Phil “Philthy Animal” Taylor, drummer with Motörhead during their most commercially successful period, has died at the age of 61.
Posting on Facebook, Taylor’s Motörhead colleague “Fast” Eddie Clarke confirmed that the drummer “had been ill for sometime but that does not make it any easier when the time finally comes. I have known Phil since he was 21 and he was one hell of a character.”
Taylor replaced original Motörhead drummer Lucas Fox in 1975, shortly after the band’s formation. When Clarke joined in 1976 they and vocalist/bassist Lemmy became the band’s classic power trio line-up, recording albums including Overkill, Bomber and of course Ace of Spades. They went on to reach number 1 in 1981 with the live album No Sleep ‘Til Hammersmith.
Taylor left Motörhead in 1984 after they filmed their performance of Ace of Spades for BBC2’s comedy show The Young Ones but returned in 1987, appearing with the band in the Comic Strip film Eat the Rich. He drummed on their next two albums Rock ‘n’ Roll and 1916 but departed again in 1992 during the recording of March ör Die. He later rejoined Lemmy and Clarke for a Classic Albums documentary in 2005 and on stage in 2014.
