Well, to see MOTORHEAD live was my dream…yet, all I could do instead was to listen to “No Sleep Til Hammersmith.” Poland was separated from the West by the so-called Iron Curtain. That was a brutal way to isolate Poland from any music events taking place in the western part of our continent. And there were very few Western bands coming to Poland in those years. Like BUDGIE from Wales, UK who played 16, totally sold-out shows in the largest concert venues our country had back in 1982. A year later, in February, 1983, a phenomenal band called UFO visited Poland and performed at Spodek Hall in Katowice. That was an extraordinary event.

As a teenager I was not able to witness that show. My parents did not share my fascination with heavy metal music, so, unfortunately, I had to enjoy listening to the show on the radio instead of watching it in person. In those days, most live shows were immediately sold out. The largest concert halls in Poland were packed to the max with music hungry maniacs. Sadly, the said Iron Curtain separated us from most bands rather well. The IRON MAIDEN show at Torwar in Warsaw, Poland in 1984 was something extraordinary. I simply could not miss something like that. So, me and my friends just went AWOL from our homes to see this legendary UK band. They changed my life forever.

Since then, I have become obsessed with metal music. I think situations like those were the reason why many young people adored live albums. In my view, a live album gives you some sort of substitute for a real live show. Many of us, while listening to live albums, would thrash about in our rooms, playing air guitar and imitating our favorite musicians. Stuff like that was really firing our imagination…and one of the live albums that we used to listen to a lot back in the day was MOTORHEAD`s “No Sleep Til Hammersmith.” Why? Maybe because of its untamed energy this album released when we listened to it?

That stuff was just fascinating, and, at the time, many thought MOTORHEAD was world`s fastest band ever. NWOBHM was still not up, VENOM was not too well known and the Newcastle trio was to become popular in years to come to overturn all we knew about metal music. MOTORHEAD formed in 1975 and after a couple of years, they became a very important band to the metal scene. Although Lemmy himself was not too keen on labelling, MOTORHEAD, to us, stood for pure sonic madness. “Overkill,” “Bomber” or “Ace of Spades” were the very foundation on which other, newer subgenres of metal would be later created. To me, if it hadn't been for bands such as MOTORHEAD or a bunch of punk rock groups, bands like METALLICA or VENOM would have never formed. “No Sleep Til Hammersmith” was initially released on June 1, 1981. Interestingly, no songs from this release were actually recorded at Hammersmith, but during the “Short Sharp Pain in the Neck” tour in West Runton, Leeds and Newcastle (UK). Initially, the band planned to release this album as a double LP. However, it turned out that they didn't have enough songs to do so.

So, they chose 11 best-sounding songs from the medley of stuff they recorded during the last three shows of the UK tour. With time, this live album became one of the most important live albums ever released. As mentioned previously, the Iron Curtain did obstruct the flow of music into Poland. The first time I ever saw this album was at some flea market in my town, in May 1982, shortly after “Iron Fist” was out.  I fell in love with this album right away.

When compared against studio songs, the live versions were much more energized and sharp sounding. Those songs were really enjoyable, yet, still to me, the number one live album has ever been “Unleashed in the East” by JUDAS PRIEST. It took me many years to see MOTORHEAD “in the wild.” The first show I have ever seen took place in Warsaw, Poland (Stodola Club) in 2000. The show was delayed for 4 hours.

We had to stay outside which was a really bad idea. The weather on that particular day was really nasty with sleet and wind. I caught a cold that day. But it was worth it. Some people said that the reason for the delay was that Lemmy was welcomed with some pure alcohol. Despite his famous resistance to hard liquor, the strength of the drink was so potent he had to “rest” a bit before he was able to play live. Still, that was a great gig, lock stock and barrel. Indeed, that show became one of the most important ones I have ever witnessed in my life. In total, I have seen MOTORHEAD three times, including a very important show in 2011 (Brutal Assault). Man, that was really something . For many of us, MOTORHEAD has always been a very important group.

They claimed they had never been part of NWOBHM, but they had a huge impact on new, extreme bands that formed in later years. Lemmy`s death was a shock to many of us. This wound cannot be easily healed since Lemmy was a truly unique artist. However, his musician legacy is still alive and as long as you listen to MOTORHEAD`s music, well, MOTORHEAD will never die. So , it comes as no surprise that I keep playing MOTORHEAD live albums to bring back the unique atmosphere, the atmosphere that this awesome band was able to create when I saw them play live . I wish I could see more of their live shows. Do you feel low or unhappy?

Well, “No Sleep Til Hammersmith” is for you to cheer you up and get recharged with its untamed energy. This album is madness! I love these songs! 

NecronosferatuS