The last surviving member of the British rock band’s best-known lineup died after contracting pneumonia
Motörhead guitarist “Fast” Eddie Clarke has died at the age of 67.
His death was announced on Motörhead’s Facebook page. According to the post, Clarke died peacefully in hospital after suffering from pneumonia.
The musician, born Edward Allan Clarke in Twickenham in 1950, joined Motörhead in 1976. Along with drummer Phil Taylor and frontman Lemmy, he is considered to have been part of the best-known Motörhead lineup. The trio released their self-titled debut album in 1977 and produced hits including Ace of Spades. Clarke also provided lead vocals on numerous Motörhead tracks.
Clarke left the band in 1982 and was replaced by Thin Lizzy guitarist Brian Robertson. Clarke subsequently formed the rock band Fastway with UFO bassist Pete Way. The band released seven albums and toured with AC/DC.
In later years, Clarke reunited with his Motörhead bandmates. In 2000, he made a guest appearance at their 25th anniversary concert at Brixton Academy, London. He also joined Lemmy in 2014 to play Ace of Spades during a Birmingham Arena show.
Clarke was the last surviving member of the “classic” Motörhead lineup. Phil Taylor died of liver failure in November 2015, and Lemmy succumbed to cancer the following month.
And then there were none. With the death of “Fast” Eddie Clarke, from pneumonia, at the age of 67, all three of the members of Motörhead’s greatest lineup have gone. And to be in the greatest lineup of Motörhead was to be part of one of hard rock’s most uncompromising and important bands.
Though Lemmy came to personify Motörhead, without the presence of Clarke on guitar and Phil “Philthy Animal” Taylor on drums they wouldn’t have had half the impact. We know that, because the band that existed before they joined, with Lucas Fox on drums and Larry Wallis on guitar, sounded like a bubblegum group compared to the trio that lasted from 1976 until 1982.
Motörhead guitarist 'Fast' Eddie Clarke dies Read more
It was evident from their first single that Motörhead were not a conventional metal band. Though the sleeve depicted Taylor, Lemmy and Clarke looking like a biker gang on a day trip, and the A-side began with a snarl of a riff, it soon became apparent that the song was something different entirely. In fact, it was a Motown cover, of Holland-Dozier-Holland’s Leaving Here, a song Lemmy had picked up from his time on the 60s beat scene, when it had been covered by the Birds, Ronnie Wood’s pre-fame band.
Play Video 2:04 Motörhead's 'Fast' Eddie Clarke dies aged 67 – video obituary
Lemmy always maintained that Motörhead were a rock’n’roll band, not a metal, punk or thrash band. That was probably a pointless protest, given metal’s embracing of Motörhead, but it was truest of that classic trio. Clarke wasn’t a widdly-woo guitarist: he could and did play absurdly fast, but rarely did he spew out dense clusters of single notes to prove his dexterity. Far more often his solos were compendiums of licks from the first age of rock’n’roll, distorted and bent to his own purposes, like some obscene transmogrification of James Burton, as if he had been given access to monstrous volume and told to do his worst.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Anti-widdly-woo: Lemmy, Phil Taylor and Eddie Clarke. Photograph: Ilpo Musto/Rex/Shutterstock
Nor was his lead playing confined to his solos: those rock’n’roll licks popped up all over the place – in the verses of Ace of Spades, the riffs of Bomber, Stone Dead Forever and so many more. You could hear debts to other guitarists, too – the riff from the 1978 single No Class is a straight steal from ZZ Top’s Tush, and Motörhead also covered that band’s Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers. Nevertheless, Clarke wasn’t a thief: he was someone who knew how to synthesise styles to create something new, because Motörhead were like nothing that had come before. Rarely has any band contained four such distinct sounds, all of which combined into a whole that sounded utterly unforced: Lemmy’s polluted growl and bass-as-guitar, Taylor’s double-time kick drumming, and Clarke’s revision of the 50s.
You would never have guessed what was coming from Clarke’s prior musical endeavours. Before Motörhead, he had played for Curtis Knight in the progressive blues band Zeus, writing the music for the track The Confession, which offered no hint as to what Clarke might do if allowed to cut loose.
It took several years for him to find the right vehicle for his talents, and it proved to be the only suitable one. After he left Motörhead in May 1982 – for the marvellously dogmatic reason that he disapproved of them covering Stand By Your Man with Wendy O Williams of the Plasmatics – he formed his own band, Fastway. That was meant to be a collaboration with Pete Way of UFO, but Way left before a note had been recorded, which was perhaps for the best, given the pair’s enthusiastic approach to intoxication. Fastway proved to be a much less rambunctious affair than Clarke’s previous band. Whereas Motörhead had the advantage of finding themselves in the emergent punk and metal scene, Fastway were just another hard rock band seeking a foothold as that genre became commercially successful in the early 80s.
The result is that “Fast” Eddie Clarke will always be associated with just six years of his life. But it was in those years that he helped redefine the parameters of rock music. That’s not so bad, is it?
Tributes have poured in for Motorhead guitarist Eddie Clarke who became the last of the heavy metal band's three founding members to die.
Fast' Eddie Clarke died after a battle with pneumonia, according to a statement on the band's official Facebook page.
The post read: 'We are devastated to pass on the news we only just heard ourselves earlier tonight, Edward Allan Clarke - or as we all know and love him Fast Eddie Clarke - passed away peacefully yesterday.
Motorhead guitarist and founder 'Fast' Eddie Clarke has died after a battle with pneumonia
Clarke is considered one of the 'classic' members of Motorhead, along with frontman Lemmy and drummer Taylor
'Ted Carroll (who formed Chiswick Records) made the sad announcement via his FB page, having heard from Doug Smith that Fast Eddie passed peacefully in hospital where he was being treated for pneumonia.'
