Motörhead Motörhead was formed in 1975 by bassist and vocalist Ian Fraser Kilmister, Lemmy, who remains the only constant member of the band to this day. After being fired from his band Hawkwind, Lemmy recruited guitarist Larry Wallis and drummer Lucas Fox , a name given in homage to the last song he had written with his former band. Even before their first album, Fox was replaced by Phil Taylor, while Eddie Clarke took Wallis's place. The lineup of Lemmy with Taylor and Clarke is considered the classic Motörhead lineup.
With this lineup, Motörhead released their first four albums: Motörhead, Overkill, Bomber , and Ace of Spades. In '82, Clarke left the band and Mick Wurzel and Phil Campbell joined, transforming the band into a quartet. Around the same time, Taylor also left and was replaced by Pete Gill, but only during the album Orgasmatronin '86. Taylor returned to record two more albums and left again, giving way to the Swede Mikkey Dee.
In 1992, the band released the album that became their biggest commercial success, March ör Die, featuring guest appearances by Slash and Ozzy Osbourne. The album featured three drummers: Phil Taylor, Mikkey Dee, and Tommy Aldridge (for most tracks). On their 12th album, Sacrifice, Wurzel left the band, and Motörhead returned to being a trio.
Fusing heavy metal and punk rock, Lemmy's band helped create speed and thrash metal, which came later. Motörhead released 21 studio albums, 10 live albums, and 5 EPs, selling over 30 million albums worldwide. Lemmy passed away in 2015.
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