Motorhead is truly a rock and roll band. A lot of people don't realize just how good the songwriting and structure is, just because they come off like a loud, lowbrow band.
Back in the day, when dumb divisions ruled the scenes, punks hated metalheads and viceversa, fights ensued everywhere, all the time, but the one and only thing we would agree on was: Motörhead is fucking great.
Motorhead completely unintentionally bridged the gap between punk and metal. Along with bands like Black Flag, The Misfits, and Suicidal Tendencies who are three other bands that both scenes seemed to like and be inspired by. Some people even say Black Sabbath belongs in that conversation. But bands like that are hugely historically relevant and should be revered for it.
I don't know if it was unintentional. Lemmy was a big fan of the Ramones and even played with the Damned for a brief moment. He even said that Motorhead felt more kinship with punk rock than with metal, and that they viewed themselves as a rock n roll band on speed. But yeah, one of the few groups that both metal and punk fans can agree on.
So happy to see you give this song a listen. Their live album, No Sleep till Hammersmith, was my first introduction to them after Ace of Spades and this song in particular was defining for me in picking up the instrument in the first place.
Further to the live version, you caught the drummer changing up the ending a bit. The video was taken from the live album but we're hearing the studio versions audio here. In my opinion, the live version is just that 10% better, and the solo is slightly different, and better. I am biased though as it is the version that made me a Motorhead and fan of the bass guitar.
Lemmy guests on the B side of the Damned's 1979 single, I Just Can't Be Happy Today, doing a version of Ball Room Blitz with another ballsy bass solo. Apparently none of them remember recording it as they were all down the pub till closing time then poured into the studio very refreshed.
We are Motorhead and we play rock and roll, I think Lemmy had a "Rickenbastard" bass. RIP Lemmy, Philty Animal and Fast Eddie, gone to the great gig in the sky but never forgotten while we play their music loud🤘🤘🤘
You made a similar observation, I believe, with a bassist that was a trained classical guitarist. Held his bass the same way, angled his plucking hand the same way too. I want to say it was one of the Canadian bands. Love this video. First time hearing this song.
I was a Hawkwind fanatic in middle school (1973-75) still a fan today. After Lemmy got booted from Hawkwind i was excited to see he now fronted a band called Motorhead (also a song Lemmy wrote while in Hawkwind) and there was that aggressive bass i loved from Hawkwind, and the music was far heavier! Glad to see you examining Lemmy's bass style and music!
Lemmy started on guitar, back when he was Hendrixs' roadie and made the switch to bass when he joined Hawkwind...another great band you should check out 👍
Man... I saw Motorhead throughout their first phase here in Germany! 4 times over Overkill to Ace of Spades! Great and cheap times. I love your show, hope you still feel the Turkey and wish ya a nice weekend! ;)
Just gonna throw another suggestion of Lemmy’s work in Hawkwind. Some amazing stuff there. Particularly Born To Go, Down Through the Night and Orgone Accumulator from the live album Space Ritual, Assault and Battery from Warrior on the Edge of Time and Better Believe It from Hall of the Mountain Grill.
Oh, and with regards to him angling his mic, it was because of the sound he got from the throat. That and he once joked that it was from the days when they would play to 5 people and a dog so that he wouldn’t have to see that he was playing to 5 people and a dog! Amazing sense of humour… A legend truly missed.
@ His bass work on that whole album is amazing. As influential as Lenmy was on punk, metal, thrash and hard rock, I don’t think he gets enough credit for his melodic stuff with Hawkwind.
@@gogogoch , Hawkwind led me to Motorhead, of course. First Hawkwind album I bought was Space Ritual right after it was released ... yes, I'm old. But, as a 7th grader, I'd put on Headphones and drift away...focusing on the bass. Became a Lemmy fan way back then.
You should do a Hawkwind song, very mind blowing stuff. Lemmy was a roadie for Jimmy hendrix and saw the Beatles play a pub .A Real ambassador of rock n roll.
I went to LA for the first time last year and drinking some Jack and Cokes at the Rainbow was a surreal experience. I saw a photo on the wall of Lemmy and Slash sitting in the same booth we were in that night, so awesome.