Phil Campbell, who joined the band as a guitarist in 1984, said: 'Just heard the sad news that fast Eddie Clarke has passed away.
'Such a shock, he will be remembered for his iconic riffs and was a true rock n roller. RIP Eddie.'
Former Motorhead drummer Mikkey Dee, who is currently a member of the Scorpions, said: 'Oh my f***ing God, this is terrible news, the last of the three amigos.
'I saw Eddie not too long ago and he was in great shape. So this is a complete shock. Me and Eddie always hit it off great. I was looking forward to seeing him in the UK this summer when we around with the Scorps...'
Referring to Motorhead members Lemmy and Phil 'Philthy Animal' Taylor, who both died in 2015, he added: 'Now Lem and Philthy can jam with Eddie again, and if you listen carefully I'm sure you'll hear them, so watch out!!!'
Clarke is considered one of the 'classic' members of Motorhead, along with frontman Lemmy and drummer Taylor.
The famous three: Clarke was the sole surviving member of the famous trio that produced many of the band's biggest hits
Clarke is considered one of the 'classic' members of Motorhead, along with frontman Lemmy and drummer Taylor
Ace of Spades: Motorhead singer Lemmy died in December 2015 just a year after reuniting with Eddie Clarke for a one-off gig in Birmingham
Rockstar: Lemmy was a celebrated rock performer but courted controversy for collecting Nazi memorabilia
Rock and roll: Lived the wildest of rock star existences, touring and partying for 50 years Bassist drank bourbon so constantly
He was the sole surviving member of the trio that produced many of the band's biggest hits.
Fans reacted in upset upon learning the news this afternoon.
The band that rocked for 40 years Motorhead was a British rock band that shook up the industry when they came onto the scene in the 1970s. Spanning four decades, the band's line up and sound changed dramatically over forty years. But one constant remained in the form of frontman Ian Fraser 'Lemmy' Kilmister, who founded Motorhead in 1975 and continued performing into the year of his death in 2015. Guitarist Larry Wallis and Lucas Fox featured in the original line-up but were replaced by Phil 'Philthy Animal' Taylor on drums and 'Fast' Eddie Clarke on guitar a year later. The trio are considered by fans as the classic line-up of the band, producing their best-selling albums Overkill, Ace of Spades and Bomber. Eddie left the band in 1982 after a disagreement about the direction of their music with Taylor leaving two years later. Motorhead disbanded in 2015 after Lemmy died on December 28, 2015. The final line-up consisted on Lemmy on vocals, Mikkey Dee on drums and guitarist Phil Campbell.
Elliot Leaver posted to Twitter: 'The classic lineup of Motörhead is now reunited. If you hear any thunder today, rest assured it's those three tearing heaven a new one in concert. RIP Fast Eddie.'
Another added: 'Now they can jam together again.'
German rock singer Doro said: 'We've lost yet another great...RIP Fast Eddie Clarke. Give our best to Lem & Philthy.'
Taylor passed away in September 2015 with singer Lemmy dying in December of the same year.
Eddie was born in Twickenham, London on October 5, 1950. He began playing guitar as a child before joining one of his first bands The Bitter End at the age of 15.
He turned professional in his late teens playing for Curtis Knight's blues rock band Zeus as the lead guitarist.
But his career didn't truly pick up until he began work refitting a houseboat where he met a man named Phil Taylor, who had recently joined Motorhead.
After introducing Eddie to lead singer Lemmy, who died last year, the group quickly began playing together in a converted radio studios/ brewery on the Kings Road in Chelsea.
Eddie, Lemmy and Phil Taylor are considered by fans as the classic line-up who went on to produce the band's most celebrated hits.
He left Motorhead in 1982 while on tour in the United States after becoming unhappy with the results of their fifth studio album Iron Fist.
Eddie set up another band Fastway, supporting AC/DC during a 1992 tour of Europe.
He battled with alcohol in the years following and was quoted as saying in an interview shortly after leaving the group: 'I wasn't a drinker before I joined Motörhead, but being in a band with Lemmy and Phil, after about 12 months of speed and no sleep, that's when I discovered Special Brew. Within another 12 months I had a drink problem.'
He moved back to London and continued to play music up until 2014, where he reunited with his former Motorhead bandmate Lemmy on stage in Birmingham.
The pair played their classic album Ace of Spades to the delight of thousands of fans.
Fans of the trio of the band poignantly pointed out today that at last Lemmy and Phil Taylor would be reunited with Clarke in 'rock heaven'.
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Clarke (right) with Lemmy and Phil Taylor
Eddie Clarke, the last surviving member of Motorhead's classic line-up, has died at the age of 67.
The band's Facebook page announced that the guitarist died in hospital after being admitted with pneumonia.
Clarke, whose nickname was Fast Eddie, played with Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister and Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor in the heavy metal band between 1976-82.
He played on the first six Motorhead albums, later going on to form Fastway with UFO bassist Peter Way.
The social media statement also contained tributes from later band members including guitarist Phil Campbell.
He said: "Just heard the sad news that Fast Eddie Clarke has passed away. He will be remembered for his iconic riffs and was a true rock and roller, RIP Eddie."
The band's ex-drummer Mikkey Dee added: "This is terrible news, the last of the three amigos.
"I saw Eddie not too long ago and he was in great shape, so this is a complete shock. I was looking forward to seeing him in the UK this summer.
"Now Lem and Philthy can jam with Eddie again and if you listen carefully I'm sure you'll hear them, so watch out!"
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