- Motorizer
- Better Motorhead Than Dead
- Kiss of Death
- Inferno
- Stone Deaf Forever (box)
- Live at Brixton Academy
- Hammered
- The Best of Motorhead
- We Are Motorhead
- Everything Louder Than Everyone Else
- Snake Bite Love
- Overnight Sensation
- Sacrifice
- Bastards
- March or Die
- 1916
- No Sleep at All
- Rock n' Roll
- Orgasmatron
- No Remorse
- Another Perfect Day
- Iron Fist
- No Sleep Til Hammersmith
- Ace of Spades
- Bomber
- Overkill
- Motorhead
| Released: | September 24, 1977 |
| Label: | Chiswick Records |
| Producer: | Speedy Keen |
Lemmy: bass, vocals
"Fast" Eddie Clarke: guitar, vocals
Phil Taylor: drums
- "Motorhead"
- "Vibrator"
- "Lost Johnny"
- "Iron Horse/Born to Lose"
- "White Line Fever"
- "Keep Us on the Road"
- "The Watcher"
- "Train Kept A-Rollin"
- "City Kids"
- "Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers"
- "On Parole"
- "Intro"
- "I'm Your Witch Doctor"
"Motorhead" Video
Dogged by United Artists refusal to release their first album, (craftily slipped out as a 'cash in' title On Parole when the Bomber album was released in 1979), Motorhead were about to call it a day. They'd done the groundwork over and over, played their guts out gig after gig in every seedy, spit and sawdust venue that would have them the length and breadth of Great Britain. But despite a strong and loyal audience, they knew in their heart of hearts they were going nowhere without a record contract to back them up.
The now infamous gig supporting Blue Oyster Cult at Hammersmith Odeon had sealed their fate as far as the press were concerned. This reflected throughout the music business and they became known as "The Worst Band In The World'. Record companies didn't want to know. A single for Stiff Records, Leaving Here b/w White Line Fever, had appeared on a couple of compilation albums, an expensive boxed set and a sub-bootleg release in Europe. Hardly the major push the band needed. So they decided to call it a day with a final gig at The Marquee Club in London. Fortunately, Chiswick Records boss, Ted Carroll, agreed to record the show as a final testament to prove the band had actually existed.
On the night in question, Ted didn't record it, but attended and offered the band enough studio time to record a single. Road warriors as they were, (and still are), they were rehearsed to as near perfection as Motorhead could get at the time. So they went in to Escape Studios in Kent to record the backing tracks for what was to become the Motorhead/City Kids single, the Motorhead album, and later the Beer Drinkers EP.
Ted Carroll was impressed enough by the tapes to offer then the studio time to finish the tracks off, which had been the band's plan anyway. So finally, the dogged determination had payed off; they had something for their legions of fans to go out and buy.
Even today, this album oozes with the will and desperation to beat all the odds which had, so unfavourably, been stacked against them. Ted Carroll had recognized the faith Lemmy, Phil and Eddie had in themselves and saved one of Great Britain's finest rock bands from crashing before it even took off. The music press crucifiction hadn't worked and this album proved to be the big 'fuck you!' to all of them. That wonderful taste is, thankfully, still within every one of these fine, gritty tracks. From road legends, this album gave us something of Motorhead to take home and play at an unmentionably loud volume until the grooves turned white. And they did, believe me, they did. Whilst Joe Petagno's cover art gave the band and the baying fans an identity, the album gave them back any self confidence and esteem which may have flagged after the continual kicking in the guts they had suffered thus far. The disbelievers ate shit, Motorhead were on the up, the album charted, the day and the band had been saved. Ted Carroll, Numero Uno Dude, where would they, or we, have been without you?
Motorhead
Sunrise, wrong side of another day,
Sky high and six thousand miles away,
Don't know how long I've been awake,
Wound up in an amazing state,
Can't get enough,
And you know it's righteous stuff,
Goes up like prices at Christmas,
Motorhead, you can call me Motorhead, alright
Brain dead, total amnesia,
Get some mental anasthesia,
Don't move, I'll shut the door and kill the lights,
And if I can't be wrong I could be right,
All good clean fun,
Have another stick of gum,
Man, you look better already,
Motorhead, remember me now Motorhead, alright
Fourth day, five day marathon,
We're moving like a parallelogram,
Don't move, I'll shut the door and kill the lights,
I guess I'll see you all on the ice,
I should be tired,
And all I am is wired,
Ain't felt this good for an hour,
Motorhead, remember me now, Motorhead alright
Vibrator
Larger than life, sharper than a knife,
Ever ready for the time,
Slick and smooth I'm bound to improve your mood,
And make you feel fine,
Reach for me, I'm ready and how
I'm really starting to buzz,
Your feeling comes, I'm starting to hum,
I can do it like nothing else does,
You're never alone when I'm around
You can always rely on me,
I'm a friend, my love won't bend,
And that I can guarantee,
Straight and true and all for you,
I'm so eager to please,
Stick with me and I'll keep you free,
From any nasty disease,
'Cos I'm a Vibrator,
Greased and ready to start,
Vibrator, with a powerpack for a heart
Check my heart before you start,
I don't wanna blow no fuse,
New battery, is that for me?