The same can be seen with drummers who come from other instruments, for example with the drummer from Jinjer who is actually a pianist, whose drums are kept rather flat because he plays more from the wrists, which is what pianists mainly do, they don't make big arm movements
2:03 it wasn't stage fright, the Lemmy Lean made it easier on his throat to rasp like that at the top of his range. Try singing his parts without tilting your head up the same way, it's near impossible!
Lemmy angled the mic like that due to an incident in 1974 when he was playing a gig in Czechoslovakia with Hawkwind. The gig coincided with the annual lamb hurling festival, where newborn sheep were thrown into the air by catapult, and anybody who caught one would traditionally marry their sweetheart the next day. Due to a freak wind, a lamb was blown into the park where the band were playing, hitting Lemmy full in the face. The locals insisted that as he had caught it, he should pick one of the villagers to marry. He refused, and the band were chased out of town. He never got over the shock of it, and would tilt his microphone skyward as a precaution for the rest of his career.
One of my favorite Motörhead songs. I was trying to learn the solo by ear and to play it on a beat up western guitar... I would recommend you check Joey DeMaio from Manowar. Not his crappy bass solos though, try "Guyanna" or "Bridge of death". His bass is also quite unique, with a unique sound as well.
Like you said, Lemmy was a guitarist who went on to play bass. He treated his bass like it was a rhythm guitar (power chords, high overdrive, using a pick, everything.) But overall he treated his bass like a noise machine. Motörhead was, like they said themselves, "everything louder than everything else." Lemmy is the one who popularised using picks on bass (Jason Newsted said he was inspired by Lemmy.) But more than anything, Lemmy didn't care. He wanted to play his music, he wanted to rock, he didn't care for the conventions. That's what I respect most about him, he absolutely didn't care for skin colour, for sexual orientation, for anything. If you were an asshole, he would have hated you, no other reason. Lemmy was compared to god in "airheads," but he probably hated it. He was just a man, a true rock legend. Lemmy is always one of my favourite bass players, if not humans, ever.
On the mic angle thing... growing up in the punk scene alot of guys had weird ways they liked the mic set up, to avoid getting smashed in the teeth so bad when somebody bumped into the mic stand.
I'm embarrassed to say that I just started to appreciate Motörhead about two months ago when I heard their covers of "God Save the Queen" and "Heroes"... I always thought they were thrash metal without ever giving them a listen... man was I stupid... Motörhead jams, and I am glad I found that out...
Most of Lemmy's playing is on the open strings. He's basically playing, Rhythm Bass. MotorDamned is the Motorhead/Damned single. HeadGirl is the single with Girlschool.
Love Motörhead. Have you ever listen to Freeze the Fall? Young Band from Canada. 1t year old Bass Player. Listen to VHS, daughters of witches or Glitch. Some cool Bass lines in there. I'm sure you will like it. Greetz from Germany 🤟
i heard when he was Hendrix's guitar roady. he asked what he thought of his guitar paying? Jimi told him thought it would be better for him to find another instrument.
I remember Lemmy saying in an interview that he angled the mic like that so when crowds would throw glass bottles at the band, he'd avoid cutting his face. Not entirely sure how true that is
I always figured Lemmy tilted his head up so it was easier to belt out those distorted vocals, it's always helped me when I sing in that style Could well be stage fright though
I heard it was stage fright, or a neck injury, or a number of other things. Could well be just his vocals, but the man created a legend, just by angling his mic differently
A boogie woogie bass player in the world's raunchiest rock band blended hard core punk with heavy metal and created thrash metal. This is why people call him "God".
Interesting! I should clarify that I heard it wasn’t stage fright all the time, just when he first started out and then kept it that way out of habit over the years. Either way, always heard it was kind of a signature thing.
