No Sleep ’til Hammersmith is the first live album by Motörhead. Released on 27 June 1981, it peaked at #1 on the UK album charts.
With the exception of "Iron Horse / Born To Lose" which was from a 1980 show, it was recorded at the Leeds and Newcastle shows during the Short, Sharp Pain In The Neck five-date tour in 1981. The name of the tour was a reference to the injury sustained by Phil Taylor when he was dropped on his head during some after-show horseplay. Despite the title of the album, the London venue the Hammersmith Odeon was not played on the tour, the shows being:
▪ 27 March 1981: West Runton Pavilion, Norfolk, England
▪ 28 March 1981: Queens Hall, Leeds, England
▪ 29 March 1981: City Hall, Newcastle, England
▪ 30 March 1981: City Hall, Newcastle, England
▪ 3 April 1981: Maysfield Leisure Centre, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Backstage at the Leeds and Newcastle shows the band were presented with silver record and gold record for sales of Ace of Spades, a silver record for Overkill and a silver record for "Please Don't Touch".
Lemmy has stated that originally they intended it to be a double album but they only had enough material for three sides.
No Sleep 'til Hammersmith is the band's most successful in terms of chart positioning, peaking at #1 on the UK charts, having capitalized on the preceding success of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre EP and Ace of Spades album and single. Lemmy believes its success was due to a building anticipation from their fan base for a live album, due to the band having toured so heavily in the past, but also considered it "our downfall" due to the difficulty in following up its success.
All songs by Eddie Clarke, Ian Kilmister and Phil Taylor except where stated.
deadwax side a: SRM-1-4023-A5-PW (PR) STERLING
deadwax side b: SRM-1-4023-B5-PW (PR) STERLING
Side 1
1. "Ace of Spades" (3:01)
2. "Stay Clean" (2:50)
3. "Metropolis" (3:31)
4. "The Hammer" (3:05)
5. "Iron Horse/Born to Lose" (Taylor, Mick Brown, Guy "Tramp" Lawrence) (3:58)
6. "No Class" (2:34)
Side 2
1. "Overkill" (5:13)
2. "(We Are) the Road Crew" (3:31)
3. "Capricorn" (4:40)
4. "Bomber" (3:24)
5. "Motorhead" (Kilmister) (4:47)
Personnel:
▪ Lemmy (Ian Kilmister): bass, lead vocals
▪ "Fast" Eddie Clarke: guitar, backing vocals
▪ Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor: drums
No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith [Mercury, 1981]
Vic Maile's power-packed definition obliterates my bias against live recording. Remakes of white lies like "No Class" and "Stay Clean" and calling cards like "Bomber" and "Motorhead" save valuable shelf space. So what if it gives me a headache? Sometimes a headache comes as a relief. B+ (Robert Christgau)
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Analyzed folder: /Motorhead - No Sleep til Hammersmith - (1981){16-44} Mercury - SRM-1-4023
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DR Peak RMS Filename
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DR11 -3.27 dB -15.87 dB A1 The Ace Of Spades.wav
DR12 -2.02 dB -15.64 dB A2 Stay Clean.wav
DR12 -2.87 dB -16.20 dB A3 Metropolis.wav
DR11 -4.21 dB -15.97 dB A4 The Hammer.wav
DR11 -3.86 dB -16.22 dB A5 Iron Horse.wav
DR11 -4.40 dB -17.12 dB A6 No Class.wav
DR11 -3.82 dB -16.41 dB B1 Overkill.wav
DR11 -3.77 dB -17.17 dB B2 (We Are) The Road Crew.wav
DR12 -4.77 dB -17.71 dB B3 Capricorn.wav
DR11 -4.73 dB -16.91 dB B4 Bomber.wav
DR12 -3.72 dB -18.47 dB B5 Motorhead.wav
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Number of files: 11
Official DR value: DR11
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