I was first intrigued to check out Motörhead because the guys from G.B.H. were in a few photos wearing Motörhead t-shirts with the band’s great “snaggletooth” logo. “Ace of Spades” is the first Motörhead song I heard, and I didn’t know how to categorize it – punk, metal, hard rock?…but I knew it sounded AWESOME! The lyric “you know I was born to lose, and gamblin’s for fools, but that’s the way I like it baby… I don’t wanna live forever!” Is an outlaw manifesto. There are tons of other great Motörhead albums and songs… “Overkill,” “Bomber,” ‘No Class,” “Too Late Too Late,” “Damage Case,” and “Emergency,” but the band always played “Ace of Spades” as their encore.
I saw Motörhead several times over the years, and they ALWAYS crushed it and were the loudest band I’ve ever seen! The band recorded and toured for 40 years, and I can’t think of a more consistent and reliable musical institution than Motörhead. Motörhead’s founder, singer, bassist, and songwriter, Lemmy Kilmister, is himself as iconic as Motörhead’s “snaggletooth” logo. Lemmy stayed true to the hard-rocking, hard-living lifestyle with a handlebar mustache, cowboy boots, denim, and leather as his perpetual battle uniform to the bitter end. Even though Lemmy looked 50 when he was 30, he never seemed to age a day after that.
It was a shock when Lemmy unexpectedly died of cancer… I was convinced that hard rock as a devout religion had made Lemmy immortal! Lemmy may be gone, but the songs and the iconic Motörhead logo live on. Check it out!
–Shepard