List of Motörhead band members
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Motörhead were an English heavy metal band from London. Formed in 1975, the group originally featured former Hawkwind bassist and vocalist Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister, former Pink Fairies guitarist and vocalist
Larry Wallis Larry Wallis (19 May 1949 – 19 September 2019) was an English guitarist, songwriter and producer. He was best known as a member of the Pink Fairies and an early member of Motörhead. Biography and career Early bands In 1968, he formed a ban ...
, and drummer
Lucas Fox Lucas Fox is an English drummer who was a founding member of British rock band Motörhead and London punk rockers Warsaw Pakt. Motörhead In 1975, Fox picked up Lemmy from London Airport after he was sacked from Hawkwind. Lemmy, Fox and Pin ...
. The band went through several lineup changes, before settling on its final incarnation of Lemmy, guitarist Phil Campbell and drummer Mikkey Dee in 1995. Motörhead disbanded upon Lemmy's death on 28 December 2015.


History


1975–1982

Bassist and vocalist Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister was sacked from space rock group Hawkwind in May 1975, after he was arrested for suspected possession of cocaine (later determined to be amphetamines) during a North American concert tour. After moving back to London, Lemmy quickly formed Motörhead (named after the final song he wrote for Hawkwind) with guitarist
Larry Wallis Larry Wallis (19 May 1949 – 19 September 2019) was an English guitarist, songwriter and producer. He was best known as a member of the Pink Fairies and an early member of Motörhead. Biography and career Early bands In 1968, he formed a ban ...
and drummer
Lucas Fox Lucas Fox is an English drummer who was a founding member of British rock band Motörhead and London punk rockers Warsaw Pakt. Motörhead In 1975, Fox picked up Lemmy from London Airport after he was sacked from Hawkwind. Lemmy, Fox and Pin ...
. By December, Fox had been replaced by
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 ...
after his performances had been deemed "unreliable" during early recording sessions. Taylor re-recorded all songs the band had tracked earlier (with the exception of "Lost Johnny", following an arrest which prevented him from being able to get to the studio in time), which were later issued in 1979 as '' On Parole''. In March 1976, Motörhead auditioned "Fast" Eddie Clarke, a friend of Taylor's, as an intended second guitarist; however, after rehearsing just one song as a four-piece, Wallis decided to leave and Clarke took over as the sole guitarist. The lineup of Lemmy, Clarke and Taylor became known as the "classic Motörhead lineup", releasing five successful studio albums between 1977 and 1982 including '' Ace of Spades''. Prior to any of these releases, however, the group almost broke up in April 1977 due to poor reviews of their live shows and little to no interest from record companies. They remained together though, and their self-titled debut album followed in August.


