Album
Ace of Spades
Ace of Spades is Motörhead's fourth studio album, released by Bronze on 8 November 1980. It followed Overkill and Bomber, both from 1979, and the title track arrived as a single ahead of it, climbing to number 15 on the UK singles chart. The band's own sound sits somewhere between heavy metal, hard rock and speed metal, and here it reached its widest audience.
The album went to number four in the UK and was certified gold by March 1981, making it the band's biggest commercial success. It also served as their introduction to American listeners, with Mercury handling North American distribution. Four decades on, Rolling Stone placed it at number 408 in its 2020 list of the 500 greatest albums, a fair sign of how well it has lasted.
Ace of Spades: tracklist, credits and charts
12 tracks · 36:32Tracklist
- 1Ace of SpadesClarke, Kilmister, Taylor2:48
- 2Shoot You in the BackClarke, Kilmister, Taylor2:39
- 3Live to WinClarke, Kilmister, Taylor3:36
- 4Fast and LooseClarke, Kilmister, Taylor3:21
- 5(We Are) The Road CrewClarke, Kilmister, Taylor3:11
- 6Fire, FireClarke, Kilmister, Taylor2:43
- 7Love Me Like a ReptileClarke, Kilmister, Taylor3:22
- 8JailbaitClarke, Kilmister, Taylor3:32
- 9DanceClarke, Kilmister, Taylor2:37
- 10Bite the BulletClarke, Kilmister, Taylor1:38
- 11The Chase Is Better Than the CatchClarke, Kilmister, Taylor4:17
- 12The HammerClarke, Kilmister, Taylor2:48
- Produced by
- Vic Maile
- Recorded at
- Jackson's Studios (Rickmansworth, England)
- Recorded
- 4 August – 15 September 1980
- Label
- Bronze
- Length
- 36:32
Line-up
- Eddie Clarke · electric guitar
- Lemmy Kilmister · electric bass guitar, lead vocals
- Phil “Philthy Animal” Taylor · drums (drum set)
Singles
- “Ace of Spades” · 17 October 1980
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 1980–81 | 4 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums · 2020 | 4 |
| German Albums · 2020 | 10 |
| UK Independent Albums · 2020 | 11 |
| Scottish Albums · 2020 | 19 |
| Canadian Albums (RPM) · 1980–81 | 29 |
| Spanish Albums · 2020 | 36 |
| Norwegian Albums · 1980–81 | 37 |
| Swiss Albums · 2020 | 39 |
| Finnish Albums · 2020 | 40 |
All 14 charts
| Austrian Albums · 2020 | 42 |
| Belgian Albums (Flanders) · 2020 | 50 |
| Belgian Albums (Wallonia) · 2020 | 51 |
| French Albums · 2020 | 178 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | Gold |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
65.0
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
12k
ListenBrainz listeners
105k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
2.8k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
Also released on 8 November
Every year →![[Led Zeppelin IV] by Led Zeppelin, album cover](/img/2e61da88-39e9-3473-81d2-c964cb394952/300)
More from Motörhead
Full discography →
Motörhead
1977
Overkill
1979
Bomber
1979
On Parole
1979
"The Golden Years" Live EP
1980
Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers
1980
Motörhead Great Pleasure 1981
Great Pleasure
1981
Stay Clean
1981
St Valentines Day Massacre
1981
No Sleep ’Til Hammersmith
1981
Motörhead The Complete Motörhead Kit 1982
The Complete Motörhead Kit
1982
Iron Fist
1982
Another Perfect Day
1983
No Remorse
1984
The Birthday Party
1985
Orgasmatron
1986
Rock ’n’ Roll
1987
Nö Sleep at All
1988
Lock Up Your Daughters
1990
1916
1991
March ör Die
1992
'92 Tour EP
1992
The Best of Motörhead
1993
Bastards
1993
The Best of Motörhead: All the Aces
1993
Sacrifice
1995
Overnight Sensation
1996
Snake Bite Love
1998
Everything Louder Than Everyone Else
1999
We Are Motörhead
2000
The Best of
2000
Over the Top: The Rarities
2000
Live at Brixton Academy
2001
25 & Alive: Boneshaker
2001
Hammered
2002
Tear Ya Down: The Rarities
2002
Extended Versions
2002
Hellraiser: Best of the Epic Years
2003
Stone Deaf Forever!
