"Ace of Spades"
Single by Motörhead from the album Ace of Spades
B-side	Dirty Love
Released	October 27, 1980
Format	7" 12"
Recorded	4 August – 15 September 1980 Jackson's Studios, Rickmansworth, UK
Genre	Heavy metal Speed Metal
Length	2:49
Label	Bronze Records
Writer	Eddie Clarke Lemmy Phil Taylor
Producer	Vic Maile
Motörhead singles chronology
"Bomber" (1979) "Ace of Spades" (1980) "Motorhead (live)" (1981)
Alternate cover
Christmas picture sleeve edition

"Ace of Spades" is a song by the heavy metal band Motörhead. Image File history File links {{Albumcover} Cover of Motorheads single Ace of Spades. Alf 03:16, 14 July 2005 (UTC) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... A collection of various CD singles In music, a single is a short recording of one or more separate tracks. ... This article is about the band. ... Ace of Spades is the fourth album by the British speed metal band Motörhead. ... “B-Sides” redirects here. ... is the 300th day of the year (301st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar). ... A vinyl EP from Crop Circles. ... The 12-inch single gramophone record gained popularity with the advent of disco music in the 1970s. ... is the 216th day of the year (217th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 258th day of the year (259th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar). ... , Rickmansworth is a town in the Three Rivers district of Hertfordshire, England, 4¼ miles (7km) west of Watford. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Heavy metal redirects here. ... Speed metal is a sub-genre of heavy metal that spawned in the early 1980s and was the direct musical progenitor of thrash metal[1] [2]. When Speed metal first emerged as a genre, it innovatively increased the tempo of the music template set forth by Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin... In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. ... A songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics to songs, the musical composition or melody to songs, or both. ... Edward Clarke, better known as Fast Eddie Clarke, is a guitarist who was a member of the British heavy metal bands Fastway and Motörhead. ... Lemmy (born Ian Fraser Kilmister on December 24, 1945, also known as Ian Willis, Lemmy Kilmister, and Lemmy von Motörhead), is an English singer and bass guitarist, most famous for being the founding member of the heavy metal band Motörhead. ... Phil Taylor, better known as Philthy Animal Taylor, was the drummer in the British heavy metal band, Motörhead from 1975 to 1984 and 1987 - 1992. ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ... Vic Maile was a British record producer who was responsible for the legendary Motörhead album, Ace of Spades. ... This article is about the band. ... Bomber is a song by the heavy metal band Motörhead. ... Also: 1979 by Smashing Pumpkins. ... Year 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar). ... Motorhead (live) is a single by Motörhead, performing their eponymous song live. ... Year 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 Gregorian calendar). ... Image File history File links AoS_Christmas. ... Ace of Spades (live) is a 1988 7 vinyl release of the song by the heavy metal band Motörhead. ... Heavy metal redirects here. ... This article is about the band. ...

Initially released as a 7" vinyl single on October 27, 1980 as a preview to the album Ace of Spades and autumn tour, Bronze Records also released a 12" vinyl pressing in special 'Christmas' picture sleeves, limited to 50,000 copies. The picture of the band in Santa outfits used on the cover was taken while the band were on tour at the Aylesbury Fair. In November the song reached #15 in the UK Singles Chart.^[1] The song is considered to be the definitive Motörhead anthem,^[2] and "put a choke on the English music charts and proved to all that a band could succeed without sacrificing its blunt power and speed".^[3] A collection of various CD singles In music, a single is a short recording of one or more separate tracks. ... is the 300th day of the year (301st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar). ... Ace of Spades is the fourth album by the British speed metal band Motörhead. ... Aylesbury is the county town of Buckinghamshire in south east England. ... “British Hit Singles” redirects here. ...

Bronze also issued German and Spanish 7" vinyl versions which had a different sleeves, as well as a Japanese import, with a colour picture insert with song lyrics in English and Japanese. One sided test pressings (not mis-presses, used in the trade) escaped the pressing plant and are on the market.^[4]

For the lyrics, Lemmy said he "used gambling metaphors, mostly cards and dice - when it comes to that sort of thing, I'm more into the one-arm bandits actually, but you can't really sing about spinning fruit, and the wheels coming down".^[5] Lemmy (born Ian Fraser Kilmister on December 24, 1945, also known as Ian Willis, Lemmy Kilmister, and Lemmy von Motörhead), is an English singer and bass guitarist, most famous for being the founding member of the heavy metal band Motörhead. ... Slot machines in the Trump Taj Mahal A slot machine (American English), fruit machine (British English), or poker machine (Australian English) is a certain type of casino game. ...