1982–1995

After a string of successful releases, Clarke left Motörhead in May 1982 due to his disapproval with the recording of the EP ''
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 ...
'' with singer
Wendy O. Williams Wendy Orlean Williams (May 28, 1949 – April 6, 1998) was an American singer, best known as the lead singer of the punk rock band Plasmatics. She was noted for her onstage theatrics, which included partial nudity, exploding equipment, firing ...
. His place was soon taken by former Thin Lizzy guitarist Brian "Robbo" Robertson, initially to complete the touring cycle, after which he accepted a full-time role with the band. Robertson only remained for a year and a half, however, playing his last show on 11 November 1983 before leaving the band. In subsequent interviews, Lemmy claimed that working with Robertson on ''Another Perfect Day'' as "fucking torture", as well as criticising him for "dress nglike a cunt" on stage. Motörhead became a quartet at the beginning of 1984, when both Michael "Würzel" Burston and Phil "Wizzö" Campbell were hired to take over Robertson's place in the band, following a string of auditions. The new lineup recorded a new version of " Ace of Spades" for the TV series '' The Young Ones'' in February, after which Taylor also left the band. He was replaced by
Pete Gill Peter Gill (born 9 June 1951) is an English former heavy metal drummer, formerly a member of The Glitter Band, Saxon and Motörhead. Gill was one of the two drummers in The Glitter Band, then formed part of the original line-up of Saxon in ...
, formerly of
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 ...
. After recording four new tracks for the '' No Remorse'' compilation and issuing one full-length album, '' Orgasmatron'', Phil Taylor returned to Motörhead in March 1987 to replace Gill, who left "by mutual agreement ... for business reasons". Lemmy would later claim that Gill had tried to get him fired from Motörhead. With "Philthy Animal" Taylor back on drums, Motörhead released '' Rock 'n' Roll'' in 1987 and ''
1916 Events Below, the events of the First World War have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 1 – The British Royal Army Medical Corps carries out the first successful blood transfusion, using blood that had been stored and cooled. * ...
'' in 1991. After recording just one song for the band's 1992 follow-up ''
March ör Die ''March ör Die'' is the tenth studio album by British rock band Motörhead, released in August 1992. It would be the band's second and final album with WTG Records. The album features guest appearances by Ozzy Osbourne, Guns N' Roses guitarist ...
'', however, he was fired, with Lemmy later explaining that "I would never have fired Phil if he had been pulling his weight, but he wasn't, and I couldn't make him do it." Much of the rest of the album's recording was completed by session drummer Tommy Aldridge, most recently departed from Whitesnake.


1995–2015

Towards the end of sessions for ''March ör Die'', former King Diamond drummer Mikkey Dee was brought in to take over from Phil Taylor, initially on a temporary basis but soon as a permanent replacement. He featured only on the album's lead single, " Hellraiser". With Dee in place, '' Bastards'' and ''
Sacrifice Sacrifice is the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks, and possibly exi ...
'' followed in quick succession. After the recording of the latter finished in early 1995, Motörhead went through its final lineup change when guitarist Würzel left the band, which Lemmy claimed "became clearer every day" during the sessions. Following his departure, Würzel was not replaced and Motörhead returned to their "classic" three-piece setup. The lineup of Lemmy, Phil Campbell and Mikkey Dee remained constant from 1995 to 2015, the longest in the band's history. During summer 2003, Campbell was substituted at two shows by former Danzig guitarist
Todd Youth Todd Schofield (May 15, 1971 – October 27, 2018), known as Todd Youth, was an American guitarist, best known for his work with Warzone, Murphy's Law and Danzig. Biography Schofield was born and raised in Passaic County, New Jersey, and ...
after his mother had died, before joining him for a third date and performing as a four-piece. In September 2009, former
Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band comprised vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKa ...
and Velvet Revolver drummer Matt Sorum filled in for Dee, who took part in the Swedish TV show ''
Kändisdjungeln ''Kändisdjungeln'' (English: ''The Celebrity Jungle'') was the first and only season of the Swedish version of '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!''. The first of the 16 episodes was broadcast on 11 September 2009. The show's hosts were Da ...
''. Lemmy later cited a "breakdown in communication" as the reason for Dee's absence, explaining that "Our management didn't know that he'd signed up for this when they booked the tour." On 28 December 2015, Lemmy died of what was later revealed to be
prostate cancer Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that sur ...
, cardiac arrhythmia and congestive heart failure. The next day, Mikkey Dee confirmed that "Motörhead is over, of course," adding that "Lemmy ''was'' Motörhead." Several other former members of the band have also died – Michael "Würzel" Burston on 9 July 2011,
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 ...
on 11 November 2015, "Fast" Eddie Clarke on 10 January 2018, and
Larry Wallis Larry Wallis (19 May 1949 – 19 September 2019) was an English guitarist, songwriter and producer. He was best known as a member of the Pink Fairies and an early member of Motörhead. Biography and career Early bands In 1968, he formed a ban ...
on 19 September 2019.


Members


Official


Backup


Timeline


Lineups


References


External links


Motörhead official website
{{Motörhead Motörhead *