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Nov 8, 20227 min read

Motörhead - Ace of Spades (1980)

FROM THE CRYPTS - CELEBRATING PAST ALBUM RELEASES in the HISTORY of HARD ROCK & HEAVY METAL…



On November 8, 1980 Motörhead released their fourth full-length studio album Ace of Spades via Bronze Records.


It is the band's most commercially successful album, peaking at No. 4 on the UK Albums Chart and reaching gold status in the UK by March 1981. It was preceded by the release of the title track as a single on October 27, which peaked in the UK Singles Chart at No. 15 in early November.


It was the band's debut release in the United States, with Mercury Records handling distribution in North America. In 2020, the album was ranked at 408 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list.



Background:

By 1979, Motörhead had released two successful albums, Overkill and Bomber, and had gained a loyal fan following by constant touring and television appearances. Their ferocious, loud proto-Thrash playing style appealed equally to Punks and Heavy Metal fans, but in 1979 Sounds writer Geoff Barton coined the term "New Wave of British Heavy Metal" (NWOBHM) to classify a slew of newer bands such as Iron Maiden, Def Leppard, and Saxon. Motörhead – a band that resented being labeled anything other than Rock 'N' Roll – was placed in this new genre, which would go on to influence the emerging Thrash Metal movement that would include bands like Metallica and Megadeth. In the 2011 book Overkill: The Untold Story of Motörhead, Joel McIver quotes vocalist and bassist Lemmy;

"I like Iron Maiden and Saxon out of the new mob, and that's about it, really... We were too late for the first Metal movement and early for the next one... Motörhead don't fit into any category, really. We're not straight Heavy Metal, because we're a Rock 'N' Roll band, which no-one knows how to market anymore."

Regardless, the association with NWOBHM would be another positive element in the increasing momentum that would lead to the band's most successful commercial period at the beginning of the new decade. In fact, United Artists decided to finally release the band's "lost" first album at this time under the title On Parole, which had originally been recorded in 1976 but shelved because it was deemed commercially unviable. Next, the Big Beat label, which had taken over Chiswick's catalog, released Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers, packaging four extra tracks that the band had laid down for their debut album. Further evidence of Motörhead's nascent mainstream success was the release of the EP The Golden Years in May 1980 on Bronze Records, which became their highest charting release to date, peaking at No. 8.



Motörhead recorded Ace of Spades with Vic Maile at Jackson's Studios in Rickmansworth in August and September 1980. Maile, who had worked with the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, and The Who, had crossed paths with Lemmy when he was a member of Hawkwind. The bassist recalls in his 2002 memoir White Line Fever;

"He used to own a mobile studio – Hawkwind hired it out to do Space Ritual and he came with it... Vic was a great man and a great producer, really brilliant... Those were good times; we were winning, we were younger, and we believed it."

As Steffan Chirazi observes in the liner notes to the 1996 reissue of Ace of Spades;

"Vic Maille at the production helm used an expert ear to translate the monstrous live sound and feel of the band to vinyl."

Maille, who was affectionately nicknamed Turtle by the band (for his resemblance to the reptile), was critical in giving Motörhead a sleeker sound on record without sacrificing its raw power. Diminutive and soft-spoken, Maille was well equipped to deal with the trio, who were notorious for in-fighting and general unmanageability. In the documentary The Guts and the Glory, drummer Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor remembers;

"Even if he was angry, he was angry like this: (assumes soft-spoken tone) 'You're not supposed to do it like that,' or 'Stop that boys."

Lemmy Concurs;

"Vic was great. He was the first one who told us we were all cunts and work harder. He had a very dry personae; “Is that really the best shot you've got?"

In 2015, Clarke recalled to John Robinson of Uncut; 

"He didn't drink, he didn't smoke, and he was very delicate because he was diabetic. He had to have his Ryvita at six o'clock. We couldn't get heavy with him, couldn't fucking shake him, you know what I mean? He might die! So we had to listen to him."

Whereas the band had previously had an input at the mixing stage, Maile took sole responsibility here, Clarke explaining that the result was "you can finally hear everything that's going on." Of the performances, Lemmy stated "Vic got me singing instead of just shouting all the time", while Taylor added "and he got me playing more solid."


