Original MOTÖRHEAD Guitarist LARRY WALLIS Passes Away At Age 70

The music world has lost another great innovative guitarist and creative spirit: British musician Larry Wallis, who passed away Thursday September 19 at the age of 70. Wallis was not only a member of the hugely influential psychedelic underground troupe The Pink Fairies but also was selected by Lemmy Kilmister himself to be the original guitarist for the mighty Motörhead. He also had an underground hit single in the UK with his solo track “Police Car.”

Wallis’s playing was as electrifying and thrilling as it was unorthodox and groundbreaking, which earned him accolades from everyone from Thin Lizzy to The Damned to The MC5. He had his first taste of the rock n’ roll big leagues in 1972 when he joined UFO for a brief stint. Later that year he replaced Mick Wayne in The Pink Fairies. In 1975, Wallis joined Motörhead where he recorded alongside Kilmister on the infamous 1976 On Parole album that was set to be the band’s debut until shelved by the band’s then label United Artists for its supposed lack of commercial appeal. The album was later released in 1979 but by that time Wallis had traded a spot on the stage for a seat behind the board, becoming a highly sought after producer particularly for bands from the Stiff Records label including The Adverts, Mick Farren and the debut single from The Members. In the decades that followed, Wallis would go on to sporadically release more of his own music and reunite with The Pink Fairies in 1987.

In 2017, Wallis teamed up with L.A.-based indie label Cleopatra Records to re-issue his 2001 solo album Death In The Guitarfternoon as well as a rarities collection called The Sound Of Speed. He will also be included in the next album from Alan Davey’s Hawkwind-inspired supergroup, Hawkestrel in 2020.

The Cleopatra Records family would like to extend its deepest condolences to Wallis’s wife, Janet, and their extended family.

Death In The Guitarfternoon Track List:

DISC 1
1. Are We Having Fun Yet?
2. Crying All Night
3. Dead Man Riding
4. Downtown Jury
5. El Diablo’s Hangin’ Ten
6. Where The Freaks Hang Out
7. Don’t Mess With Dimitri
8. Meatman
9. Mrs. Hippy Burning
10. I’m A Police Car
11. Screw It

DISC 2
1. Old Enuff To Know Better
2. Crying All Night (Alternate)
3. Forgotten Night (Saturday Mix)
4. Screw It (Alternate)
5. Dead Man (Original)
6. Mrs. Hippy Burning (Alternate)
7. Don’t F**k With Dimitri (Original)
8. R We Having Fun? (Original)
9. Downtown (Version)
10. Meatman (Alternate)

Buy the CD: https://cleorecs.com/store/shop/larry-wallis-death-in-the-guitarfternoon-2-cd/
Buy/Stream the Digital: https://orcd.co/larrywallisdeathintheguitarfternoon

The Sound Of Speed Track List:

1. Leather Forever (1986 Single)
2. Seeing Double (1986 Single)
3. I Think It’s Coming Back Again (Lost Stiff)
4. I Can’t See What It’s Got To Do With Me (Lost Stiff)
5. Crying All Night (Lost Stiff)
6. Old Enough To Know Better (Demo)
7. Story Of My Life (Lost Stiff)
8. It Ain’t Enough Redbirds (Outtake)
9. I Love You So You’re Mine Love (Pirates Of Doom)
10. Meatman! (Exit Wound)

Buy the CD: https://cleorecs.com/store/shop/larry-wallis-the-sound-of-speed-cd/
Buy the Vinyl: https://cleorecs.com/store/shop/larry-wallis-the-sound-of-speed-lp/
Buy the Digital: https://orcd.co/larrywallisthesoundofspeed

Source: Cleopatra Records