Motörhead - No Sleep 'til Hammersmith (1981)

Released in 1981, the live album No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith recaps the highlights from the legendary run of albums Motörhead released during the prior few years, namely Overkill, Bomber, and Ace of Spades. The band's lesser self-titled debut album is also accounted for here with two inclusions ("Motörhead" and "Iron Horse"), but by and large, the focus is on the standout songs from the aforementioned trio of classics. This alone makes No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith noteworthy, for it plays like a greatest-hits set, opening perfectly with "Ace of Spades". The trio absolutely rips loose through this 11-song set, upping the intensity and speed of the already intense and speedy studio recordings. Yes, believe it or not, these performances are even more crazed than their studio-recorded counterparts. Of course, the fidelity isn't as clear and the instruments aren't nearly as in relief, since this is a live recording (and while it's of high quality for live recordings of its day, it's relatively lo-fi by today's standards). Moreover, it's an important release because it captures Motörhead live during the peak of the classic lineup's rise to fame. Motörhead could do no wrong at this point in time, as they were laying the foundation for the coming thrash movement, in a way, and their winning streak continues here on No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith, one of the best live metal albums of all time. (~ Jason Birchmeier, AMG)

Tracklist:

01. Ace Of Spades
02. Stay Clean
03. Metropolis
04. The Hammer
05. Iron Horse/Born To Lose (Taylor, Mick Brown, Guy Lawrence)
06. No Class
07. Overkill
08. (We Are) The Road Crew
09. Capricorn
10. Bomber
11. Motorhead (Lemmy)
12. Over The Top (bonus track)
13. Capricorn (Alternate Version | bonus track)
14. Train Kept-A-Rollin' (Tiny Bradshaw, Howard Kay, Lois Mann | bonus track)

All songs by Lemmy, Eddie Clarke, Phil Taylor except where indicated

Produced by Vic Maile
The recordings were almost exclusively from three shows:
Leeds, March 28, 1981 and Newcastle March 29 and March 30, 1981;
"Iron Horse / Born To Lose" having been recorded live in 1980.

• Lemmy Kilmister - vocals, bass guitar
• "Fast" Eddie Clarke - guitar, backing vocals
• Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor - drums

Original Release Date: June 27, 1981 (Bronze Records)
Release Date: 1996. Original Bronze Recordings.
Label: Castle Communications plc.