The
discography of
Motörhead, an English
rock band, consists of 23
studio album
An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...
s, 21
live album
An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th centur ...
s, 16
compilation album
A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...
s, five
extended play
An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...
s (EPs), three box sets, 29
singles, 10
video albums and 34
music video
A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...
s. Motörhead were originally formed in 1975 in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
by bassist and vocalist
Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister, after his departure from
Hawkwind, who drafted in guitarist
Larry Wallis and drummer
Lucas Fox (who was quickly replaced by
Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor) to complete the band's initial lineup. The trio recorded their debut album for release on
United Artists, although it was not released until 1979 as ''
On Parole''.
"Fast" Eddie Clarke joined the band as a second guitarist soon after this recording was completed, but as it was shelved by United Artists and even though ''On Parole'' is chronologically the band's first album, Clarke would instead replace Wallis who left soon after Clarke joined for unspecified reasons. It is this trio who would go on to record the band's first released album, the self-titled ''
Motörhead'', as a three-piece. Thus, beginning the band's classic line-up and initially issued by
Chiswick Records in 1977 (as a favour to Lemmy), reaching number 43 on the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...
.
[UK chart positions for Motörhead:
*For all releases except those listed below:
*For ''Snake Bite Love'' and ''Hammered'':
*For ''Aftershock'': ]
In 1978, Motörhead signed with
Bronze Records; their first releases on the label was ''
Overkill'' and ''
Bomber
A bomber is a military combat aircraft that utilizes
air-to-ground weaponry to drop bombs, launch aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploy air-launched cruise missiles.
There are two major classifications of bomber: strategic and tactical. Strateg ...
'', both in 1979.
The albums reached 24 and 12 respectively in the UK, and both spawned UK top 40 singles in "
Overkill" and "
Bomber
A bomber is a military combat aircraft that utilizes
air-to-ground weaponry to drop bombs, launch aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploy air-launched cruise missiles.
There are two major classifications of bomber: strategic and tactical. Strateg ...
".
Motörhead improved further on their chart success with their next two studio albums, ''
Ace of Spades'' and ''
Iron Fist'', which reached 4 and 6 respectively on the UK Albums Chart.
In 1981 the group also achieved their first UK number one with their first live album, ''
No Sleep 'til Hammersmith'', which was supported by the release of a live recording of "Motörhead" which reached number six in the UK.
The band also collaborated with
Girlschool (as
Headgirl
Headgirl was a collaboration between the English rock groups Motörhead and Girlschool, active occasionally between 1978 and 1981. They recorded ''St. Valentine's Day Massacre (EP), St. Valentine's Day Massacre EP'', credited as Motör Headgirl S ...
) on the EP ''
St. Valentine's Day Massacre'', which reached number 5 in the UK.
Clarke left the band in 1982.
Clarke was replaced by former
Thin Lizzy guitarist
Brian Robertson, who performed on the top-20 album ''
Another Perfect Day''.
In 1984 Robertson was replaced by
Phil Campbell and
Michael "Würzel" Burston, while Taylor also left to be replaced by
Pete Gill.
The new four-piece released ''Orgasmatron'' in 1986, which reached number 21 in the UK,
before Taylor returned to the band.
''
Rock 'N' Roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...
'' and ''
1916'' reached the UK top 40,
before Taylor left again during the recording of ''
March ör Die'';
Mikkey Dee was brought in as his replacement.
The band's next three albums – ''
Bastards'', ''
Sacrifice
Sacrifice is an act or offering made to a deity. A sacrifice can serve as propitiation, or a sacrifice can be an offering of praise and thanksgiving.
Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Gree ...
'' and ''
Overnight Sensation'' – failed to chart in the UK. During the Sacrifice era Würzel left the band which made the band return to its roots as a three-piece line up which would last up until Lemmy's passing in 2015. In 1998 ''
Snake Bite Love'' reached number 171.
Later releases improved in chart success, with the band's final album ''
Bad Magic'' reaching number ten on the UK Albums Chart.
By 2025 Motörhead sold over 25 million albums worldwide.
Albums
Studio albums
Live albums
Compilation albums
Box sets
Extended plays
Singles
Videos
Video albums
Music videos
Other appearances
Notes
References
External links
Motörhead official websiteMotörhead discographyat
Discogs
Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...
Motörhead discographyat
MusicBrainz
MusicBrainz is a MetaBrainz project that aims to create a collaborative music database that is similar to the freedb project. MusicBrainz was founded in response to the restrictions placed on the CDDB, Compact Disc Database (CDDB), a database for ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Motorhead discography
Discography
Discographies of British artists
Heavy metal group discographies