Overkill (album)
Encyclopedia
Overkill is the second album released by Motörhead, in 1979, and their first for Bronze Records
. It peaked at number 24 on the UK
charts.
It had a big impact in the British punk culture of that time, paving the way for UK82. Kerrang!
magazine listed the album at No. 46 among the "100 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time".
's "Louie Louie
" and a new song by the band, "Tear Ya Down". The band toured to promote their single "Louie Louie" while Chiswick released the Motörhead
album in white vinyl, to keep the momentum going. Sales of the single brought the band their first appearance on BBC Television
's Top of the Pops
, which gave Bronze the confidence to get the band back into the studio to record a second album.
The first release from those sessions was the single release of "Overkill
" backed with "Too Late, Too Late" in 7" and 12" pressings. The Chiswick album "Motörhead" had been a hasty affair as was its production, although it had a sub-bootleg quality which may be appealing, Overkill had more spring and bounce, and a thundering title track
that would become a show-stopper for years to come. Three weeks after the initial release of the album in black vinyl, the album was released in a limited edition
of 15,000 in green vinyl.
In June 1979 "No Class
" was lifted from the album as a follow-up single, backed with a previously unreleased song, "Like a Nightmare". With a view to increasing the sales, the single was released in three different covers, one each of Lemmy, Clarke and Taylor.
The album was reissued on Cassette, CD and vinyl by Castle Communications
in 1988, coupled with Another Perfect Day
, Bronze having issued a cassette of the album covered with Bomber
in 1980.
, the sleeve artist, had this to say about the cover of the album, which he felt rushed into because the band could not find him:
Bronze Records
Bronze Records is an independent English record label set up in 1971 by record producer Gerry Bron, and based in Chalk Farm, London.Bron had been producing Uriah Heep for Vertigo Records, and he set up this new label for future Uriah Heep releases, along with Juicy Lucy, Richard Barnes and Colosseum...
. It peaked at number 24 on the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
charts.
It had a big impact in the British punk culture of that time, paving the way for UK82. Kerrang!
Kerrang!
Kerrang! is a UK-based magazine devoted to rock music published by Bauer Media Group. It was first published on June 6, 1981 as a one-off supplement in the Sounds newspaper...
magazine listed the album at No. 46 among the "100 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time".
History
Bronze Records signed the band in 1978 and gave them time in Wessex Studios in London to record Richard BerryRichard Berry
Richard Berry was an African American singer, songwriter and musician, who performed with many Los Angeles doo-wop and close harmony groups in the 1950s, including The Flairs and The Robins....
's "Louie Louie
Louie Louie
"Louie Louie" is an American rock 'n' roll song written by Richard Berry in 1955. It has become a standard in pop and rock, with hundreds of versions recorded by different artists...
" and a new song by the band, "Tear Ya Down". The band toured to promote their single "Louie Louie" while Chiswick released the Motörhead
Motörhead (album)
Motörhead is the debut album by the British heavy metal band Motörhead, released in 1977.-History:On April 1, 1977, after nearly two years of toiling in obscurity hoping for a record deal, Motörhead decided to perform their last show at the Marquee Club in London. They asked Ted Carroll, head of...
album in white vinyl, to keep the momentum going. Sales of the single brought the band their first appearance on BBC Television
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...
's Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
, which gave Bronze the confidence to get the band back into the studio to record a second album.
The first release from those sessions was the single release of "Overkill
Overkill (song)
"Overkill" is a song by the band Motörhead. It was released in 7" and 12" vinyl pressings in 1979. It is backed with B-side "Too Late Too Late" which appears on the CD re-issues of the Overkill album. Early copies came with a free "Overkill" badge...
" backed with "Too Late, Too Late" in 7" and 12" pressings. The Chiswick album "Motörhead" had been a hasty affair as was its production, although it had a sub-bootleg quality which may be appealing, Overkill had more spring and bounce, and a thundering title track
Overkill (song)
"Overkill" is a song by the band Motörhead. It was released in 7" and 12" vinyl pressings in 1979. It is backed with B-side "Too Late Too Late" which appears on the CD re-issues of the Overkill album. Early copies came with a free "Overkill" badge...
that would become a show-stopper for years to come. Three weeks after the initial release of the album in black vinyl, the album was released in a limited edition
Special edition
The terms special edition, limited edition and variants such as deluxe edition, collector's edition and others, are used as a marketing incentive for various kinds of products, originally published products related to the arts, such as books, prints or recorded music and films, but now including...
of 15,000 in green vinyl.
