50 years since bassist and vocalist Lemmy Kilmister formed heavy metal icons Motörhead, a long-lost album from 1976 is set for release.
Originally recorded in August 1976, The Manticore Tapes is a snapshot of the first recording with the band’s classic ’70s and ’80s lineup, including Kilmister, drummer Phil “Philthy Animal” Taylor and guitarist “Fast” Eddie Clarke.
The 11-track release came to be when the group set up at Emerson, Lake & Palmer’s Manticore Studio to rehearse and record with Ron Faucus. Ultimately, the tapes of this session were lost, but have since been recovered, with restoration undertaken by Cameron Webb and mastering done by Andrew Alekel.
The result is a record which captures Motörhead in their formative period, fresh from the early lineup which recorded the tracks that would later make up 1979’s On Parole album, yet hungry with the ambition that would turn them into one of the U.K.’s biggest heavy exports of the ’70s and ’80s.
Many of the tracks present on The Manticore Tapes are early versions of those found on the band’s 1977 self-titled debut and On Parole. This includes the likes of the eponymous “Motörhead,” “Vibrator” and “The Watcher.”
Additionally, the new package features alternate takes and instrumental versions of “Iron Horse/Born to Lose” and their cover of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers’ “Witch Doctor,” and an early version of Eddie Holland’s “Leaving Here,” of which a re-recorded version would be issued as the band’s debut single.
Word of the newly-announced collection also comes alongside the single release of “Motörhead,” allowing listeners to gain a deeper insight into the evolution of the track as it flirts with R&B and blues before making the leap into the hard rock classic it would become.
The Manticore Tapes is officially set for release On June 27, with a deluxe edition also featuring their Blitzkreig on Birmingham ’77 live record, and a previously-unreleased 7″ single titled Live at Barbarella’s Birmingham ’77.
Clarke would later depart Motörhead in 1982, and Taylor would follow in 1984 though he rejoined for five years from 1987. Both musicians would briefly appear onstage with Motörhead again in 2014, though Taylor would pass away in November 2015 at the age of 61, with Kilmister following the next month at 70, ultimately putting an end to the band. Clarke would later pass away in 2018 at the age of 67.
