lemmy: the lost interview
When Motörhead released their first live album, No Sleep ’Til Hammersmith, in June 1981, few people expected it to debut at the top of the UK chart. But that’s exactly what happened.
The band – Lemmy, ‘Fast’ Eddie Clarke and Phil ‘Philthy Animal’ Taylor – had been steadily building up a commercial head of steam. However, No Sleep ’Til Hammersmith put them on another level. The album was recorded in March/April of that year when they played five dates in the UK. The shows at the Queens Hall in Leeds (March 28) and the City Hall in Newcastle (the following night) were captured for the live album, although it was mostly the latter recording that ended up being used.
When the album bulleted its way to the peak of the chart, the band were on tour in America, opening for Blizzard Of Ozz, Ozzy Osbourne’s new band. They returned in June, ready to headline the Heavy Metal Holocaust at Port Vale FC on August 1, ironically with Ozzy and his band just below them on the bill.
A couple of days before this festival, I interviewed Lemmy at the offices of Bronze Records (Motörhead’s label), in Chalk Farm, and the man himself was in a relaxed and cheerful mood as we sat in a well-upholstered office for the chat. Lemmy was now much in demand with the media, so I only had 30 minutes allotted, but he did have some interesting things to say.
