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No Sleep 'til Hammersmith

 
Album Review: No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith
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No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith

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  • Artist: Motörhead
  • Rating: StarStarStarStarHalf Star
  • Release Date: 1981
  • Total Time: 49:09
  • Type: Live
  • Genre: Rock

Review

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." But what makes it all the more noteworthy -- and more than simply a run-of-the-mill, gap-filling live album -- is the performance: in a word, it's breakneck. The trio of Lemmy (bass and vocals), "Fast" Eddie Clarke (guitar), and "Philthy Animal" Taylor (drums) 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). Still, the breakneck nature of this performance distinguishes No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith from its studio predecessors, making it an excellent, recommended complement to those essentials. 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, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
Ace of Spades Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor, "Fast" Eddie Clarke, Lemmy Motörhead (3:01)
Stay Clean Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor, Lemmy, "Fast" Eddie Clarke Motörhead (2:50)
Metropolis Lemmy, Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor, "Fast" Eddie Clarke Motörhead (3:31)
The Hammer Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor, "Fast" Eddie Clarke, Lemmy Motörhead (3:05)
Iron Horse (Lyrics) Mick Brown, Lawrence, Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor Motörhead (3:58)
No Class Lemmy, "Fast" Eddie Clarke, Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor Motörhead (2:34)
Overkill Lemmy, Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor, "Fast" Eddie Clarke Motörhead (5:13)
(We Are) The Road Crew Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor, Lemmy Kilmister, "Fast" Eddie Clarke Motörhead (3:31)
Capricorn "Fast" Eddie Clarke, Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor, Lemmy Kilmister Motörhead (4:40)
Bomber Lemmy, Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor, "Fast" Eddie Clarke Motörhead (3:24)
Motörhead Lemmy Kilmister Motörhead (4:47)
Over the Top Motörhead
Capricorn [Alternate Version] Motörhead
Train Kept-A-Rollin Motörhead

Credits

"Fast" Eddie Clarke (Guitar), Curtis Evans (Design), Hugh Gilmour (Design), Ross Halfin (Photography), Mick Stevenson (Photography), Hugh Gilmour (Art Direction), Simon Porter (Sleeve Photo), Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor (Drums), Lemmy (Vocals), Tim Debney (Mastering), Lemmy (Bass), "Fast" Eddie Clarke (Remixing), Phil Alexander (Liner Notes), Vic Maile (Producer)
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Wikipedia: No Sleep 'til Hammersmith
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No Sleep ’til Hammersmith
Live album by Motörhead
Released 27 June 1981
Recorded 1980; 28 March to 30 March 1981
Length 49:09
Label Bronze
Producer Vic Maile
Professional reviews
Motörhead chronology
St. Valentine's Day Massacre (EP)
(1980)		 No Sleep 'til Hammersmith
(1981)		 Stand by Your Man (EP)
(1982)

No Sleep ’til Hammersmith is the first live album by the English band Motörhead. Released on 27 June 1981, it peaked at #1 on the UK album charts.[1] It was followed by the release of the single "Motorhead" (coupled with the non-album track "Over the Top") on 11 July, which peaked in the UK singles chart at #6.[2]

Contents

Recording

With the exception of "Iron Horse / Born To Lose" which was from a 1980 show, it was recorded at the Leeds and Newcastle shows during the Short, Sharp Pain In The Neck five-date tour in 1981. The name of the tour was a reference to the injury sustained by Phil Taylor when he was dropped on his head during some after-show horseplay. Despite the title of the album, the London venue the Hammersmith Odeon was not played on the tour, the shows being:

  • 27 March, 1981 – West Runton Pavilion, Norfolk, England
  • 28 March, 1981 - Queens Hall, Leeds, England
  • 29 March, 1981 - City Hall, Newcastle, England
  • 30 March, 1981 - City Hall, Newcastle, England
  • 3 April, 1981 - Maysfield Leisure Centre, Belfast, Northern Ireland[3]

Backstage at the Leeds and Newcastle shows the band were presented with silver record and gold record for sales of Ace of Spades, a silver record for Overkill and a silver record for "Please Don't Touch".[4]

Lemmy has stated that originally they intended it to be a double album but they only had enough material for three sides. At time of the album's release, the band were in the middle of their first North America tour, supporting Ozzy Osbourne.[4]

The US 1996 CD version added detail to the effect that the bonus tracks were recorded "live in the studio at about the same time as the Hammersmith shows". Presumably this means at about the same time as the shows for the live album, since the Hammersmith Odeon wasn't played on the tour. One of the Newcastle dates was most certainly used on the record for the song "(We Are) The Roadcrew," as evidenced by a roadie saying "Come on then Newcastle! Let's hear it for the road crew!"

Critical reception

It is the band's most successful in terms of chart positioning, peaking at #1 on the UK charts, having capitalised on the preceding success of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre EP and Ace of Spades album and single. Lemmy believes its success was due to a building anticipation from their fan base for a live album, due to the band having toured so heavily in the past, but also considered it "our downfall" due to the difficulty in following up its success.[5]

The album is listed in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Cultural references

The band's second live album is designated the brother of No Sleep 'til Hammersmith and is called Nö Sleep at All.[6]

The album title has been parodied on:

Track listing

All songs by Eddie Clarke, Ian Kilmister and Phil Taylor except where stated.