@@LowEndUniversityI remember on Eddie Trunk’s That Metal Show they did an episode with him roughly 14 years ago. Fans asked him questions and the studio positioned the mic the exact same way, directly above everyone’s body and slanted towards their face. A girl asked him why and he was like “don’t you feel the voice just rise all the way out of your body much easier?” something like that. The fan smiled and was like “Thank you Mr. Kilmister”
Lemmy never played Bass as a bass, he droped the bass on the amp and the low mids, and maxed the Treble and gian, and played the bass the same way that you usualy play a Guitarr with rock chords
I would back down a bit. Lemmy wasn't a great singer and he sucked at bass. You could though read his lyrics and be kinda impressed. What he did do very well though was creating a persona that people liked. I would argue though that it wasn't created . I get that from interviews with people that met him. This is what he was.. He was though a great song writer imo and sufficient enough on his bass. Imagine this. Lemmy being 900% better on bass. Does that make a song better? Of course not. Lemmy was Lemmy and he was a damn near perfect Lemmy.
![สาวเมืองเพชร - ธีเดช ทองอภิชาติ [Official MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/kEt7F9PvO3I/mqdefault.jpg)
In late 1981, I first heard Motorhead at a school disco, and it blew my mind. I was sold. Metalhead ever since.
Motorhead is truly a rock and roll band. A lot of people don't realize just how good the songwriting and structure is, just because they come off like a loud, lowbrow band.
Lemmy was rock roll at its finest. He lived it every single day until the end. No excuses and no apologies
as well as making sure to stay level headed and ALWAYS make some time so say whatsup to a fan
Back in the day, when dumb divisions ruled the scenes, punks hated metalheads and viceversa, fights ensued everywhere, all the time, but the one and only thing we would agree on was: Motörhead is fucking great.
Iron Maiden, Killing Joke are other good examples of line blurring bands. Denim and Leather.
Motorhead completely unintentionally bridged the gap between punk and metal. Along with bands like Black Flag, The Misfits, and Suicidal Tendencies who are three other bands that both scenes seemed to like and be inspired by. Some people even say Black Sabbath belongs in that conversation. But bands like that are hugely historically relevant and should be revered for it.
I don't know if it was unintentional. Lemmy was a big fan of the Ramones and even played with the Damned for a brief moment. He even said that Motorhead felt more kinship with punk rock than with metal, and that they viewed themselves as a rock n roll band on speed. But yeah, one of the few groups that both metal and punk fans can agree on.
Killing Joke, let's remember them!
Rock and Roll is Lemmy and Lemmy is Rock and Roll.
So happy to see you give this song a listen. Their live album, No Sleep till Hammersmith, was my first introduction to them after Ace of Spades and this song in particular was defining for me in picking up the instrument in the first place.
Further to the live version, you caught the drummer changing up the ending a bit. The video was taken from the live album but we're hearing the studio versions audio here. In my opinion, the live version is just that 10% better, and the solo is slightly different, and better. I am biased though as it is the version that made me a Motorhead and fan of the bass guitar.
Lemmy guests on the B side of the Damned's 1979 single, I Just Can't Be Happy Today, doing a version of Ball Room Blitz with another ballsy bass solo. Apparently none of them remember recording it as they were all down the pub till closing time then poured into the studio very refreshed.
Thank you for this lead! Will be looking for this!
We are Motorhead and we play rock and roll, I think Lemmy had a "Rickenbastard" bass. RIP Lemmy, Philty Animal and Fast Eddie, gone to the great gig in the sky but never forgotten while we play their music loud🤘🤘🤘
No sleep till Hammersmith. One of my favorite live albums. Would not be a Motörhead fan without it. We are the road crew is a killer song!!
You made a similar observation, I believe, with a bassist that was a trained classical guitarist. Held his bass the same way, angled his plucking hand the same way too. I want to say it was one of the Canadian bands.
Love this video. First time hearing this song.
I was a Hawkwind fanatic in middle school (1973-75) still a fan today. After Lemmy got booted from Hawkwind i was excited to see he now fronted a band called Motorhead (also a song Lemmy wrote while in Hawkwind) and there was that aggressive bass i loved from Hawkwind, and the music was far heavier!
Glad to see you examining Lemmy's bass style and music!
Lemmy started on guitar, back when he was Hendrixs' roadie and made the switch to bass when he joined Hawkwind...another great band you should check out 👍
That "fuzz" is the overdriven Marshall heads he's using!
