Unearthed after nearly 50 years, The Manticore Tapes captures Motörhead’s primal beginnings.
Back in 1976, while most of the world was still trying to work out how flares could coexist with punk, Motörhead were busy becoming Motörhead
The band had formed just a year earlier, but by August ’76, its now-iconic trio — Lemmy Kilmister on vocals and bass, “Fast” Eddie Clarke on guitar, and Phil “Philthy Animal” Taylor on drums — had locked into place.
They were lovingly dubbed the “Three Amigos”, even though they sounded more like a thunderstorm than a spaghetti western.
In a plot twist worthy of a rock ‘n’ roll fairytale, the band were shuffled into Emerson, Lake & Palmer’s Manticore Studio — a converted ABC cinema in Fulham complete with a projection booth turned office and a stage big enough for a wall of amps.
While technically there to rehearse, they also hit record for the very first time. Almost five decades later, those dusty old tapes have been fished out, spruced up, and released as The Manticore Tapes to celebrate Motörhead’s 50th anniversary. It’s loud. It’s raw. It’s like being inside Lemmy’s amp stack.
Hearing these recordings is a bit like opening a time capsule from the glory days of London pubs, when Lemmy might’ve been spotted hunched over a fruit machine, pint in hand. He’s now canonised on the rock ‘n’ roll version of Mount Rushmore (minus the stone but with plenty of denim), nearly ten years after his passing — and we reckon he’d be having a good, raspy laugh at all this fuss.
The early days weren’t all leather and licks, though. Motörhead had a rough start, struggling to find a foothold in a scene that hadn’t quite caught up with their pace. Enter: Frank Kennington, ex-roadie for The Who turned accidental saviour.
He took the band under his wing and booked them into Manticore, where they recorded with Ronnie Lane’s mobile studio, run by trusted pal Ron Faucus. Faucus did a bang-up job of capturing the sheer sonic chaos — songs like Leavin’ Here and Vibrator would go on to become setlist staples through to ’79.
Now, thanks to longtime Motörhead collaborator Cameron Webb (who dusted and polished the tapes at Maple Studios in California) and mastering wizard Andrew Alekel in Los Angeles, the recordings are alive again. They’re crackling with energy and vintage grit — a glimpse into a band on the brink of becoming something seismic.
The Manticore Tapes is being released in multiple formats: a fancy-pants deluxe bookpack with a double LP and 7”, a single LP, CD and digital versions. Think of it as a love letter to the band that always played rock ‘n’ roll, never took themselves too seriously, and somehow changed everything anyway.
🖤 Preorders and more details at: iMotorhead.com
Tracklisting
Deluxe Expanded Bookpack:
LP1
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Intro (Instrumental)
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Leavin’ Here
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Vibrator
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Help Keep Us on the Road
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The Watcher
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Motörhead
Witch Doctor (Instrumental)
Iron Horse / Born to Lose (Instrumental)
Leavin’ Here (Alternate Take)
Vibrator (Alternate Take)
The Watcher (Alternate Take)
LP2 – Live: Blitzkrieg on Birmingham ’77
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Motörhead
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Vibrator
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Keep Us On The Road
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The Watcher
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Iron Horse
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Leavin’ Here
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On Parole
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I’m Your Witch Doctor
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Train Kept a-Rollin’
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City Kids
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White Line Fever
7″ – Live at Barbarella’s Birmingham ’77 (Previously Unreleased)
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Motörhead
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Keep Us On The Road
LP & CD
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Intro (Instrumental)
-
Leavin’ Here
-
Vibrator
-
Help Keep Us on the Road
-
The Watcher
-
Motörhead
Witch Doctor (Instrumental)
Iron Horse / Born to Lose (Instrumental)
Leavin’ Here (Alternate Take)
Vibrator (Alternate Take)
The Watcher (Alternate Take)