Side 1

  1. "Ace of Spades" – 3:01
  2. "Stay Clean" – 2:50
  3. "Metropolis" – 3:31
  4. "The Hammer" – 3:05
  5. "Iron Horse/Born to Lose" (Taylor, Mick Brown, Guy "Tramp" Lawrence) – 3:58
  6. "No Class" – 2:34

Side 2

  1. "Overkill" – 5:13
  2. "(We Are) the Road Crew" – 3:31
  3. "Capricorn" – 4:40
  4. "Bomber" – 3:24
  5. "Motorhead" (Kilmister) – 4:47

1996 Essential Records CD bonus tracks

  1. "Over the Top" [B-side] – 3:04
  2. "Capricorn" [alternate] – 4:54
  3. "Train Kept A-Rollin'" (Tiny Bradshaw, Howard Kay, Lois Mann) – 2:44

2001 Metal-Is Records "Complete Edition": Disc 1 bonus tracks

  1. "Over The Top" [B-side] – 2:57
  2. "Shoot You in the Back" [previously unreleased] – 2:43
  3. "Jailbait" [previously unreleased] – 3:34
  4. "Leaving Here" [previously unreleased] – 2:48
  5. "Fire, Fire" [previously unreleased] – 2:55
  6. "Too Late, Too Late" [previously unreleased] – 3:04
  7. "Bite the Bullet/The Chase Is Better than the Catch" [previously unreleased] – 6:38

2001 Metal-Is Records "Complete Edition": Disc 2

  1. "Ace of Spades" [alternate] – 2:47
  2. "Stay Clean" [alternate] – 2:54
  3. "Metropolis" [alternate] – 3:46
  4. "The Hammer" [alternate] – 3:01
  5. "Capricorn" [alternate] – 5:00
  6. "No Class" [alternate] – 2:44
  7. "(We Are) the Road Crew" [alternate] – 3:31
  8. "Bite the Bullet/The Chase Is Better than the Catch" [alternate] – 6:07
  9. "Overkill" [alternate] – 4:53
  10. "Bomber" [alternate] – 3:26
  11. "Motorhead" [alternate] (Kilmister) – 5:31

Credits

  • Produced by Vic Maile
  • Front sleeve photographs by Ian Kalinouski
  • Back sleeve photographs by Graham Mitchell and Simon Porter

Release history

Date Region Label Catalogue Format Notes
27 June 1981 UK Bronze BRON 535 vinyl Peaked at #1 in the album chart.
Has a photo-montage inner-sleeve
27 June 1981 UK Bronze BRONG 535 gold vinyl
1990 UK Castle CLACD 179 CD
1996 UK Essential ESMCD313 CD 3 bonus tracks, gold picture disc
1996 North America Dojo DOJO 3035-2 CD 3 bonus tracks
2001 UK Sanctuary SMEDD 043 2CD "Complete Edition": bonus unreleased tracks
(disk 1) and alternate takes (disk 2)
Preceded by
Stars on 45 by Starsound		 UK Albums Chart number one album
June 27, 1981 – July 3, 1981		 Succeeded by
Disco Daze and Disco Nites by Various Artists

References

  1. ^ Burridge, Alan Illustrated Collector's Guide to Motörhead Published: 1995, Collector's Guide Publishing p70. ISBN 0-9695736-2-6.
  2. ^ Burridge, Alan (April 1991). "Motörhead". Record Collector (140): 18–19. 
  3. ^ Official Motorhead website – 1981 tour dates
  4. ^ a b Kilmister, Ian Fraser and Garza, Janiss White Line Fever (2002) — Simon & Schuster p. 145. ISBN 0-684-85868-1.
  5. ^ Shaw, Harry (2002). Lemmy... In his own words. Omnibus Press (c) 2002. p. 38. ISBN 0-7119-9109-X. 
  6. ^ Burridge, Alan Illustrated Collector's Guide to Motörhead Published: 1995, Collector's Guide Publishing ISBN 0-9695736-2-6.

External links

v • d • e
Motörhead
Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister • Phil Campbell • Mikkey Dee
Larry Wallis • "Fast" Eddie Clarke • Brian "Robbo" Robertson • Michael "Würzel" Burston • Lucas Fox • Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor • Pete Gill • Tommy Aldridge
Studio albums
EPs
Live albums
Compilations
Singles
"Leaving Here" • "Motorhead" (1977 studio recording) • "Motorhead" (1981 live recording) • "Louie Louie" • "Overkill" • "No Class" • "Bomber" • "Ace of Spades" • "Iron Fist" • "I Got Mine" • "Shine" • "Killed by Death" • "Deaf Forever" • "Eat the Rich" • "Ace of Spades (live)" • "The One to Sing the Blues" • "Hellraiser" • "Don't Let Daddy Kiss Me" • "Born to Raise Hell" • "God Save the Queen"
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