Man... I saw Motorhead throughout their first phase here in Germany! 4 times over Overkill to Ace of Spades! Great and cheap times. I love your show, hope you still feel the Turkey and wish ya a nice weekend! ;)
Lost in the Ozone has the best Lemmy solo, give that a listen!
Just gonna throw another suggestion of Lemmy’s work in Hawkwind. Some amazing stuff there. Particularly Born To Go, Down Through the Night and Orgone Accumulator from the live album Space Ritual, Assault and Battery from Warrior on the Edge of Time and Better Believe It from Hall of the Mountain Grill.
Oh, and with regards to him angling his mic, it was because of the sound he got from the throat. That and he once joked that it was from the days when they would play to 5 people and a dog so that he wouldn’t have to see that he was playing to 5 people and a dog! Amazing sense of humour… A legend truly missed.
His bass in the song Lord of Light on Space Ritual kills! He did say in an interview that was his favorite recording with Hawkwind.
@ His bass work on that whole album is amazing. As influential as Lenmy was on punk, metal, thrash and hard rock, I don’t think he gets enough credit for his melodic stuff with Hawkwind.
@@gogogoch , Hawkwind led me to Motorhead, of course. First Hawkwind album I bought was Space Ritual right after it was released ... yes, I'm old. But, as a 7th grader, I'd put on Headphones and drift away...focusing on the bass. Became a Lemmy fan way back then.
Lemmy is smiling in his grave….all while giving the middle finger the same time for not listening more of his songs
Another Perfect Day my favorite Motorhead album ❤️. Robbo's guitar work on that album is so good !
You should do a Hawkwind song, very mind blowing stuff. Lemmy was a roadie for Jimmy hendrix and saw the Beatles play a pub .A Real ambassador of rock n roll.
I went to LA for the first time last year and drinking some Jack and Cokes at the Rainbow was a surreal experience. I saw a photo on the wall of Lemmy and Slash sitting in the same booth we were in that night, so awesome.
Love this song and the bass solo for over 30 years now❤
First time I saw Motörhead I was 13, maybe 14. It was the clip for Iron Fist on MTV. Instantly hooked up, coolest band in the world.
I love the way Lemmy would fret with his thumb to form a chord. Play the chord and let go of the thumb or use it to mute.
Hell yeah, Lemmy is a legend. RIP.
Love the channel. It's time for you to do a episode on clutch. Specifically subtle hustle from blast tyrant
Check out “The Headcats” album. Lemmy on bass, Slim Jim Phantom on drums, and Danny B Harvey on guitar. Damn cool album.
Is that the oldies cover album? Where he sings a bunch of Elvis and Buddy Holly tunes
@@drstrangefox28Yes...
Great song!
And these three have left the world....
And he loved the open A string he would always come back to it
A bassist who had a similar technique was Peter Steel from Type o Negative
Type 0 Negative is top notch
Lenny was in Hawkwind too! Great stuff
My favorite song with Motörhead!
The same can be seen with drummers who come from other instruments, for example with the drummer from Jinjer who is actually a pianist, whose drums are kept rather flat because he plays more from the wrists, which is what pianists mainly do, they don't make big arm movements
Lemmy's best bass solo is when he briefly played with the Damned and they covered ball room blitz by sweet.
Sleep "Dragonaut". Definitely get on that. You'll love it.
That bass sound is a Marshall overdriven...and Mid on 0.....what a sound
I just started using the Fat Mike picks too. Im liking the thinner picks these days
Really enjoyed this. Please do Lounge Act by Nirvana please
cool review, haha you managed a pinch harmonic on base on that 11h01 example, that was cool as hell
2:03 it wasn't stage fright, the Lemmy Lean made it easier on his throat to rasp like that at the top of his range.
Try singing his parts without tilting your head up the same way, it's near impossible!
I got my intro to Motörhead from the WWE attitude era with Triple H. The Game was a GOATed entrance
Lemmy angled the mic like that due to an incident in 1974 when he was playing a gig in Czechoslovakia with Hawkwind. The gig coincided with the annual lamb hurling festival, where newborn sheep were thrown into the air by catapult, and anybody who caught one would traditionally marry their sweetheart the next day. Due to a freak wind, a lamb was blown into the park where the band were playing, hitting Lemmy full in the face. The locals insisted that as he had caught it, he should pick one of the villagers to marry. He refused, and the band were chased out of town. He never got over the shock of it, and would tilt his microphone skyward as a precaution for the rest of his career.
