Kings of Speed

"Kings of Speed" is a 1975 song by the UK rock group Hawkwind. It was originally released as a single in the UK (UP35808) on 7 March 1975 and was subsequently included on the album Warrior on the Edge of Time.

Kings of Speed

The lyrics for this song were written by Michael Moorcock, "Frank and Beasley" refer to characters from Moorcock's Cornelius books. Simon King stated that it was originally intended for inclusion of the Deep Fix album New Worlds Fair.^[1]

"It's very powerful - it's got two drums on it and it sounds fucking great. It's like a Phil Spector thing." - Alan Powell

Motorhead

The b-side has become one of Hawkwind's most well known songs because, written by Lemmy, he named his subsequent band after it. It is notable that the song title does not have an umlaut in it, that was added to the band name at a later stage. The lyrics, "Sun rise wrong side of another day, sky high and six thousand miles away" are explained as:

"I was on tour with Hawkwind in 1974, we were staying at the Riot House [Hyatt Hotel in Los Angeles] and Roy Wood and Wizzard were also in town. I got this urge to write a song in the middle of the night. I ran downstairs to the Wizzard room, got Roy's Ovation acoustic guitar, then hurried back to mine. I went on to the balcony and howled away for four hours. Cars were stopping and the drivers were listening then driving off, and there I was yelling away at the top of my voice." - Lemmy, Riffs that Changed the World

Other versions

Neither song made it into the live set. It would be years until "King of Speed" would surface for a 1989 tour, while "Motorhead" has only recently been added to the band's current retro-show, with Alan Davey playing the part of Lemmy.

Outtake

The original backing tracks were taken by Brock from this Olympic Studio session, and he later added overdubs and released them through independent record companies. "Kings of Speed" was released as an instrumental (and the claim that it was 'live') on the Hawkwind Zoo 12" EP (Flicknife Records, FLEP100, 1-May-1981). "Motorhead" was released as the A-side to a 7" and 12" single (Flicknife Records, FLS205, 2-July-1981), this time having a Brock vocal and synthesizer overdubs.

Covers

Motörhead released their version of "Motorhead" in 1977 as a single and on their debut Motörhead album, and a live version in 1981 as a single (reaching number 6 in the UK charts) and on the No Sleep 'til Hammersmith album.

Cover versions of "Motorhead" have been recorded by Corduroy in 1993 as a single and on their Out Of Here album, by Primal Scream on their 1997 Vanishing Point album, and by Lawnmower Deth on their 1990 album Ooh Crikey...It's Lawnmower Deth.

References

↑ Sounds, January 1975 - No Change in the Wind

External links

Full lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics

v t e Hawkwind

Dave Brock Tim Blake Richard Chadwick Mr Dibs Niall Hone Dead Fred Nik Turner Dik Mik Terry Ollis John Harrison Mick Slattery Huw Lloyd-Langton Thomas Crimble Del Dettmar Dave Anderson Simon King Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister Robert Calvert Simon House Alan Powell Paul Rudolph Adrian Shaw Harvey Bainbridge Paul Hayles Steve Swindells Martin Griffin Keith Hale Ginger Baker Andy Anderson Robert Heaton Rik Martinez Alan Davey Clive Deamer Danny Thompson Jr. Bridget Wishart Ron Tree Jerry Richards Jason Stuart

Studio albums	Hawkwind In Search of Space Doremi Fasol Latido Hall of the Mountain Grill Warrior on the Edge of Time Astounding Sounds, Amazing Music Quark, Strangeness and Charm 25 Years On PXR5 Levitation Sonic Attack Church of Hawkwind Choose Your Masques The Chronicle of the Black Sword The Xenon Codex Space Bandits Electric Tepee It Is the Business of the Future to Be Dangerous White Zone Alien 4 Distant Horizons In Your Area Spacebrock Take Me to Your Leader Take Me to Your Future Blood of the Earth Onward Stellar Variations

Live albums	Space Ritual Live Seventy Nine Live Chronicles Palace Springs The Business Trip Love in Space Hawkwind 1997 Yule Ritual Canterbury Fayre 2001 Spaced Out in London Knights of Space

Archive albums	The Weird Tapes Hawkwind, Friends and Relations The Text of Festival Zones This Is Hawkwind, Do Not Panic Bring Me the Head of Yuri Gagarin Space Ritual Volume 2 Hawkwind Anthology Out & Intake BBC Radio 1 Live in Concert The Friday Rock Show Sessions Hawklords Live California Brainstorm Undisclosed Files Addendum The 1999 Party Glastonbury 90 Choose Your Masques: Collectors Series Volume 2 Complete '79: Collectors Series Volume 1 Atomhenge 76 Live 1990

Compilation albums	Roadhawks Masters of the Universe Repeat Performance Angels of Death Spirit of the Age Stasis (The UA Years 1971 – 1975) Tales from Atom Henge Epocheclipse Masters of Rock The Collection Spirit of the Age Anthology The Dream Goes On

Singles	"Hurry on Sundown" "Silver Machine" "Urban Guerrilla" "Psychedelic Warlords" "Kings of Speed" "Kerb Crawler" "Back on the Streets" "Quark, Strangeness and Charm" "Psi Power" "25 Years" "Shot Down in the Night" "Who's Gonna Win The War?" "Angels of Death" The Earth Ritual Preview EP "Needle Gun" "Zarozinia" Decide Your Future EP Quark, Strangeness and Charm EP Area S4 EP "Love In Space" "Spirit of the Age"

Related articles	Discography Members Videography Barney Bubbles Liquid Len Stacia Sonic Assassins Hawklords Bob Walker· John Coulthart Hawkfest Space Ritual (band) Michael Moorcock

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