No Sleep 'til Hammersmith

No Sleep ’til Hammersmith is the second live album by the band Motörhead, released on 27 June 1981, on Bronze Records. It peaked at #1 on the UK album charts.^[2] 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.^[3]

Background

After releasing three albums and touring for five years, Motörhead's 1980 album Ace of Spades (their first LP to be released in the United States) gave the band its first taste of major success, although as drummer Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor wryly notes in the documentary The Guts and the Glory, "The more famous we seemed to get, the more we were working all the time, and we just never seemed to see any money…This is how you know you're being ripped off, when they work you like dogs and hardly give you any time off, 'cause when you got a bit of time off you might start thinking about things .' In February, 1981, the band released the St. Valentine's Day Massacre EP co-recorded with Girlschool, and in March headed out on a British jaunt called the "Short Sharp Pain in the Neck" tour, from which the songs on No Sleep 'til Hammersmith would be culled.^[1]

Recording

The original No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith LP includes two songs from their debut album, the title track from 1979's Bomber, five songs from 1979's Overkill, and three songs from Ace of Spades. The track "Motorhead" would be released as a single and become the band's biggest hit to date, reaching #6 on the U.K. chart. With the exception of "Iron Horse/Born To Lose," which was from a 1980 show, No Sleep 'til Hammersmith was recorded at the Leeds and Newcastle shows during the Short Sharp Pain In The Neck tour. The name of the tour was a reference to the injury sustained by 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: Queen's 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^[4]

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."^[5] The sound at Leeds Queens hall was not good and most of the original album is taken from Newcastle. Vocalist and bassist Lemmy has stated that originally they intended No Sleep 'til Hammersmith 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 tour of North America, supporting Ozzy Osbourne.^[5] "When No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith came out", Lemmy stated to James McNair of Mojo in 2011, "it made a difference financially, but a lot of it went back into the show."

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	^[6]
Robert Christgau	B+^[7]

No Sleep 'til Hammersmith is the band's most successful in terms of chart positioning, peaking at #1 on the UK charts, having capitalized 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.^[8] The album is listed in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Jason Birchmeier of AllMusic writes, "Motorhead 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." Amazon.com: "Motorhead's No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith captured the band at its earth-shattering, genre-forming peak...No Sleep is one of the best live albums of all time, capturing the live high-octane impact of the legendary power trio line-up." In the 2011 book Overkill: The Untold Story of Motorhead, biographer Joel McIver calls the album "the peak of the Lemmy/Clarke/Philthy line-up's career."

Track listing

All tracks written by Kilmister, Clarke, Taylor ^[1] except where noted.

Side A
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Ace of Spades" (Newcastle City Hall, Newcastle, England - 30 March 1981)		3:01
2.	"Stay Clean" (Newcastle City Hall, Newcastle, England - 30 March 1981)		2:50
3.	"Metropolis" (Newcastle City Hall, Newcastle, England - 30 March 1981)		3:31
4.	"The Hammer" (Newcastle City Hall, Newcastle, England - 29 March 1981)		3:05
5.	"Iron Horse / Born to Lose"	Taylor, Mick Brown, Guy "Tramp" Lawrence	3:58
6.	"No Class" (Queen's Hall, Leeds, England - 28 March 1981)		2:34

'Iron Horse / Born to Lose' was recorded at an unspecified location in 1980, on the same tour as The Golden Years EP, which are also unspecified on any releases.

Side B
No.	Title	Original release	Length
7.	"Overkill" (Newcastle City Hall, Newcastle, England - 30 March 1981)		5:13
8.	"(We Are) The Road Crew" (Newcastle City Hall, Newcastle, England - 30 March 1981)		3:31
9.	"Capricorn" (Newcastle City Hall, Newcastle, England - 30 March 1981)		4:40
10.	"Bomber" (Queen's Hall, Leeds, England - 28 March 1981)		3:24
11.	"Motörhead" (Newcastle City Hall, Newcastle, England - 29 March 1981)	A-Side Motörhead Live single	4:47

Castle Communications 1996 CD reissue bonus tracks ^[1]
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Original release	Length
12.	"Over the Top"		B-Side Motörhead Live single	3:04
13.	"Capricorn" (Alternative version)			4:54
14.	"Train Kept A-Rollin'"	Tiny Bradshaw, Lois Mann		2:44

Metal-Is Records 2001 2CD Complete Edition

Disc one is the original album, without the previous reissue bonus tracks, which are replaced with

Disc 1 bonus tracks
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Original release	Length
12.	"Over the Top" (Newcastle City Hall, Newcastle, England - 30 March 1981)		B-Side Motörhead Live single	2:57
13.	"Shoot You in the Back" (Newcastle City Hall, Newcastle, England - 30 March 1981)			2:43
14.	"Jailbait" (Queen's Hall, Leeds, England - 28 March 1981)			3:34
15.	"Leaving Here" (Queen's Hall, Leeds, England - 28 March 1981)	Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Edward Holland		2:48
16.	"Fire, Fire" (Newcastle City Hall, Newcastle, England - 29 March 1981)			2:55
17.	"Too Late, Too Late" (Newcastle City Hall, Newcastle, England - 30 March 1981)			3:04
18.	"Bite the Bullet / The Chase Is Better Than the Catch" (Newcastle City Hall, Newcastle, England - 30 March 1981)			6:38