That's something I could really use,
Power surge I get the urge,
To do my legendary thing,
The stars in your eyes don't tell no lies,
I know your bells are starting to ring,
'Cos I'm a Vibrator,
Greased and ready to start,
Vibrator, with a powerpack for a heart
Vibrator! Vibrator!
Wasn't that good, now wasn't that nice?
Now see we get along real fine,
I knew I was the boy for you,
When you came for the second time,
Clean me up, put me away,
You know you need the rest,
I'll be here when next you need me,
I've never ever failed the test,
'Cos I'm a Vibrator,
Greased and ready to start,
Vibrator, with a powerpack for a heart
I'm a Vibrator,
Greased and ready to start,
I'm a Vibrator,
And I'll never ever break your heart
Lost Johnny
You only get a single chance
The rules are very plain,
The truth is well concealed inside
The details of the game,
You can hear it coming,
You can see it from afar,
It's pale and it glimmers
Like a faded movie star
And out there in the castle,
They're trying to make us scream,
By sticking thumb tags in a flash
And cancelling the dream,
Can you find the Valium,
Can you bring them soon,
Lost Johnny's out there,
Baying at the moon
The time has come for you to choose,
You'd better get it right,
Pulling girls with sharp white teeth
Are waiting in the night,
But you want to really get some,
It surely can't be hard,
There's always trouble lurking
When you leave your own backyard
Underneath the city,
The alligators sing,
Of how the fool he cannot dance,
When someone cuts the strings,
Can you find the morphine,
Try to be so brief,
Lost Johnny's out there,
Looking for relief
That laddie looks so evil,
And you know he really tries,
But every time he makes a play,
That battle compromise,
And shall I find their underwear,
From a store where no-one goes,
She makes it big in dugs,
On the strength of what she shows,
And here inside the waiting room,
The radio still screams,
And we're shooting children,
To murder all young things,
Can you find your credit card,
For god's sake make it quick,
Lost Johnny's out there,
Trying to turn a trick
Iron Horse/Born To Lose
He rides a road, that don't have no end,
An open highway, without any bends,
Tramp and his stallion, alone in a dream,
Proud in his colours, as the chromium gleams,
On Iron Horse he flies, on Iron Horse he gladly dies,
Iron Horse his wife, Iron Horse his life
He lives his life, he's living it fast,
Don't try to hide, when the dice have been cast,
He rides a whirlwind, that cuts to the bone,
Loaded forever, and righteously stoned,
On Iron Horse he flies, on Iron Horse he gladly dies,
Iron Horse his wife, Iron Horse his life
Yeah, slide it to me!
One day one day, they'll go for the sun,
Together they'll slide, on the eternal run,
Wasted forever, on speed bikes and booze,
Yeah tramp and the brothers, all born to lose,
On Iron Horse he flies, on Iron Horse he gladly dies,
Iron Horse his wife, Iron Horse his life
Keep Us On The Road
We began at the beginning,
Moving high and moving fast,
Machine's clean, so sweet and mean,
Should have known it wouldn't last,
But when I took her clothes off
I thought she would explode,
Dropped another handful,
Kept Us On The Road
The black things came from nowhere,
But they couldn't beat the shield,
They flew across the highway,
But we smashed them in the field,
But when I made a suggestion
I thought she would explode,
Dropped another handful,
Keep Us On The Road
It was round about the third day,
I remember it so clear,
We came across a bad vibe,
Naked, blind with fear,
And that was all we left there,
Ain't moving staring cold,
Dropped another handful,
Keep Us On The Road
The Watcher
We are looking in on you now,
What do you think you can do now,
It's very small from way out here,
The last thing you will feel is fear,
Give you a chance to do the right thing,
Give you a chance to do the bright thing,
Now our sense is all disgusted,
Where you're from you can't be trusted,
Where I come from no-one smiles,
Every inch exists in miles,
Still it's cool relaxed and calm,
Sitting here on the Funny Farm,
World in prison screams in pain,
There are no leaders you can blame,
Human greed destroys your sphere,
And there's no room for you out here,
You're on your own now.