In June 1979 "No Class
No Class
"No Class" is a song by the heavy metal band Motörhead. It was released in 1979, in 7" vinyl pressings. The song first appeared on the 1979 album Overkill, and became one of the "cornerstones" of the classic 1981 live album No Sleep 'til Hammersmith...
" was lifted from the album as a follow-up single, backed with a previously unreleased song, "Like a Nightmare". With a view to increasing the sales, the single was released in three different covers, one each of Lemmy, Clarke and Taylor.
The album was reissued on Cassette, CD and vinyl by Castle Communications
Castle Communications
Castle Communications was a British independent record label founded in 1983 by Terry Shand, Cliff Dane and Jon Beecher. The company was acquired by the American music distributor Alliance Entertainment in 1994 and in 2000 it was absorbed into Sanctuary Records Group...
in 1988, coupled with Another Perfect Day
Another Perfect Day
- Deluxe Edition :In 2006, the album was re-issued with a bonus CD, featuring a live performance, recorded in Manchester on June 10, 1983. The writing credits for the songs on the deluxe edition differed from those on the original, credited all the original songs to Robertson, Lemmy, and...
, Bronze having issued a cassette of the album covered with Bomber
Bomber (album)
Bomber is the third studio album by the British heavy metal band Motörhead. It was recorded in 1979, the same year as Overkill. The album reached number 12 on the UK charts and brought some of Motörhead's most popular songs, like "Bomber", "Dead Men Tell No Tales" and "Stone Dead...
in 1980.
Sleeve artwork
Joe PetagnoJoe Petagno
Joe Petagno is an artist known principally for creating images used on rock album covers, for bands such as Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Nazareth, Motörhead, Roy Harper, Marduk, Nightshade, and Illdisposed....
, the sleeve artist, had this to say about the cover of the album, which he felt rushed into because the band could not find him:
I had about a week and a half to get it finished... But it was always a disappointment for me, personally. It should have been multi-layered. It was supposed to have a feeling that there was more to it, there were going to be more bits and pieces. In a way, I kind of did it on the Inferno thing. I sort of took my revenge on the new trinity. In a way.
Track listing
Deluxe Edition
Disc One includes the original album without bonus tracks.Personnel
- Lemmy (Ian Kilmister) – bass, vocals, second guitar solo on "Limb From Limb"
- "Fast" Eddie ClarkeEddie ClarkeEdward Allan Clarke better known as "Fast" Eddie Clarke, is a guitarist who was a member of British heavy metal bands Fastway and Motörhead.-Early days:...
– guitar - Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor – drums
- Joe PetagnoJoe PetagnoJoe Petagno is an artist known principally for creating images used on rock album covers, for bands such as Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Nazareth, Motörhead, Roy Harper, Marduk, Nightshade, and Illdisposed....
– sleeve artwork - Recorded December, 1978 – January, 1979 at Roundhouse Studios and Sound Development Studios, UK – except "Tear Ya Down" originally recorded at Wessex Studios
- Produced by Jimmy MillerJimmy Miller (producer)James "Jimmy" Miller was a Brooklyn, New York-born record producer and musician who produced dozens of albums between the mid-1960s and early 1990s, including landmark recordings for Blind Faith, Traffic, the Plasmatics, Motorhead, The World Bank and Primal Scream...
– except "Tear Ya Down", produced by Neil Richmond, remixed at Roundhouse Studios by Jimmy MillerJimmy Miller (producer)James "Jimmy" Miller was a Brooklyn, New York-born record producer and musician who produced dozens of albums between the mid-1960s and early 1990s, including landmark recordings for Blind Faith, Traffic, the Plasmatics, Motorhead, The World Bank and Primal Scream... - Engineered by Ashley Howe and Trevor Hallesy