On July 20th, 1975, MOTÖRHEAD played their first-ever live show at the Roundhouse in London, opening for Greenslade. Bassist and vocalist Lemmy Kilmister had just been fired from space rock outfit Hawkwind following a drug bust at the Canadian border, and he quickly assembled a new band with guitarist Larry Wallis and drummer Lucas Fox. Briefly called Bastard before settling on Motörhead, a name borrowed from the last song Lemmy wrote for Hawkwind, the trio unveiled a raw, punishing sound built on relentless tempos and Lemmy's growling snarl. That scrappy debut gig marked the birth of a band that would soon define the crossover between punk aggression and heavy metal power, directly paving the way for speed metal, thrash, and the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, a legacy Lemmy carried until his death in December 2015.
