When attending a Motörhead concert, fans typically come for one reason and one reason only: Lemmy. The legendary leader was known for surrounding himself with similarly fierce musicians whenever he performed. But the night didn’t start until you heard the bass of “Overkill” thundering in. His voice sounded like he had been gargling with razorblades in his free time. The band’s majority of lineups were capable of holding their own in a live environment. However, Lemmy was not fond of the period when Brian Robertson took up the guitar.
It’s odd that Lemmy originally desired for the band to consist of four members. This is especially evident when considering the lineup changes made during the group’s existence. It turns out, though, that three is all they required half the time given how much bottom-end he adds to songs with his usage of bass chords. Otherwise, heads would have most likely burst on “Ace of Spades” if there had been one more guitar.
However, around the middle of the 1980s, Lemmy began to lose favor with “Fast” Eddie Clarke. Although it was never an easy job to be Lemmy’s second fiddle to someone like Clarke, who had packed up after Iron Fist’s tour. Lemmy decided that the best thing to do was to recruit Robertson, who was currently on loan from Thin Lizzy.
It had even worked for a short while. Though their experimenting with prog rock, of all things, is far better than it has any right to be. Another Perfect Day may not have sounded precisely like the Motörhead that we know and love. After that, when they went on tour, Lemmy started to view Robertson as a diva instead of just a fierce guitar player.
Lemmy expressed his disapproval of Robertson’s appearance and mannerisms as the group was ready to tour. He told Louder, “All that shit about being dressed differently, all the wearing of stupid shorts, it was just to get at me”. Alternately, make sure everyone is aware that he is merely a featured guest musician from Thin Lizzy. This saves us from the high heights of Motörhead.
However, Robertson’s appearance also didn’t help him win over the Motörhead fan base. Seeing someone up onstage wearing cut-off jeans and a headband gave the impression that a group of Hell’s Angels had decided to bring in MTV-era Mark Knopfler for guitar. Especially since Robertson took on Knopfler’s signature headband. This was a band that catered to the kind of biker-clad badass.
Lemmy wasn’t going to recreate Another Perfect Day, even though it had been a respectable experiment. After firing Robertson, Lemmy combined the greatest features of both worlds with an Orgasmatron. He brought in guitars from both Wurzel and Phil Campbell to give the band the live sound he had always imagined.
Even though Robertson did a respectable job of playing the parts and even broadened the band’s tonal range, being a member of Motörhead requires more than simply skill. It all comes down to whether or not you like their aesthetic. It was obvious from the moment Robertson took the stage that he never truly belonged in that discussion.