Disc 2
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Ace of Spades" (Queen's Hall, Leeds, England - 28 March 1981)	2:47
2.	"Stay Clean" (Newcastle City Hall, Newcastle, England - 29 March 1981)	2:54
3.	"Metropolis" (Newcastle City Hall, Newcastle, England - 29 March 1981)	3:46
4.	"The Hammer" (Queen's Hall, Leeds, England - 28 March 1981)	3:01
5.	"Capricorn" (Newcastle City Hall, Newcastle, England - 29 March 1981)	5:00
6.	"No Class" (Newcastle City Hall, Newcastle, England - 29 March 1981)	2:44
7.	"(We Are) The Road Crew" (Queen's Hall, Leeds, England - 28 March 1981)	3:31
8.	"Bite the Bullet / The Chase Is Better Than the Catch" (Queen's Hall, Leeds, England - 28 March 1981)	6:07
9.	"Overkill" (Newcastle City Hall, Newcastle, England - 29 March 1981)	4:53
10.	"Bomber" (Newcastle City Hall, Newcastle, England - 29 March 1981)	3:26
11.	"Motorhead" (Newcastle City Hall, Newcastle, England - 30 March 1981)	5:31

All track dates taken from the liner notes

Personnel

Per the No Sleep 'til Hammersmith liner notes.^[1]

Lemmy Kilmister – lead vocals, bass
"Fast" Eddie Clarke – guitar, backing vocals
Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor – drums

Production

Vic Maile – producer
Ian Kalinouski – front sleeve photography
Graham Mitchell – back sleeve photography
Simon Porter – back sleeve photography

Chart positions

Chart (1981)	Peak position
UK Albums Chart^[9]	1

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)

References

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 No Sleep 'til Hammersmith, Motörhead, Castle Communications Ltd, ESM CD 313, 1996 Liner Notes, rear cover
↑ Burridge, Alan Illustrated Collector's Guide to Motörhead Published: 1995, Collector's Guide Publishing p70. ISBN 0-9695736-2-6.
↑ Burridge, Alan (April 1991). "Motörhead". Record Collector (140): 18–19.
↑ 1981 tour dates
1 2 Kilmister, Ian Fraser and Garza, Janiss White Line Fever (2002). Simon & Schuster p. 145. ISBN 0-684-85868-1.
↑ Allmusic review
↑ Robert Christgau review
↑ Shaw, Harry (2002). Lemmy... In his own words. Omnibus Press (c) 2002. p. 38. ISBN 0-7119-9109-X.
↑ "Number 1 Albums – 1980s". The Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 9 February 2008. Retrieved 28 June 2011.

External links

No Sleep 'til Hammersmith (Adobe Flash) at Radio3Net (streamed copy where licensed)

Preceded by Stars on 45 by Starsound	UK Albums Chart number one album 27 June 1981 – 3 July 1981	Succeeded by Disco Daze and Disco Nites by Various Artists

Motörhead

"Lemmy" Kilmister Phil Campbell Mikkey Dee Larry Wallis Lucas Fox Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor "Fast" Eddie Clarke Brian "Robbo" Robertson Michael "Würzel" Burston Pete Gill

Studio albums	Motörhead Overkill Bomber Ace of Spades Iron Fist Another Perfect Day Orgasmatron Rock 'n' Roll 1916 March ör Die Bastards Sacrifice Overnight Sensation Snake Bite Love We Are Motörhead Hammered Inferno Kiss of Death Motörizer The Wörld Is Yours Aftershock Bad Magic

EPs	The Golden Years Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers St. Valentine's Day Massacre Stand by Your Man '92 Tour EP

Live albums	No Sleep 'til Hammersmith What's Words Worth? Nö Sleep at All Blitzkrieg on Birmingham '77 Lock Up Your Daughters Live at Brixton Everything Louder than Everyone Else Live at Brixton Academy BBC Live & In-Session Better Motörhead than Dead: Live at Hammersmith The Wörld Is Ours - Vol. 1: Everywhere Further Than Everyplace Else The Wörld Is Ours - Vol. 2: Anyplace Crazy as Anywhere Else Clean Your Clock

Compilations	On Parole No Remorse All the Aces The Best of Motörhead Protect the Innocent Deaf Forever: The Best of Motörhead The Best Of Over the Top: The Rarities Tear Ya Down: The Rarities Hellraiser: Best of the Epic Years Stone Deaf Forever! The Essential Motörhead

Singles	"Leaving Here" "Motorhead" (1977 studio recording) "Louie Louie" "Overkill" "No Class" "Bomber" "Ace of Spades" "Motorhead" (1981 live recording) "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" "We Are Motörhead" "The Game" "Kingdom of the Worm" "Rock Out" "Get Back In Line" "Heartbreaker"

Videos	Live in Toronto The Birthday Party Deaf Not Blind 1916 Live...Everything Louder than Everything Else 25 & Alive Boneshaker The Best of Motörhead Classic Albums: Motörhead – Ace of Spades Stage Fright The Wörld Is Ours - Vol. 1: Everywhere Further Than Everyplace Else The Wörld Is Ours - Vol. 2: Anyplace Crazy As Anywhere Else Clean Your Clock

Miscellaneous	Discography Members Joe Petagno Headgirl The Head Cat Alan Burridge White Line Fever Metal Masters Tour Lemmy

Book:Motörhead Category:Motörhead Portal:Motörhead

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