Album
Rock ’n’ Roll
Rock 'n' Roll is Motörhead's eighth studio album, arriving in August 1987 on GWR Records. It followed Orgasmatron from the year before and was the last record the band made for the label, after yet more legal wrangling with a record company.
The big news in the line-up was the return of drummer Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor, a member of the classic band, who came back for a few more years before being fired. Commercially it was a modest affair, stalling at No. 34 in the UK, the lowest of any of their top 40 albums. For anyone following the band's story, it is a record that marks a reunion behind the kit and a transition towards the next chapter, which began with 1916 in 1991.
Rock ’n’ Roll: tracklist, credits and charts
9 tracks · 34:58Tracklist
- 1Rock ’n’ RollCampbell, Kilmister, Taylor, Würzel3:50
- 2Eat the RichCampbell, Kilmister, Taylor, Würzel4:34
- 3BlackheartCampbell, Kilmister, Taylor, Würzel4:00
- 4Stone Deaf in the USAPalin, Campbell, Kilmister, Taylor, Würzel4:41
- 5The WolfCampbell, Kilmister, Taylor, Würzel3:29
- 6TraitorCampbell, Kilmister, Taylor, Würzel3:17
- 7DogsCampbell, Kilmister, Taylor, Würzel3:49
- 8All for YouCampbell, Kilmister, Taylor, Würzel4:11
- 9BoogeymanKilmister, Taylor, Würzel, Campbell3:07
- Produced by
- Guy Bidmead, Phil Campbell, Lemmy Kilmister, Phil “Philthy Animal” Taylor, Würzel, Motörhead
- Recorded at
- Master Rock Studios, Redwood Studios, Master Rock Studios and Redwood Studios (London)
- Recorded
- 1987
- Mixed at
- Britannia Row Studios, Eden Studios, Roundhouse Studios
- Engineered by
- Guy Bidmead, Jason Corsaro, Bill Laswell
- Label
- GWR Records
- Length
- 34:58
Line-up
- Phil Campbell · electric guitar, slide guitar
- Lemmy Kilmister · electric bass guitar, lead vocals, guitar
- Phil “Philthy Animal” Taylor · drums (drum set)
- Würzel · electric guitar, slide guitar
- Michael Palin · spoken vocals · guest
Singles
- “Eat the Rich” · November 1987
- “Rock 'n' Roll” · 1987 (NL)
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 1987 | 34 |
| US Billboard 200 · 1987 | 150 |
| Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts) · 1987 | 16 |
| German Albums · 1987 | 33 |
| Swedish Albums · 1987 | 41 |
| Dutch Albums · 1987 | 69 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1987 | 99 |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
41.8
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
1.7k
ListenBrainz listeners
44k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
560
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
Also released on 17 August
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More from Motörhead
Full discography →
Motörhead
1977
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
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 1987
All of 1987 →
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Among the Living
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Introduce Yourself
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Tribute
Ozzy Osbourne · 1987
The Eternal Idol
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Schizophrenia
Sepultura · 1987
Hungarian Rhapsody: Live in Budapest
Queen · 1987
Iron Maiden Maiden Mania 80–87 1987
Maiden Mania 80–87
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More on GWR Records
The label →Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia 1987-08-17; musicbrainz + wikidata 1987-09-05 (19 days apart, likely another territory)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 5 September 1987 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 17 August 1987 | |
| Wikidata | 5 September 1987 | |
| US release | 1987 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 5 September 1987 | earliest UK or European date |
21 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | XE | Sanctuary Midline | 5050749206725 | other |
| 1987 | US | GWR Records | other | |
| 1987 | FI | GWR Records | 5014643000148 | other |
| 1987 | NL | Roadrunner Records | other | |
| 1987 | US | GWR Records | 015151124017 | other |
| 1987 | NL | Roadrunner Records | other | |
| 5 September 1987 | GB | GWR Records | 5013858519124 | original |
| 5 September 1987 | GB | GWR Records | 5014643000148 | original |
| 21 November 1987 | JP | GWR Records | 4988002137312 | other |
| 1988 | DE | Roadrunner Records | other | |
| 1990 | US | Sinclair Records | 090861100629 | other |
| 1992 | GB | Castle Classics | 5017615628425 | other |
| 25 September 1997 | GB | Essential! Records | 5017615855623 | other |
| 2001 | US | Metal-is Records | other | |
| 2004 | GB | Sanctuary Midline | 5050749206725 | other |
| 2006 | XE | Sanctuary Midline | 5050749233028 | deluxe |
| 2006 | US | Sanctuary Records | 0602527488516 | other |
| 25 July 2007 | JP | BMG Japan | 4988017650226 | other |
| 8 August 2013 | XW | Metal-is Records | 5414939544170 | other |
| 8 August 2013 | XW | — | 5414939496271 | deluxe |
| 9 June 2015 | US | Sanctuary Records | 881034104007 | 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 |