The album includes some of the band's most popular songs, including The Chase Is Better Than the Catch, (We Are) the Road Crew, and the hit single Ace of Spades, which rose to No. 15 on the UK Singles Chart. In his autobiography, White Line Fever, Lemmy speaks at length about the tune;

"I used gambling metaphors, mostly cards and dice – when it comes to that sort of thing, I'm more into the slot machines actually, but you can't really sing about spinning fruit, and the wheels coming down. Most of the song's just poker, really - 'I know you've got to see me, read 'em and weep, Dead man's hand again, aces and eights' - that was Wild Bill Hickock's hand when he got shot. To be honest, although Ace of Spades is a good song, I'm sick to death of it now. Two decades on, when people think of Motörhead, they think Ace of Spades. We didn't become fossilised after that record, you know. We've had quite a few good releases since then. But the fans want to hear it so we still play it every night. For myself, I've had enough of that song."

In 2011, Lemmy admitted to James McNair of Mojo;

"I'm glad we got famous for that rather than for some turkey, but I sang 'The eight of spades' for two years and nobody noticed."

The song (We Are) the Road Crew was written as a tribute to the band's roadies. In the 2004 Classic Albums documentary on the making of the album, guitarist "Fast" Eddie Clarke declares;

"They were a good crew, and they were proud of how good they were. I would put them up against any crew in the world."

In the same film, Lemmy, who worked as a roadie for Jimi Hendrix and the Nice, recalls that he wrote the song "in ten minutes" and that when roadie Ian "Eagle" Dobbie heard the song "he had a tear in his eye". Many of the songs, such as Love Me Like a Reptile, The Chase Is Better Than the Catch, and Jailbait. blatantly reference sex, which drew the ire of some critics and feminists. Clarke explained to Classic Albums in 2005;

"We only thought of ourselves as a good time rock 'n' roll band, really... But we weren't trying to get a message across, apart from have a good time, you know: get pissed, get stoned, and fuck a chick. And that'll do."

Album Art:

Like the song Shoot You in the Back, the Ace of Spades artwork employs a classic wild west motif. Originally the idea for the album cover was to have it in a sepia tone and have gunfighters at a card table, but the band decided against it. They decided instead to have themselves in the desert dressed as cowboys. The 'Arizona desert-style' pictures used on the album sleeve and tour programme were taken during a photo session at a sandpit in Barnet. Each of their cowboy outfits were based on different type of Western protagonist. Eddie was based on Clint Eastwood's character, The Man with No Name from the Dollars Trilogy. Phil's costume was based on Marlon Brando's character in One-Eyed Jacks. Lemmy's costume was claimed by Phil to be inspired from Bret Maverick from the TV show Maverick. Contrary to popular belief, the sky was not real and was airbrushed in due to it being very cloudy that day.



Release & Promotion:

Motörhead appeared on Top of the Pops twice in October to promote the single Ace of Spades, and were guests on the ITV children's morning show Tiswas on November 8. The band undertook a UK tour from October 22 through to December 2 under the banner Ace Up Your Sleeve, with support from Girlschool and Vardis. After the Belfast show on December 2, hijinks resulted in Taylor breaking his neck forcing him to wear a neck-brace and curtailing any further band activity. The other members of the band took the opportunity to collaborate with Girlschool for the St. Valentine's Day Massacre EP.


Critical Reception:

The album has been described as "one of the best Metal albums by any band, ever" and a significantly influential "Hard Rock classic". AllMusic calls it "rock-solid, boasting several superlative standouts" and insists it "rightly deserves its legacy as a classic".


Sid Smith of BBC Music enthused in 2007;

"When Lemmy sings the lyrics to (We Are) The Road Crew it's the sound of a grizzled veteran who has been there, done that and gone back for second helpings... If ever a piece of music was a manifesto for the mad, bad and dangerous to know party then the title track is it. Unrepentant and full of hell, there's not one note out of place."

Despite the band always referring to their music as Rock 'N' Roll, the album, and particularly its title track, have been considered amongst the most influential in the development of Thrash Metal. The title track is, for many, the definitive Motörhead anthem.


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


In 2020, it was ranked at 408 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list.


On March 28, 2005, the documentary about the album (a part of the Classic Albums series) was released on DVD by Eagle Vision. The in-depth look at the making of the album includes interviews with and performances by Lemmy, Phil Taylor and Eddie Clarke.



Note: The reviews shared here are for historical reference. The views and opinions expressed within are not always supported (in full or in part) by Into the Wells. — E.N. Wells



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