The Train Kept A-Rollin'
I was alone, she was a woman,
I was a man, I never knew her name,
And she was pretty, New York City
I just gotta let it go,
The Train Kept A-Rollin' all night long
Get it on, cheap little woman get it on, on my way
Get it on, cheap little woman get it on, on my way
The Train Kept A-Rollin' all night long
The Train Kept A-Rollin' all night long
City Kids
Nobody knows,
I know nobody cares what goes on in here,
We have this door,
Nobody gets in until I'm really sure,
Don't creep up behind me,
You know where to find me I'm always around,
Turns out if you need us, before you lead us astray
Don't care who we meet,
We're orphans here on Easy Street and we feel real mean,
Cruising on speed,
We've got more than we'll ever need, ain't life sweet?
We won't turn your pay down,
City Kids don't lay down, we don't call so,
Better get some more of that,
City Kids we don't give that to you, oh no
Bombs go off at night,
Searing heat, blinding light, you like it fine,
Park the car and run,
Dance all night, it was for fun, we're nasty, hahahaha!
Why do we do it,
No-one can get through it we know where to run,
You hear what we're saying,
Time that you were praying 'cos,
City Kids time, won't be long,
Won't be long, no it won't be long!
Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers
If you see me walkin down the line
With my favrite honky tonk in mind,
Well, Ill be here around suppertime
With my can of dinner and a bunch of fine.
Beer drinkers and hell raisers, yeah.
Uh-huh-huh, baby, dont you wanna come with me?
The crowd gets loud when the band gets right,
Steel guitar cryin through the night.
Yeah, tryn to cover up the corner fight
But evrythings cool cause theys just tight.
Beer drinkers and hell raisers, yeah.
Huh, baby, dont you wanna come with me?
Ah, play it boy.
The joint was jumpin like a cat on hot tin.
Lord, I thought the floor was gonna give in.
Soundin a lot like a house congressional
cause were experimental and professional.
Beer drinkers, hell raisers, yeah.
Well, baby, dont you wanna come with me?
On Parole
They locked me up, put me away,
Said "You're gonna get out in forever and a day"
I didn't know what was going on,
All I was doing was looking for fun,
Forgot the reason, that's what I'm told,
But you've gotta get it in before you get old,
They thought they had me, had me for keeps,
But they don't know this boy never sleeps,
I'm back on the streets again,
I'm back on my feet again,
I'm On Parole, On Parole
I like laugh, I like a joke,
It's not my fault if my sense of humour broke,
I tried to tell them I was sick,
They said they think it was some kind of a trick,
Alright, I would have done good,
If they had listened to me like they should,
I wouldn't have this loaded gun,
Looking for a citizen to kill just for fun,
It's good to be free again,
It's good to be me again,
I'm On Parole, On Parole
Stop me now before I kill myself,
Stop me before I kill somebody else!
You'd better watch out, you never know,
Who's going to be the next to go,
Night my friend, but it ain't yours,
Fixes the odds, evens the scores,
Just turn around, I won't go wrong,
When he hits the ground I'll be long gone,
They won't suspect me, no not a soul,
'Cos I'm a good boy I'm On Parole,
I'm raising my sights again,
I'm claiming my rights again,
I'm On Parole, On Parole
Stop me now before I kill myself,
Stop me now, or get somebody else
I'm Your Witch Doctor
I'm your witchdoctor, got the evil eye,
Got the power of the devil, I'm the conjuror guy.
Gonna teach you love at the midnight hour,
Gonna feel you burning like a passion flower.
Hey hey, hey hey hey, hey. Hey hey, hey hey hey, hey.
Your witchdoctor, your witchdoctor, got my eyes on you.
I was born in the country and I lived in the trees.
I got my voodoo from the birds and the bees.
Gonna teach you love at the midnight hour,
Gonna feel you burning, little passion flower.
Hey hey, hey hey hey, hey. Hey hey, hey hey hey, hey.
Your witchdoctor, your witchdoctor, got my eyes on you.
I'm your witchdoctor, got the evil eye,
Got the power of the devil, I'm the conjuror guy.
Gonna teach you love at the midnight hour,
Gonna feel you burning like a passion flower.
Hey hey, hey hey hey, hey. Hey hey, hey hey hey, hey.
Your witchdoctor, your witchdoctor, got my eyes on you.
I got my mean old spell on you
I got my mean old spell on you
Your witchdoctor, your witchdoctor, got my eyes on you.
