Album
Motörhead
Motörhead's self-titled debut arrived in August 1977 on Chiswick, a label better known for pub rock and early punk. It was one of the first records the label put out, and the only one Motörhead made for them. The band were a trio: Lemmy Kilmister on bass and vocals, "Fast" Eddie Clarke on lead guitar and Philthy Animal Taylor on drums.
It is the first appearance of the classic line-up on record, and the sleeve introduced Snaggletooth, the fanged War-Pig face drawn by Joe Petagno that went on to become the band's emblem. An earlier set, On Parole, had been recorded for United Artists in 1975 and 1976 but stayed on the shelf until November 1979, which makes this the first Motörhead album to reach shops. It is the place to start if you want to hear the band at the very beginning.
Motörhead: tracklist, credits and charts
8 tracks · 32:55Tracklist
- 1MotorheadLemmy Kilmister3:13
- 2VibratorLarry Wallis and Derek Brown3:39
- 3Lost JohnnyMick Farren and Lemmy Kilmister4:15
- 4Iron Horse/Born to LoseLawrence, Taylor, Brown5:22
- 5White Line FeverClarke, Kilmister, Taylor2:39
- 6Keep Us on the RoadClarke, Farren, Kilmister, Taylor5:57
- 7The WatcherLemmy Kilmister4:31
- 8The Train Kept A-Rollin'Bradshaw, Kay, Mann3:19
- Produced by
- John David Keen, Speedy Keen, John "Speedy" Keene
- Recorded at
- Escape Studios, Olympic Studios, Escape, Kent
- Recorded
- 1–3 April 1977 (or 27–29 April 1977)
- Mixed at
- Olympic Studios
- Engineered by
- John Burns
- Label
- Chiswick
- Length
- 32:55
Line-up
- Eddie Clarke · electric guitar
- Lemmy Kilmister · electric bass guitar, lead vocals
- Phil “Philthy Animal” Taylor · drums (drum set)
Singles
- “Motorhead” · 17 June 1977
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 1977 | 43 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums · 2017 | 18 |
| UK Independent Albums · 2017 | 45 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom · 1986 | Silver |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
54.0
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
2.6k
ListenBrainz listeners
84k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
3.4k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Also released on 12 August
Every year →
More from Motörhead
Full discography →
Overkill
1979
Bomber
1979
On Parole
1979
"The Golden Years" Live EP
1980
Ace of Spades
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 1977
All of 1977 →
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia 1977-08-12 vs 1977-09-24 (musicbrainz), 1977-08-21 (wikidata)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 24 September 1977 | ignored lone early release dated 1977-08-21 |
| Wikipedia infobox | 12 August 1977 | |
| Wikidata | 21 August 1977 | |
| UK / Europe release | 21 August 1977 | earliest UK or European date |
19 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | US | Roadracer Records | 016861935726 | other |
| — | XW | Ace | 196626712028 | other |
| 1977 | DE | Chiswick | other | |
| 21 August 1977 | GB | Chiswick | original | |
| 24 September 1977 | GB | Chiswick | other | |
| 1988 | DE | Ace | 029667400220 | other |
| 1988 | US | Roadracer Records | 016861935726 | other |
| 21 February 1990 | JP | Teichiku Records | 4988004017469 | other |
| 1 October 1990 | GB | Roadrunner Records | 016861935726 | other |
| 1997 | US | Roadracer Records | 016861935726 | other |
| 2 April 2001 | GB | Chiswick | 029667200226 | remaster |
| 25 January 2005 | US | Deadline Music | 741157144628 | other |
| 8 October 2007 | GB | Chiswick | 029667025522 | other |
| 17 February 2010 | JP | Imperial Records International | 4988004114052 | other |
| 2017 | GB | Chiswick | 029667006217 | deluxe |
| 2017 | AF | Ace | 0029667831086 | deluxe |
| 2017 | US | Back on Black | 803341509610 | other |
| 3 November 2017 | XE | Chiswick | 029667086226 | deluxe |
| 18 April 2026 | GB | — | 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 | 594×600 | upscaled |