The 10 Motörhead songs Lemmy Kilmister listed as favorites

Formed by the bassist, singer and songwriter Lemmy Kilmister in 1975, Mötorhead was one of the few bands which were capable of having Heavy Metal and Punk fans in the late 70s. They were fast and heavy, creating a footprint that couldn’t really be replicated, especially because of Lemmy’s incredible bass playing, voice and songwriting. Although they haven’t sold many records as their peers, an estimated amount of more than 15 million copies worldwide, they became a cult-following band that influenced countless generations of artists.

The group sadly came to an end in 2015 after Lemmy passed away at the age of 70, but their music continues to be played all over the world. Over the decades talked a lot with the press and was asked by Hot Press which were some of his favorite songs of the band. He listed 10 tracks and Rock and Roll Garage recovered what he said about some of those and what’s the story behind them.

The 10 Motörhead songs Lemmy Kilmister listed as favorites

“Bomber” (1979)

Lemmy was an avid reader and like many of his songs, he had the idea for “Bomber” from a novel he was reading. He recalled that in an interview with Malcolm Dome in 1979. “I got the idea for Bomber from a novel I read, called Bomber (By Len Deighton). It’s about a bombing raid over Germany during World War II. And we got to play it on Top Of The Pops,” Lemmy Kilmister said.

During the same conversation he joked that The Top of The Pops didn’t like them very much. They had already recorded “Overkill” and “Louie Louie” for the TV show before and the audience was quite confused by seeing them and hearing the music.

Also credited to Lemmy, Phil and Eddie, “Bomber” was the title-track of their 1979 album. At the time, the song peaked at number 34 on the United Kingdom Singles chart.

“Ace Of Spades” (1980)

“Obviously. Because it’s clothed my back for the last 20 years,” Lemmy told Hot Press. As the musician said, “Ace of Spades” is by far the band’s biggest hit, which also became their signature song. It was the title-track of their groundbreaking 1980 album and the single spent 13 weeks in the UK singles chart.

In an interview with Spin back in 2009 he said that he sang “Eight of Spades” for two years and no one noticed. “(The song is) Good. That makes a change. All people seem to know is ‘Ace of Spades.’ It’s backfired at me ever since ’cause the ace of spades is a bad-luck sign — so naturally I’ve always felt an affinity with it. Damn the dark card! For two years I’ve sung “eight of spades,” and nobody noticed. Not even the rest of the band,” Lemmy Kilmister said.

At the time, besides Lemmy, the band was formed by Phil “Animal” Taylor (Drums) and “Fast” Eddie Clarke (Guitar). The lyrics of the entire “Ace of Spades” album are credited to them.

“Love Me Like A Reptile” (1980)

“Love Me Like a Reptile” is another famous track from “Ace of Spades” (1980) and it continued over the decades as part of the band’s setlist.

That album was the first one to be released in the United States. It was Mercury Records who handled the distribution in North America. But still didn’t perform that well in the USA, having more success in the UK where it sold more than 100.000 copies.

“Another Perfect Day” (1983)

“Another Perfect Day” was the title-track of the album released by Motörhead in 1983. That was the only album which had the guitarist Brian “Robbo” Robertson, who also was a member of Thin Lizzy. He replaced the band’s former guitarist “Fast” Eddie Clarke, who had left the band in 1982.

According to Lemmy, making that album was a real torture. He recalled that in an interview for the documentary “The Guts and The Glory” (2005). “Making Another Perfect Day was fucking torture. Brian would take 17 hours doing a guitar track. It fuckin’ took so long compared with the other albums. Then when it was released, everybody fucking hated it.”

“Love Me Forever” (1991)

“Love Me Forever” was written when Motörhead had four members. So the track was written by Lemmy, Würzel, Phil Campbell and Phil Taylor for the album “1916”, released in 1991.

That album peaked at number 24 on the UK charts and 11 at the Finnish albums charts. But in the USA it wasn’t good, only reaching number 142 on the US Billboard 200.

Nine years later, the German singer Doro Pesch covered the track on her album “Calling The Wild” (2000). Lemmy sang with her and played the bass.

In an interview with Reflections of Darkness in 2009, he was asked about recording that track with her. He said: “Doro is really fast when it comes to stage acting and that’s why it’s quite fitting. Also she’s a very nice person.”

“1916” (1991)

“1916” was the title-track of their album released in 1991, which became one of the most praised from their discography. In an interview with MXS to promote the album made in the same year it was released, Lemmy explained it contained many other different influences, rather than the fast and heavy sound.

(Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage) “We play Motörhead music. I mean, we like doing the fast, hard stuff. (There are) just a couple of things on this album that are a little different, that’s all. (They) are a reflection of all our varied influences over the years.”

“I mean, I was influenced by other people apart from the MC5. So they were a big influence but they weren’t the only one. I was influenced by The Beatles too, ‘Sgt. Pepper’ and ‘Revolver’, that was just as big of an influence as the MC5,” Lemmy Kilmister said.

“Sacrifice” (1995)

“Sacrifice” is the title-track of Motörhead’s 1995 album, which was the final one to have the line-up with Würzel, Campbell and Mikkey Dee. The guitar solo in that particular track was done by Phil Campbell and the album peaked at number 21 on the UK Rock & Metal Albums.

Würzel never really liked to live in the United States, where the band had relocated in the 90s and wasn’t happy with the departure of his friend, the drummer Phil Taylor. Those were two reasons which made him leave the group after “Sacrifice”.

“Over Your Shoulder” (1995)

“Over Your Shoulder” was the third track from  “Sacrifice” released in 1995. In an interview with MTV in the same year the album was released Lemmy talked about the record. (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage)

“We started writing and (we didn’t had a plan). Motörhead never had a plan, you know. So we just bungle into things, mainly, you know. We don’t know what we are doing, we are just fooling around, you know,” Lemmy Kilmister said.

“Overnight Sensation” (1996)

“Overnight Sensation” is the title track of their 1996 album, which was the first one without Würzel since he joined the band. They were again a trio with Lemmy, Campbell and Mikkey Dee.

As Mikkey Dee told Drum for The Song in 2021, it was a period when Lemmy wanted more soft songs. That almost caused the end of the band at the time, since Campbell and Dee weren’t satisfied.

“Overnight Sensation is a very good album. But at that time, that was the toughest time of the period with me in the band because Lemmy got fairly soft. Me and Phil, we were looking at each other. He wanted to have an acoustic guitar, and the melodies were almost fucking pop melodies. So we would go, ‘What the hell is this?’”

“I believe I left the band two, three times on that period. And I think (Campbell) did the same thing. Then we said, ‘Fuck it, Lemmy, you can do this fucking record yourself. We don’t give a shit anymore.’ It was a tough time,” Mikkey Dee said.

“Don’t Lie To Me” (1998)

“Don’t Lie To Me” was featured on Motörhead’s 1998 album “Snake Bit Love”. Talking with Grindline in 1998, he said that songs like “Don’t Lie To Me” were inspired by all liars in the music business. “We’ve got one called “Liar” as well. Most people in this business are fucking liars. You haven’t noticed that?” Lemmy Kilmister said.

On that album the group was once again a trio, formed by Lemmy, Phil Campbell (Guitar) and Mikkey Dee (Drums). At the time, the record peaked at position 9 on the UK Rock & Metal Albums.