Lemmy Kilmister almost quit Motörhead before even releasing their first studio album. At the time, the group was voted "World's Best Worst Band" by readers of NME , and a farewell concert was scheduled.
Formed in 1975 , when Lemmy was fired from the band Hawkwind and recruited guitarist Larry Wallis and drummer Lucas Fox , the band took a while to get an opportunity to show their material to the world. Trapped in a contract with the United Artists , the group didn't receive permission to release the album On Parole , which only reached the public in 1979, and seemed to have no prospects for advancement.
In a previously unpublished interview with Hot Press Magazine, conducted in 1981 and unearthed by Metal Hammer Magazine , the bassist and vocalist confessed plans to disband the group. “Nothing was happening for us. We had made an album for United Artists that they refused to release. It seems they expected us to do a pop album or something like that,” he said. “Furthermore, the company wouldn’t let us get out of our contract with them. So, we felt there was nowhere to go.”
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To make matters worse, Motörhead was voted the World's Worst Band in a poll conducted by NME Lemmy 's plan was to hold a farewell concert at The Marquee venue in London and record the performance.
“I asked Ted Carroll , who owns Chiswick Records and was a friend of mine, if he would record [the show],” he continued. “Luck was on our side, because he couldn’t get the equipment to the club and, to compensate, he offered us two days in the studio. We recorded the entire Motörhead . That came out in '77, because by then the contract with United Artists had ended and, suddenly, we were moving forward.”
In 1981, the band was number one on the UK charts with No Sleep 'til Hammersmith , the group's first live album. Speaking about the vote, Lemmy was in good humor. "At least they admitted we were the best at something," he laughed.
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