LIVE TO WIN

Energisers of late 70s hard rock, inspiration for speed metal and thrash, an unrepentant greasy biker image bristling with punk attitude, catalysts for the famed New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM)… Motörhead was all of these things and more. But if you offered such descriptions to founder Lemmy, the most likely response would be a spray of invective and a raised middle finger. "Fuck off! We’re just a rock and roll band."

Lemmy, the black-clad man with the weatherbeaten face and a legendary capacity for amphetamines was born Ian Fraser Kilmister on Christmas Eve 1945. His father was an Air Force Chaplain but separated from his mother when Ian was still an infant. It was a quarter century and a change of name later before Ian, now Lemmy, met his biological father. His reaction, reported by his biographer Mick Wall, was less than impressed. "He was a horrible little fucker, bald with glasses."

Oddly, the religious connection appeared early in Lemmy’s musical career. His first sniff of rock and roll success came after he joined the Rockin’ Vicars, whose stage costumes involved ecclesiastical dog collars. But Mr Kilmister yearned for more than scrappy tours of clubs and small European venues. In 1971 he joined psychedelic space-rockers Hawkwind, contributing bass and vocals. It’s Lemmy singing on Hawkwind’s most successful single, "Silver Machine".

Psychedelic Hawkwind may have been, yet they ultimately parted company with their bass player after he spent a night in a Canadian jail for possession of drugs. It would not be Lemmy’s last encounter with the law. Nor with rock music. One of the last songs he penned for Hawkwind was the propulsive rocker "Motörhead". After realising that his new band’s name Bastard might limit their access to Top Of The Pops style television, Lemmy commandeered the Hawkwind song title and Motörhead thundered into existence, though not immediate success.

After four albums and a gruelling gig schedule, Motörhead hit pay dirt with their 1980 album Ace Of Spades. Boasting all their trademark aggression and raw power, the album nails Motörhead’s constant themes of sex, drugs and rebellion. Here are a few lyrical samples.

I like to watch your body sway, I got no choice, I’m gonna twist your tail ("Love Me Like A Reptile")

You know me, you know I’m wired, I’m gonna stop you feeling tired ("Fast And Loose")

They’re all fools, to live by rules ("Shoot You In The Back")

Throughout, the power trio of "Fast" Eddie Clarke (guitar), Lemmy (bass/vocals), and Phil "Philthy" Taylor lay down their catechism, well summarised by the music and title of the fifth track, "Fast and Loose". In the studio, producer, engineer and mixer Vic Maile manages to capture the rough diamond excitement of Motörhead in performance, something Lemmy was always very keen on. "We’re a live band," was his refrain. Maile had good credentials, having worked with Jimi Hendrix, The Who, and Led Zeppelin. He understood "LOUD".

Ace Of Spades was Motörhead’s most successful album. Its title track became their calling card until Lemmy’s death on 28 December 2015, a few days after his seventieth birthday. Let’s give the final word to the larger-than-life rocker, from "Ace Of Spades".

You know I’m born to lose, and gambling’s for fools

But that’s the way I like it baby

I don’t wanna live for ever

Reference

Mick Wall (2016) Lemmy: The Definitive Biography. Orion, UK.

© Bruce Jenkins—May 2023