One of my favorite Motörhead songs. I was trying to learn the solo by ear and to play it on a beat up western guitar...
I would recommend you check Joey DeMaio from Manowar. Not his crappy bass solos though, try "Guyanna" or "Bridge of death". His bass is also quite unique, with a unique sound as well.
Like you said, Lemmy was a guitarist who went on to play bass. He treated his bass like it was a rhythm guitar (power chords, high overdrive, using a pick, everything.) But overall he treated his bass like a noise machine. Motörhead was, like they said themselves, "everything louder than everything else." Lemmy is the one who popularised using picks on bass (Jason Newsted said he was inspired by Lemmy.)
But more than anything, Lemmy didn't care. He wanted to play his music, he wanted to rock, he didn't care for the conventions. That's what I respect most about him, he absolutely didn't care for skin colour, for sexual orientation, for anything. If you were an asshole, he would have hated you, no other reason. Lemmy was compared to god in "airheads," but he probably hated it. He was just a man, a true rock legend. Lemmy is always one of my favourite bass players, if not humans, ever.
Motorhead isn't heavy metal, it's blues played at a hundred miles an hour, and this song is the perfect example of that.
Pretty much. Venom and Celtic Frost are Motörhead at 200mph and Zeke is Motörhead at 1000mph lol
Lemmy’s mic stand is set up like that because it helped him carry his voice. That’s according to him….
Great stuff. His work with Hawkwind is worth a listen too - 'Rider' off Hall of the Mountain Grill has a lovely bass line :)
I think he played a lot of chords (well power chords and thirds) with all that distortion on top. Nice.
On the mic angle thing... growing up in the punk scene alot of guys had weird ways they liked the mic set up, to avoid getting smashed in the teeth so bad when somebody bumped into the mic stand.
I'm embarrassed to say that I just started to appreciate Motörhead about two months ago when I heard their covers of "God Save the Queen" and "Heroes"... I always thought they were thrash metal without ever giving them a listen... man was I stupid... Motörhead jams, and I am glad I found that out...
It’s never too late to love Motörhead.
@@jenscee7679 hell yeah!!!!!!
Most of Lemmy's playing is on the open strings. He's basically playing, Rhythm Bass.
MotorDamned is the Motorhead/Damned single. HeadGirl is the single with Girlschool.
the one and only Mr Kilmister... I just bow down 🙇♂♠
Just remember Lemmy considered himself a bass guitarist , the guitarist part is integral to his style .
Lemmy's style is from his Hawkwind days..try Assult and battery..plus all the rest of course
@@marxman00 , the whole Space Ritual double album kicks ass. Lemmy's bass is powerful.
10:37 - "I wouldn't go to the bathroom on this bass solo." Glad to hear you're not shitting on Lemmy's playing! 😄
Like for lemmy and his rhythm bass solo, thnx for your video 🤘🤠👍
Man you gotta cover some more Motorhead! Limb From Limb is killer tune, as is Orgasmatron. One track mind is another great tune as well
Lemmiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeee! 😃
Love Motörhead. Have you ever listen to Freeze the Fall? Young Band from Canada. 1t year old Bass Player. Listen to VHS, daughters of witches or Glitch. Some cool Bass lines in there. I'm sure you will like it.
Greetz from Germany 🤟
Lemmy didn't play bass, he played his attitude. Absolute dead set legend RIP
Exact same for me with Metallica, with Misfits.
But damn, epic video. Dunno why I didn’t see this coming.
I heard that Lemmy played through Marshall stacks to get his bass sound.
You heard right! He also had 4x15 and 4x12 Marshall cabinets with those heads!
Lemmy's Rig was named "Murder One" and Metallica wrote a song about it.
Waiting for the Hot Water Music follow up, please. Would suggest "Trademark" or "Collect Your Things and Run"
Under a Clear Blue Sky by Seventh Wonder has some cool lead bass playing by Andreas Blomqvist.
i heard when he was Hendrix's guitar roady. he asked what he thought of his guitar paying? Jimi told him thought it would be better for him to find another instrument.
