Motorhead

Motˆrhead are a British rock band that was formed in 1975 by bassist, singer and songwriter Ian Fraser Kilmister, known mostly by his stage name Lemmy. Usually a power trio, Motˆrhead had particular success in the early 1980s with several successful singles in the UK Top 40 chart. The albums Overkill, Bomber, Ace of Spades, and particularly No Sleep 'til Hammersmith, cemented Motˆrhead's reputation as one of Britain's foremost rock bands.

Motˆrhead are typically classified as heavy metal, and their fusion of punk rock into the genre helped to pioneer speed metal and thrash metal. Lemmy dislikes such labels, preferring to describe the band's music simply as "rock n' roll" and usually opening live shows with the line "We are Motˆrhead. We play rock and roll."

Motˆrhead's approach has remained the same over the band's career, preferring to play what they enjoy and do best; their appreciation of early rock and roll is reflected in some of their occasional cover songs. Motˆrhead's lyrics typically cover such topics as war, good versus evil, abuse of power, promiscuous sex, substance abuse, and "life on the road".

The band's distinctive fanged-face logo, with its oversized boar's horns, chains, and spikes, was created by artist Joe Petagno in 1977 for the cover of the Motˆrhead album and has appeared in many variations on covers of ensuing albums. The fanged face has been referred to variously as "War-Pig" and "Snaggletooth". The band is ranked number 26 on VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock.