Country of origin: United Kingdom Location: London, England Status: Split-up Formed in: 1975 Genre: Speed Metal, Heavy Metal/Hard Rock Themes: Rock 'n' Roll, Drugs, War, Life, Death, Sex, Humour, Addiction Last label: Motörhead Music Years active: 1975 (as Bastard), 1975-2015 By the time he formed Motörhead in 1975, bassist and vocalist Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister already had quite a lengthy career behind him - most of it as a guitarist. After short stints in Manchester outfits The Rainmakers (1963-1966) and Motown Sect (1966), he joined The Rockin' Vicars on guitars. Releasing four singles and achieving popularity in northern England, they earned the distinction of being the first band to play behind the Iron Curtain, in Yugoslavia - and were invited, oddly enough, as special guests to a state banquet with President Marshall Tito. Quitting The Rockin' Vicars in '67, Lemmy became a roadie for Jimi Hendrix for about six months while developing an interest in acid-rock, which he indulged in a band he joined as a guitarist the following year, Sam Gopal's Dream. Led by the tabla-playing Gopal, an album entitled Escalator was released prior to Lemmy's departure, He then played in the psych rock band Opal Butterfly throughout 1970. In 1971, Kilmister joined the psychedelic space rock band Hawkwind, playing on a number of albums and singles before being fired in 1975, the last song he'd written for the band being "Motorhead" (which was on the band's "Kings of Speed" 7" as a b-side, and later included as a bonus tracks on the 1992 and '94 reissues of 1975's Warrior on the Edge of Time album. The Hawkwind version of the song featured fiddle, violin, and synth effects. Würzel left in 1995 due to not being able to give the band enough of his time. Motörhead then maintained the same three-piece line-up for 20 years, until Lemmy's death in December 2015 brought the band to an end after four decades. Lemmy's death came less than two months after that of Phil Taylor. The famous Snaggletooth icon was created by Joe Petagno.