60 albums
1984 - Motorhead - No Remorse

From 1979 until 1983 Motorhead were my musical life, I bought everything and saw them as often as I could, but Fast Eddie leaving in 82, Brian Robertson’s short and unusual tenure, Philthy leaving, and the increase, in 1984, to a four piece was the beginning of the end. I carried on seeing them, I have a tour programme from 1987’s Rock ‘n’ Roll tour, but the last Motorhead vinyl I bought was the compilation No Remorse.

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I think it’s significant that everything I bought and loved by Motorhead was bought (and loved) on vinyl, and No Remorse was the last hurrah of that! I bought this double LP, in the special edition leather sleeve in HMV in Guildford - and just to prove that I was struggling with the separation I also bought the leather cased cassette version (and used the case as a cigarette case for a while so it’s looking a little worse for that, also it came without an inlay card which annoyed (and still annoys) the hell out of me).

It’s a compilation album so was never really going to be a disappointment (although including the single edit of Overkill was stupid) so the person who bought it in 1984 was already nostalgic for Motorhead of the past and because of that it seems an appropriate end.

Of course, with five years of fandom behind me I already had almost everything on the album already (sucker!) - but that “almost” was significant. At the end of each side of vinyl was a new track, by the new four-piece Motorhead, the band with only Lemmy left from the one I fell in love with. It felt a bit like a slap. Sure Killed by Death is OK (but not in the class of most of what came before) but the other tracks were forgettable - or at least I chose to forget them.

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The other significant release of 1984 was The Pogues Red Roses for Me, and with it came a new band for me to be obsessed with, to buy and love the records of, and to see at every opportunity.