Philthy Animal Taylor

Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor was Motörhead's drummer from 1975 to 1984 and again from 1987 to 1992. Born in Chesterfield in 1954, he joined the band almost by accident — he was an acquaintance of Lemmy's, turned up in a conversation and stayed — and became the third vertex of the trio that defined the group's sound. He was not a technician, and the band did not need one. What Taylor brought was speed and physical violence: a way of playing closer to punk than to rock, with irregular fills and a tendency to push the tempo rather than hold it. The intro of "Overkill" (1979), with its continuous double-kick barrage, is the moment that becomes method — a passage repeatedly named as a direct forerunner of thrash and speed metal, recorded years before any of the albums that usually receive that credit. His relationship with the band was intermittent: he left in 1984 to play in Waysted, returned in 1987 and recorded Rock 'n' Roll (1987), 1916 (1991) and March ör Die (1992) before leaving for good. The following years brought failing health and little musical activity. He died on 11 November 2015, aged 61, six weeks before Lemmy — two thirds of the classic trio gone in the same year.