Michael Richard Burston (23 October 1949 – 9 July 2011), commonly known by the stage name Würzel, was an English musician who played professionally for three decades. He played guitar in British rock band

Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock band formed in London in 1975 by Lemmy (lead vocals, bass), Larry Wallis (guitar) and Lucas Fox (drums). Lemmy was also the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band are often considered a prec ...

from 1984 to 1995,Michael 'Würzel' Burston obituary , Music
The Guardian. Retrieved 2011-07-23. playing on six studio albums and two live albums. Würzel died at the age of 61, following heart complications.

Biography

Before joining

in 1984, Würzel had been a

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non- ...

in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

, serving in Germany and Northern Ireland with the 1st Battalion of the

Gloucestershire Regiment The Gloucestershire Regiment, commonly referred to as the Glosters, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 until 1994. It traced its origins to Colonel Gibson's Regiment of Foot, which was raised in 1694 and later became the ...

, and had played in the bands Bastard and Warfare. In the early 1980s, Würzel played in a

Cheltenham Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...

-based band, originally named Made in England, then The Meek. He joined another relatively unknown guitarist, Phil Campbell, at a Motörhead audition; both were hired. The new four-piece line-up made its debut recording a backing track for '' The Young Ones'' on 14 February 1984. Würzel also played on the

Lemmy Ian Fraser Kilmister (24 December 1945 – 28 December 2015), better known as Lemmy Kilmister or simply Lemmy, was an English musician. He was the founder, lead singer, bassist and primary songwriter of the rock band Motörhead, of which he wa ...

-produced album for Warfare entitled ''Metal Anarchy'' in 1985. He acquired the nickname 'Würzel' whilst in the Army, being compared to the character Worzel Gummidge owing to his

scarecrow A scarecrow is a decoy or mannequin, often in the shape of a human. Humanoid scarecrows are usually dressed in old clothes and placed in open fields to discourage birds from disturbing and feeding on recently cast seed and growing crops.Lesle ...

-style hair and bumpkin-like manner. Motörhead singer Lemmy encouraged Würzel to add an umlaut to the 'U' in his nickname, for heavy metal effect. Würzel saw a number of changes to the band's line-up, each involving the drummer, until he left in 1995. Although he played on the album ''

Sacrifice Sacrifice is the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks, and possibly exis ...

'', Würzel left Motörhead before the tour. Instead of replacing him, the band reverted to a three-piece line-up. He later made a few guest appearances with them, at the 2008

Download Festival Download Festival is a British-created rock festival created by Terrance Gough, held annually at the Donington Park motorsport circuit in Leicestershire, England (since 2003); in Paris, France (since 2016); at Parramatta Park, Sydney (since 2 ...

and at the 2009 Guilfest, as well as a few other appearances on the band's 2008 UK tour. Würzel recorded his first solo EP, ''Bess'', in 1987; it was not far removed from the Motörhead sound, but also allowed for slightly different ideas. The EP included the instrumental title track, two rock pieces, "Midnight in London" and "People Say I'm Crazy", and an instrumental

jazz rock Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, amplifiers, and keyb ...

-oriented track, "E.S.P.". In 1998, inspired by psychedelically-informed experiences in Belgium, Würzel recorded and released an ambient, improvised

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretica ...

album entitled ''Chill Out or Die''.

Death

On 9 July 2011, Tim Butcher, longtime bass technician of Motörhead leader Lemmy, reported that Würzel had died. The cause of death was

ventricular fibrillation Ventricular fibrillation (V-fib or VF) is an abnormal heart rhythm in which the ventricles of the heart quiver. It is due to disorganized electrical activity. Ventricular fibrillation results in cardiac arrest with loss of consciousness and n ...

triggered by

cardiomyopathy Cardiomyopathy is a group of diseases that affect the heart muscle. Early on there may be few or no symptoms. As the disease worsens, shortness of breath, feeling tired, and swelling of the legs may occur, due to the onset of heart failure. ...

. Before he died, Würzel was working on new material with his new band, Leader of Down, who had previously announced the release of their debut single for early 2010. The following day, Lemmy dedicated Motörhead's performance at

Sonisphere Festival The Sonisphere Festival was a touring rock music festival which took place across Europe between the months of June and August. The festival was owned by John Jackson and Kilimanjaro Live. It was jointly promoted by K2 and Kilimanjaro Live. It ...

in Knebworth to his memory.

Discography

;With Motörhead * '' No Remorse'' (Compilation, 1984) * '' Orgasmatron'' (1986) * ''

Rock 'n' Roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...

'' (1987) * ''

Nö Sleep at All ''Nö Sleep at All'' is the third live album by the band Motörhead, released in October 1988 by GWR Records, their only live album and last release with the label as legal matters continued between the parties. Background Motörhead and thei ...

'' (Live album, 1988) * '' The Birthday Party'' (Live album, 1990) * ''

1916 Events Below, the events of the First World War have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 1 – The British Royal Army Medical Corps carries out the first successful blood transfusion, using blood that had been stored and cooled. * J ...

'' (1991) * ''

March ör Die ''March ör Die'' is the tenth studio album by British rock band Motörhead, released in August 1992. It would be the band's second and final album with WTG Records. The album features guest appearances by Ozzy Osbourne, Guns N' Roses guitarist ...

'' (1992) * '' Bastards'' (1993) * ''

'' (1995) * '' BBC Live & In-Session'' (Live album, 2005) ;Solo work * ''Bess'' (1987) * ''Chill Out or Die (The Ambient Album)'' (1998) ;Other work and guest appearances * Warfare – ''Metal Anarchy'' (1985) * V.A. – "Where Would You Rather Be Tonight?" (1986) (All proceeds from this album went to Broadreach House, a rehabilitation centre for drug addicts and alcoholics) * Atomgods – ''WOW!'' (1988) * Warhead – ''Warhead'' (1995) * Disgust – ''A World of No Beauty'' (1996) * WVKEAF – "Jump/Maximism" – (1997) * Splodgenessabounds – ''Artful Splodger'' (2001)

VHS and DVD appearances

* Motörhead – '' The Birthday Party'' (1985) * Motörhead – '' 1916 Live...Everything Louder than Everything Else'' (VHS & DVD 1991) * Motörhead – ''Videobiography'' (2007) (Würzel is featured on Disc 2 of Motörhead Videobiography, in a 50-minute interview, his first since leaving the band; filmed in early 2007)''Motörhead Videobiography'' (Double DVD with 48-page book) Edgehill Publishing Ltd., June 2007 *''Motorhead The Ultimate Review'' (Double DVD with different Würzel interview footage to the above on DVD 2), Anvil Media (ANV5096) – July 2013

References

External links

Obituary in ''The Independent''

Motörhead official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Würzel 1949 births 2011 deaths English heavy metal guitarists English rock guitarists Gloucestershire Regiment soldiers Motörhead members Music in Gloucestershire Musicians from Gloucestershire People from Cheltenham Place of death missing Slide guitarists Alumni of Pershore College of Horticulture Military personnel from Gloucestershire