2003
Inferno
2004
Stage Fright
2005
BBC Live & In-Session
2005
Kiss of Death
2006
The Essential
2007
Better Motörhead Than Dead: Live at Hammersmith
2007
Motörizer
2008
The Wörld Is Yours
2010
The Wörld Is Ours, Vol 1: Everywhere Further Than Everyplace Else
2011
The Wörld Is Ours, Vol 2: Anyplace Crazy as Anywhere Else
2012
Aftershock
2013
Bad Magic
2015
Clean Your Clock
2016
Under Cöver
2017
Enter Sandman
2023
The Manticore Tapes
2025
The best of 1980
All of 1980 →
Back in Black
AC/DC · 1980
Blizzard of Ozz
Ozzy Osbourne · 1980
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden · 1980
The Game
Queen · 1980
Heaven and Hell
Black Sabbath · 1980
Flash Gordon
Queen · 1980
Live!! + One
Iron Maiden · 1980
On Through the Night
Def Leppard · 1980
Mr. Crowley Live EP
Ozzy Osbourne · 1980
"The Golden Years" Live EP
Motörhead · 1980
Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers
Motörhead · 1980
Live at Last
Black Sabbath · 1980
More on Bronze
The label →Overkill
Motörhead · 1979
Bomber
Motörhead · 1979
Iron Fist
Motörhead · 1982
"The Golden Years" Live EP
Motörhead · 1980
Motörhead The Complete Motörhead Kit 1982
The Complete Motörhead Kit
Motörhead · 1982
Motörhead Great Pleasure 1981
Great Pleasure
Motörhead · 1981
No Sleep ’Til Hammersmith
Motörhead · 1981
No Remorse
Motörhead · 1984
St Valentines Day Massacre
Motörhead · 1981
Stay Clean
Motörhead · 1981
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date musicbrainz + wikidata
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 8 November 1980 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | October 1980 | |
| Wikidata | 8 November 1980 | |
| UK / Europe release | 8 November 1980 | earliest UK or European date |
31 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | XW | Sanctuary Records | 4050538804966 | other |
| 1980 | FR | Bronze | other | |
| 1980 | DE | Bronze | other | |
| 8 November 1980 | GB | Bronze | original | |
| 1986 | GB | Legacy Records | 5013858301323 | other |
| 21 November 1986 | JP | Victor | 4988002106691 | other |
| 1988 | US | Profile | other | |
| 1989 | DE | Bronze | 4007192528769 | other |
| 21 August 1989 | JP | Metal Mania | 4988004013430 | other |
| 1991 | US | Roadracer Records | 016861922726 | other |
| 1991 | GB | Castle Classics | 5017615624021 | other |
| 1996 | US | Dojo Records | 600234303320 | other |
| 1996 | GB | Essential! Records | 5017615831221 | other |
| 1999 | US | Castle Music | 199331070000 | other |
| 22 January 2001 | GB | Castle Music | 5050159110926 | other |
| 21 August 2001 | US | Metal-is Records | 060768520622 | other |
| 18 February 2003 | US | Silverline | 676628813393 | other |
| 2004 | GB | Sanctuary Midline | 5050749204127 | other |
| 2005 | US | Sanctuary Records | deluxe | |
| 13 October 2005 | GB | Sanctuary Midline | 5050749224323 | other |
| 15 November 2005 | US | Sanctuary Records | 060768640825 | other |
| 2006 | — | Sanctuary Midline | 5050749237323 | other |
| 25 July 2007 | JP | BMG Japan | 4988017650172 | other |
| 17 November 2008 | XE | Sanctuary Records | 0602517855687 | other |
| 8 August 2013 | XW | Sanctuary Records | 5414939542770 | other |
| 30 March 2015 | XE | BMG | 5414939917653 | other |
| 12 May 2018 | XW | Sanctuary Records | 5414939548673 | deluxe |
| 2020 | US | BMG | 4050538606546 | deluxe |
| 30 October 2020 | DE | Sanctuary Records | 4050538587166 | deluxe |
| 30 October 2020 | GB | Sanctuary Records | 4050538587142 | other |
| 30 October 2020 | XW | Sanctuary Records | 4050538587302 | other |
Cover art sources
itunes · native: native 3000x3000
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| itunes ✓ | 3000×3000 | native: native 3000x3000 |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |
| coverartarchive | 600×600 | upscaled |