"No Class" is a song by the British 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 ...

. It was released in 1979 in 7" vinyl pressings. The song first appeared on the 1979 album '' Overkill'', and became one of the "cornerstones" of the classic 1981 live album ''

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 ...

''. It is one of the band's "anthems".

Release

It was available in three different covers, with a picture 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 ...

, "Fast" Eddie Clarke or

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 ...

. The single also contains the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

"Like a Nightmare", which can be found on the reissued versions of ''Overkill''.Burridge, Alan ''Illustrated Collector's Guide to Motörhead'' Published: 1995, Collector's Guide Publishing . The song was already a live track before it was recorded for ''Overkill''.

Style and influences

Stylistically, the song is described as "get-down rock boogie". Critics have noted the similarities at the time between Motörhead's music and

ZZ Top ZZ Top is an American rock band formed in 1969 in Houston, Texas. For 51 years, they comprised vocalist-guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard and vocalist-bassist Dusty Hill, until Hill's death in 2021. ZZ Top developed a signature sound ...

's, and the guitar riff in "No Class" is said to be "stolen" from ZZ Top's " Tush." On Motörhead's 1999 live album ''

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 ...

'', before playing "No Class" Lemmy dedicated the song to long-time friend Wendy O. Williams, who had committed suicide the previous month.

Notable covers

The Plasmatics The Plasmatics were an American punk rock, hardcore punk and heavy metal band formed by Rod Swenson and Wendy O. Williams in New York City in 1977. They were a controversial group known for chaotic, destructive live shows and outrageous theat ...

covered the song in 1982, as part of the ''

Stand by Your Man "Stand by Your Man" is a song recorded by American country music artist Tammy Wynette, co-written by Wynette and Billy Sherrill. It was released on September 20, 1968, as the first single and title track from the album '' Stand by Your Man''. It ...

'' EP collaboration with Motörhead. *In 1990 the Argentine Thrash metal band

Hermética Hermética was an Argentine thrash metal band from San Martín, Buenos Aires. It was formed by bassist Ricardo Iorio in 1987 after his previous band, V8, disbanded. Hermética was signed to the independent record label Radio Trípoli Discos th ...

recorded "No Class" for ''

Intérpretes ''Intérpretes'' is an EP released in 1990 by heavy metal band Hermética. It is an album of covers, including songs from artists like Motörhead, V8 and Manal, among others. Production ''Intérpretes'' is the second work produced by Hermética, ...

'', a cover album; it is the only English track ever recorded by the band. *In 2010, the sludge metal band

Kingdom of Sorrow Kingdom of Sorrow is an American sludge metal band that features Kirk Windstein of Crowbar and Down, along with Jamey Jasta of Hatebreed. History Kingdom of Sorrow was founded when Hatebreed frontman Jamey Jasta introduced himself to Do ...

covered the song on their album ''

Behind the Blackest Tears ''Behind the Blackest Tears'' is the second studio album by Kingdom of Sorrow, a group featuring Jamey Jasta of Hatebreed and Kirk Windstein of Crowbar and Down. The album was released by Relapse Records. Track listing Special edition b ...

''. *In 2012, founding thrash metal band

Megadeth Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist/guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal along wit ...

covered the song on their

Gigantour Gigantour was a sporadically organised traveling heavy metal music festival organized by Dave Mustaine of Megadeth. The tour was founded in 2005 with dates across North America (see also Gigantour 2005), and the 2006 and 2007 line-ups also trav ...

after Motörhead had to pull out of the last 4 shows. Lemmy had a combination of a viral upper respiratory infection and a voice strain.

Single track listing

# "No Class" ( Eddie Clarke, Ian Kilmister, Phil Taylor) # "Like a Nightmare" (Kilmister, Clarke, Taylor)

Personnel

* "Fast" Eddie Clarke –

Guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

–

Drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

(Ian Kilmister) – Bass,

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

References

Motörhead songs 1979 singles Songs written by Eddie Clarke (musician) Songs written by Lemmy Songs written by Phil Taylor (musician) Song recordings produced by Jimmy Miller 1979 songs Bronze Records singles {{1970s-rock-song-stub