The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 2020 nominations were released last week. But the slate of nominees doesn’t please one of them, the long-running English rock band Motörhead that is. This is because longtime members guitarist Phil Campbell and drummer Mikkey Dee experienced a snub from the organization, while only three members were included in the nomination list: Lemmy Kilmister, “Fast” Eddie Clarke and Phil “Philthy Animal” Taylor, Pitchfork reports.
Responding to the slight from nomination, Dee revealed his unsatisfied attitude in an interview with Billboard, “that is pure wrong.” He reiterated the contribution he and Campbell have made in Motörhead over the years, “we’ve been carrying the flag for 25 years together, and actually brought Motörhead to what it was. We did 25 years out of the 40. The original band lasted just a few years.”
“They started it off, but as Lemmy said himself they wouldn’t have lasted another six months doing that lineup. I don’t think we would’ve been where we are today without the 25 years we spent touring,” Dee believed the current lineup of Motörhead is the true mainstay of the long-running band, instead of the original lineup.
Spanning across three decades, Motörhead is one of the influential rock bands of the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s, which is still playing a key role in the rock landscape nowadays. This trio of Lemmy, Clarke and Taylor is recognized as the “classic” Motörhead line-up. The original member Clarke left the band in 1983 before Taylor’s departure in 1992. Campbell joined the band in 1983 during the release of the No Remorse album, while Dee joined in 1992 not long before the band released the Bastards album.
After taking into consideration the outcry of fans and the band, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame added Dee and Campbell to the list as eligible nominees, Motörhead expressed the thankfulness through Twitter, “thanks to everyone who spoke up loudly. Thanks to the Rock Hall for listening and adding Phil and Mikkey. All for one and one for all!”
Alongside Motörhead, the long list of 2020 inductions consists of Notorious B.I.G., Whitney Houston, Soundgarden, T. Rex, Nine Inch Nails, MC5, Kraftwerk, Depeche Mode, Dave Matthews Band, Thin Lizzy, Rufus with Chaka Khan, Todd Rundgren, Judas Priest, the Doobie Brothers and Pat Benatar. A part of the selection is open to fans who have the right to vote for their favorite. The final Inductees will be announced on January 2020 and the induction ceremony will take place May 2nd, 2020 at Cleveland’s Public Auditorium.
Motörhead member Kilmister died of cancer in the same year after Taylor died of liver failure in 2015. Last-surviving member Clarke died in 2018 at the age of 67. Early founding guitarist of Motörhead Larry Wallis passed away last month. To celebrate its 40th anniversary, Motörhead decided to release a “1979” box-set and new deluxe editions of two albums, Overkill and Bomber. All of the new Motörhead packages will be released on October 25th.
Photo Credit: Raymond Flotat
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