamhammer; their first live album with the label, but fourth album release. Recording Vocali ...
'' (1999), '' Live at Brixton Academy'' (2003), '' Better Motörhead than Dead: Live at Hammersmith'' (2007), '' The Wörld Is Ours - Vol. 1: Everywhere Further Than Everyplace Else'' (2011), '' The Wörld Is Ours - Vol. 2: Anyplace Crazy as Anywhere Else'' (2012), and ''
Clean Your Clock ''Clean Your Clock'' is the thirteenth live album by the band Motörhead, released on 10 June 2016, approximately six months after the death of vocalist and bassist Lemmy. Lemmy dedicated the song "Doctor Rock" to Phil Taylor, Motörhead's dr ...
'' (2016). It was the first song that Phil Campbell and
Würzel Michael Richard Burston (23 October 1949 – 9 July 2011), commonly known by the stage name Würzel, was an English musician who played professionally for three decades. He played guitar in British rock band Motörhead from 1984 to 1995,
played with the band – on the "
Bambi ''Bambi'' is a 1942 American animated drama film directed by David Hand (supervising a team of sequence directors), produced by Walt Disney and based on the 1923 book ''Bambi, a Life in the Woods'' by Austrian author and hunter Felix Salten. ...
" episode of '' The Young Ones''. The lineup is particularly rare until 1987: Lemmy, Campbell, Würzel and Taylor. Taylor had already left the band by the time the filming started, but kept to his promise of making the performance. In September 1993, WGAF Records re-released the original 1980s track on CD-single, cassette single, 12" vinyl picture sleeve and picture disc versions, the song was coupled with "
Louie Louie "Louie Louie" is a rhythm and blues song written and composed by American musician Richard Berry in 1955, recorded in 1956, and released in 1957. It is best known for the 1963 hit version by the Kingsmen and has become a standard in pop and r ...
", "Dirty Love", and "Ace of Spades (The CCN Remix)", and although the band were not too pleased with the CCN Remix version, this single peaked at No. 23 in the UK chart.


Single track listing

# "Ace of Spades" (
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 ...
, Eddie Clarke, Phil Taylor) # "Dogs" (Lemmy,
Würzel Michael Richard Burston (23 October 1949 – 9 July 2011), commonly known by the stage name Würzel, was an English musician who played professionally for three decades. He played guitar in British rock band Motörhead from 1984 to 1995,
, Phil Campbell, Taylor) # "Traitor" (Lemmy, Würzel, Campbell, Taylor)


See also

*
Ace of spades The Ace of Spades (also known as the Spadille and Death Card) is traditionally the highest and most valued card in the deck of playing cards in English-speaking countries. The actual value of the card varies from game to game. Design The orn ...
*
Dead man's hand The makeup of poker's dead man's hand has varied through the years. Currently, it is described as a two-pair poker hand consisting of the black aces and black eights. The pair of aces and eights, along with an unknown hole card, were reporte ...


References


External links


Official Video Clip of "Ace of Spades" from 1980
- available under the open "
Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
" at "
archive.org The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
" using format of (
JW Player JW Player is a New York based company that has developed a video player software of the same name. The player, for embedding videos onto web pages, is used by news, video hosting companies, and for self- hosted web videos. The company has also cr ...
) (
Flash Player Adobe Flash Player (known in Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Google Chrome as Shockwave Flash) is computer software for viewing multimedia contents, executing rich Internet applications, and streaming audio and video content created on the ...
)
Video clip of 6 November 1980 Top of the Pops broadcast of the song
(
RealPlayer RealPlayer, formerly RealAudio Player, RealOne Player and RealPlayer G2, is a cross-platform media player app, developed by RealNetworks. The media player is compatible with numerous container file formats of the multimedia realm, including MP ...
required). {{DEFAULTSORT:Ace of Spades (Song) Motörhead songs 1980 songs 1980 singles 1988 singles Songs written by Eddie Clarke (musician) Songs written by Lemmy Songs written by Phil Taylor (musician) Song recordings produced by Vic Maile Bronze Records singles Live singles