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The relationship between band and label became so fractious that Lemmy would often tell concert audiences to go out and steal the group's latest recording, "Because we don't get the fucking royalties anyway." Nevertheless, as a consequence of Motörhead's success, Bronze also signed Girlschool, the all-girl combo who Lemmy and co. had taken out on tour as their support act in 1978. The two bands later recorded a covers EP under the name of Headgirl. As a result, the two groups developed a strong bond, and over the years Lemmy dated both guitarist Kelly Johnson and bassist Gil Weston.  "I even lived with Gil for quite a while," he says now. "When I got her the Girlschool job I said it would break us up, and sure enough it happened six months later. She married the tour chef!" Early on, as a gesture of solidarity, Motörhead decided to split the profits equally three ways, even though Lemmy was writing the lyrics and Eddie the majority of the riffs. "We knew if we did make it that we didn't want Lemmy and I coming to work in Rolls Royces and Phil on a pushbike," says Clarke. As the guitarist now insists, the reason for the band's early success was their very togetherness. Although there was tension, their bond was seemingly unbreakable.  "You hear a lot of good things and a lot of bad things about Lemmy, and most of them are true," said Taylor at the time. "He is a cunt, he is a bastard, he does knock other people's chicks off. But he's also incredibly funny. Every time you go out with him it's a memorable experience." "We had a bond, and it went beyond whether you liked someone or not," adds Clarke now. "Me and Phil were especially close because Lemmy was a bit of a loner. I can't imagine being any closer to anyone else than those two, and it never even entered my mind whether I even liked Lemmy or not, because it wasn't even an issue. We felt almost indestructible because we'd had so much shit thrown at us and we'd decided that no matter what happened, we were gonna fuckin' carry on. "The music business created Motörhead because they tried so hard to scupper us, and it made us dogged. What happened years later, when I kinda got out of the band, was they started to wonder whether they liked me or not. Then you're doomed. Being in a band's like being in a war, you don't give a fuck whether or not a guy's feet smell, you wanna know if he'll keep you alive." |
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