I remember Lemmy saying in an interview that he angled the mic like that so when crowds would throw glass bottles at the band, he'd avoid cutting his face. Not entirely sure how true that is
Ive met.the great lemmy. He's the koolst bloke ever!!
I always figured Lemmy tilted his head up so it was easier to belt out those distorted vocals, it's always helped me when I sing in that style
Could well be stage fright though
I heard it was stage fright, or a neck injury, or a number of other things. Could well be just his vocals, but the man created a legend, just by angling his mic differently
I think he played drone chords a lot❤
"To pick up a pick" a pink Fat Mike one!
what down tuner do you use? do you get bad tracking on the low notes?
Line 6 Helix! Really only if I play octaves, but don’t notice anything on single notes. I use it live quite often!
He said he had the Mike at that angle so he could hit the high notes 😅
Hi, check out The Fall of Reason by Watchtower.
Ive asked you to do THE CHASE IS BETTER THAN THE CATCH or DAMAGE CASE for almost a year by Motorhead! 🙏
No stage fright, it so he opens his throat when he sings
The mike is angled like to streatch Lemmys neck which he claimed made him sound better.
Hell yes
In a fight between Lemmy and God, who would win?...TRICK QUESTION! LEMMY IS GOD!
Who would win in a fight...Lemmy or God?
Trick question...Lemmy is God!
Lemmy has said before he did not think of himself as a great bassist, his style was more guitar played on bass
th-cam.com/video/FT4nWq3sI7s/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=G%C3%AATorres
A boogie woogie bass player in the world's raunchiest rock band blended hard core punk with heavy metal and created thrash metal. This is why people call him "God".
It's interesting to think that someone who had an image of being such a hard ass might have stage freight.
Meanderthal: Cut The Slack
Lemmy's name is pronounced like its written, you make the same mistake a lot of people do. Kil-MISTER, like "Mr.". IDK where "meister" came from!
I had heard he had his Mic like that because he sang from the throat, I don't know about the stage fright thing but that doesn't sound like Lemmy
Interesting! I should clarify that I heard it wasn’t stage fright all the time, just when he first started out and then kept it that way out of habit over the years. Either way, always heard it was kind of a signature thing.
@@LowEndUniversityI remember on Eddie Trunk’s That Metal Show they did an episode with him roughly 14 years ago. Fans asked him questions and the studio positioned the mic the exact same way, directly above everyone’s body and slanted towards their face. A girl asked him why and he was like “don’t you feel the voice just rise all the way out of your body much easier?” something like that. The fan smiled and was like “Thank you Mr. Kilmister”
@@LowEndUniversity oh first starting out would make a lot more sense to me. Great work on this one keep rocking!! 🤘
The observation about picking and guitar players is a pretty big over simplification. Many use a much more precise style where the hand barely moves.
Try radiohead Collin greenwood is amazing
Lemmy never played Bass as a bass, he droped the bass on the amp and the low mids, and maxed the Treble and gian, and played the bass the same way that you usualy play a Guitarr with rock chords
Fatty has lemmy’s bass in the punk museum
Damn!!
Is that a Fat Mike Dunlop pick?
Day 6 of asking for A Million Bucks by ALL
What he said
Motorhead returned the favour to Metallica by covering Whiplash!
I would back down a bit.
Lemmy wasn't a great singer and he sucked at bass. You could though read his lyrics and be kinda impressed. What he did do very well though was creating a persona that people liked. I would argue though that it wasn't created . I get that from interviews with people that met him. This is what he was..
He was though a great song writer imo and sufficient enough on his bass. Imagine this. Lemmy being 900% better on bass. Does that make a song better? Of course not. Lemmy was Lemmy and he was a damn near perfect Lemmy.
Respect the band, but that percussive drone with a bunch of muff is just not my cup of tea.
BBC
When did you crawl out from under your rock.
Still haven’t.
First
When saw for the first time live on stage the Motorhead in a small basketball stage,after 2-3 days can't hear clean🤘
Lemmy plays rhythm thru a guitar amp with a lot of distortion....on bass!