Sad news to hear of the death of Phil “Philthy Animal” Taylor of the orginal classic lineup of Motörhead.
Motörhead are Britain’s equivalent to The Ramones; the stripped-down distilled essence of the spirit of rock’n'roll. They were always more than just their iconic frontman, Lemmy. Phil Taylor’s drumming was a vital part of their sound. Just listen to his playing on “Overkill”, perhaps his finest moment; his drumming can only be described as a force of nature.
Now we’re in an age where too many metal bands allegedly use programming for drum parts so impossibly fast no human can physically play them, Phil Taylor shows what a flesh-and-blood drummer could do. In the late 1970s he was way ahead of his time, a huge influence on the next generation of metal than would come along a decade later with thrash.
Phil Taylor was a legend. And there aren’t many musicians you can honestly say that of.
Back in July I booked in a hotel in Ashford for the Ramblin Man fair, and checked in on Friday night to avoid a stupid O’clock start on Saturday morning. It was raining stair-rods that night, so there was little incentive to venture out into the town. But there was a band setting up in the hotel bar, so I thought I’d give them a listen.
