|
Kris Needs, writing in
Zig Zag, April 1978 (reproduced with permission of Kris Needs)
"A
well full house proving that Motorhead can pull 'em in anytime without a
recent record release (over six months since the last album) or media
favours. At least half the hall seem to be wearing the silver-and-black
war-pig Motorhead t-shirt and a good few have come from way out of town
like they do for most Motorhead gigs. Faithful Motorheads Melanie and
Karen are well-pleased cos tonight the group are playing their gig, which
means they don't have to make a long thumb-crawl to somewhere like Hull.
In the bar about a dozen of the fans cluster attentively 'round Lemmy,
bass, vocals and Motorfigurehead, who signs the photos thrust in front of
him and answers the barrage of "Hey Lemmy, when ya gonna play High
Wycombe?"s. (Last time they played here Lemmy was out on the steps
chatting to the punters and making the queuing easy). Lemmy is a Great
Bloke and, I hate to use such well-worn phrase, a real (ahem) Man of the
People. He'll talk to anyone anytime about anything – no secret group
vices indulged behind closed doors and maybe two chosen fans allowed in
for a look-the-other-way autograph here. Any indulgences Lemmy will most
likely keep in the open and share anyway.
They pumped out Motorhead cold turkey antidotes like 'Vibrator', 'The
Watcher', 'White Line Fever', 'Lost Johnny' and 'Keep Us On the Road',
from the first album, and also unleashed some new gut-stakers like 'Damage
Case' and 'Tore Me Up' (I think), which is gonna be the next single
probably (maybe with Island, the Chiswick deal was for just one LP and one
single). In fact as I write the Motorheads should be in the studio
branding tape with the new anthems.
Even when they whip out the
whirling cop car lights and rolling dry ice it's OK cos it goes with the
heaving power rampaging off the stage – and no way can Motorhead's HM be
lumped in with the strutting preeny-bopper satin-trouser mob from the USA,
or even the tiresome drama of our own highly-boring Judas Priest et al.
Lemmy's mob could turn their brains to porridge in five seconds" |
