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Nö Sleep at All

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Nö Sleep at All
Live album by
Released3 October 1988[1]
Recorded2 July 1988
VenueGiants of Rock Festival, Hämeenlinna, Finland
GenreHeavy metal
Length51:37
LabelGWR
ProducerMotörhead, Guy Bidmead
Motörhead chronology
Rock 'n' Roll
(1987)
Nö Sleep at All
(1988)
1916
(1991)
The bonus Greek single
Acropolis (Metropolis) special Greek only release by EMI as a bonus for the first 1000 copies
Singles from Nö Sleep at All
  1. "Ace of Spades (live)"
    Released: 1988
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Robert ChristgauA−[3]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal5/10[4]
Kerrang![5]
Spin Alternative Record Guide3/10[6]
Uncut[7]

Nö Sleep at All is the third live album by English rock band Motörhead. Released in October 1988 by GWR Records, it was their only live album and last release with the label as legal matters continued between the parties.

Background

Motörhead and their record label GWR disagreed over the choice of a single from the album; the band wanted to release "Traitor," which had appeared on their most recent LP Rock 'N' Roll, while the label argued for the Motörhead classic "Ace of Spades". This led to a lawsuit and a parting of the ways. In the book Overkill: The Untold Story of Motörhead, author Joel McIver sums up the band's perilous situation:

"..For much of 1988 and 1989, the road continued to be Motörhead's home, simply because they had no other option. Although headbangers continued to flock to their shows and the band played with as much venom as ever, it was clear in retrospect that the record industry and Motörhead were never likely to see eye to eye. The last few years had been plagued with logistical difficulties, with the last remaining refuge the tour bus.."

Guitarist Würzel is quoted in the insert of the re-mastered CD release, saying;

"..A lot of fans were saying that they want to hear this line-up on a live album. EVERYBODY seems to record at the Hammersmith Odeon don't they? Or the Fillmore East when that was going, or the Budokan and all those flash places. So we thought we'd do it in Finland.."

To promote the album, the band engaged in a tour of North America, opening for Slayer.[8] Lemmy admits that the album was a mistake and failed sales-wise, but considers it to be "all right" and believes it was the mix that let them down,[8] explaining:

"..We had Guy Bidmead mix it because we wanted to give him another try, mainly because he had been Vic Maile's boy and Vic was a great live mixer. After that, I think we finally figured out that Guy just wasn't Vic Maile. Don't get me wrong, though.....after all I've said about Guy, it was only 'cause he was taking orders from us. He was too nice! Vic knew when to tell us to shut the fuck up!.."[8]

Release

EMI Greece pressed a 7" vinyl called "Live in Athens", featuring "Acropolis (Metropolis)" on the A-side and "Orgasmatron" on the B-side; it was shrinkwrapped to the first 1,000 copies of the album. The songs had been taped for the Greek Antenna Metal Show, for which Lemmy retitled "Metropolis" to suit the occasion.[9]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Kilmister, Burston, Campbell, Taylor except where noted

CD track list
No.TitleWriter(s)Original ReleaseLength
1."Doctor Rock"Kilmister, Burston, Campbell, Pete Gill1986 ~ Orgasmatron3:17
2."Traitor" 1987 ~ Rock 'N' Roll2:40
3."Dogs" 1987 ~ Rock 'N' Roll3:24
4."Ace of Spades"Kilmister, Eddie Clarke, Taylor1980 ~ Ace of Spades2:51
5."Eat the Rich" 1987 ~ Rock 'N' Roll4:34
6."Built for Speed"Kilmister, Burston, Campbell, Gill1986 ~ Orgasmatron4:56
7."Deaf Forever"Kilmister, Burston, Campbell, Gill1986 ~ Orgasmatron4:02
8."Just 'Cos You Got the Power" 1987 ~ Eat the Rich7:28
9."Killed by Death"Kilmister, Burston, Campbell, Gill1984 ~ No Remorse5:58
10."Overkill"Kilmister, Clarke, Taylor1979 ~ Overkill6:33
Castle Communications 1996 reissue bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Original ReleaseLength
11."Stay Clean"Kilmister, Clarke, Taylor1979 ~ Overkill2:37
12."Metropolis"Kilmister, Clarke, Taylor1979 ~ Overkill3:18

NOTE: "Metropolis" was recorded on 23 December in 1987 at the Brixton Academy which was later released on Live at Brixton '87

Live at Athens (Greek Single)
No.TitleWriter(s)Original ReleaseLength
1."Acropolis" ("Metropolis")Kilmister, Clarke, Taylor1979 ~ Overkill 
2."Orgasmatron"Kilmister, Campbell, Burston, Gill1979 ~ Orgasmatron 

Personnel

Motörhead

Production

Charts

Chart (1988) Peak
position
Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts)[10] 18
UK Albums (OCC)[11] 79
Chart (2014) Peak
position
French Albums (SNEP)[12] 59

References

  1. ^ "Music Week" (PDF). p. 30.
  2. ^ Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Motörhead - No Sleep at All review". AllMusic. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
  3. ^ Christgau, Robert. "Consumers Guide: Motörhead - No Sleep at All". Robert Christgau.com. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
  4. ^ Popoff, Martin (1 November 2005). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 235. ISBN 978-1-894959-31-5.
  5. ^ Watts, Chris (1 October 1988). "Motörhead - 'No Sleep at All'". Kerrang!. No. 207.
  6. ^ Gold, Johnathan (1995). "Motörhead". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. pp. 258–260. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
  7. ^ Wilding, Philip (September 1997). "Motorhead: Orgasmatron / Rock 'n' Roll / No Sleep at All". Uncut. No. 4. p. 91.
  8. ^ a b c Kilmister, Ian and Garza, Janiss White Line Fever (2002) – Simon & Schuster p. 211. ISBN 0-684-85868-1.
  9. ^ Burridge, Alan; Mick Stevenson (July 1993). "Motörhead". Record Collector. No. 167. p. 72.
  10. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  11. ^ "Motörhead | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  12. ^ "Lescharts.com – Motörhead – Nö Sleep at All". Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 March 2020.