On September 6, 1980 Lemmy was interviewed by Graham Neil on BBC Radio 1's Rock On Saturday show, "Bomber", "Ace of Spades" and "Love Me Like a Reptile" were played. The following month, on October 6 and October 20, the band played the song on BBC TV show Top of the Pops.^[6] is the 249th day of the year (250th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar). ... BBC Radio 1 (commonly referred to as just Radio 1) is a British national radio station operated by the BBC, specialising in popular music and speech and is aimed primarily at the 14-29[1] age group. ... Bomber is a song by the heavy metal band Motörhead. ... is the 279th day of the year (280th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 293rd day of the year (294th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see BBC (disambiguation). ... Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, was a long-running British music chart television programme, made and broadcast by the BBC. It was originally shown each week, mostly on BBC One, from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. ...

In 1988 another recording of the song was released - Ace of Spades (live) - and later withdrawn. Year 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar). ... Ace of Spades (live) is a 1988 7 vinyl release of the song by the heavy metal band Motörhead. ...

In September 1993 WGAF Records re-released the original 1980s track on CD-single, cassette single, 12" vinyl picture sleeve and picture disc versions, the song was covered with "Louie Louie", "Dirty Love", and "Ace of Spades (The CCN Remix)", and although the band were not too pleased with the CCN Remix version, this single reached #23 in the UK charts.^[6] Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ... Louie Louie is Motörheads title track of their third single. ...

The song ranked in at #10 on VH1's 40 Greatest Metal Songs.^[7] In March 2005, Q magazine placed it at #27 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks. Q is a music and entertainment magazinepublished monthly in the United Kingdom. ...

Single track listing

7" & 12"

1. "Ace of Spades" (Lemmy, Eddie Clarke, Phil Taylor) - 2:49
2. "Dirty Love" (Lemmy, Clarke, Taylor) - 2:57

Lemmy (born Ian Fraser Kilmister on December 24, 1945, also known as Ian Willis, Lemmy Kilmister, and Lemmy von Motörhead), is an English singer and bass guitarist, most famous for being the founding member of the heavy metal band Motörhead. ... Edward Clarke, better known as Fast Eddie Clarke, is a guitarist who was a member of the British heavy metal bands Fastway and Motörhead. ... Phil Taylor, better known as Philthy Animal Taylor, was the drummer in the British heavy metal band, Motörhead from 1975 to 1984 and 1987 - 1992. ...

In popular culture

• This was the first song that Phil Campbell and Wurzel played with the band - on the Bambi episode of The Young Ones. The line up is particularly rare until 1987: Lemmy, Campbell, Wurzel and Taylor. Taylor had already left the band by the time the filming started, but kept to his promise of making the performance.^[6]
• The song is used in the 1998 Golden Wonder Pot Noodle, the 2000 IKEA furniture, the 2003 Clark's Marathon Boy, and the 2005 Walkers Crisps television advertisements.
• The song was used in an episode of BBC's motoring show, Top Gear, that featured the Lotus Exige attempting to avoid missile lock from an Apache helicopter. In an episode of the Men Behaving Badly television sitcom, Gary and Tony play air guitar to the track. In the Black Books episode Party (the last of series 3) the three main characters have a very drunken dancing competition to a portion of this song, with no clear winner (everyone just gets tired out and sits down, nursing their drinks). The song was chosen to appear in the documentary Metal: A Headbanger's Journey.
• The song was used in the movie Grosse Pointe Blank, during a gunfight in a convenience store between hitman Martin Blank (John Cusack) and another hitman sent after him, a teenager is playing an arcade game to the sound of Ace of Spades at maximum volume in his headphones and escapes unharmed, completely oblivious to the destruction unfolding around him. During the opening credits of Zombie Nightmare, a movie that would later be used for an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000, the song is played and the characters of the show make comments about the lyrics. The song is used in the introductory scene for The Tremors in the movie Smokin' Aces.
• The song is used in the video games Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3, and in Guitar Hero; the song was also included in downloadable song packs for the Xbox 360 version of Guitar Hero II. The song, in the Guitar Hero games, included a final guitar jam not present in the original recording. "Ace of Spades" is also featured on the soundtrack of the baseball game The Bigs as well as in the television commercial for it.
• A retrospective review of the song by music magazine Q once memorably stated: "This song has an intro which wouldn't be out of place ushering in the end of the world".
• Between 8pm and 2am on November 9, 2005 at The Boat nightclub in Toronto, the song was played 128 times consecutively.^[8]
• After a 15 year career with the network, DJ Simon Mayo played the song to end his final show on BBC Radio 1 in 2001. The comedian, Noel Fielding, described the song as the sound of his childhood, as his parents would play it constantly.
• The song also appears in the 2007 Judd Apatow comedy Superbad starring Seth Rogen and Jonah Hill.
• The song appears in the 2007 film Shoot 'Em Up during the shootout in Mr. Smith's hideout. It appears on the film's soundtrack as well.
• The song is covered by two psychobilly bands, Batmobile and Three Bad Jacks.
• The main riff in the song bears a similar resemblance to the riff beginning at at :30 of Metallica's "Whiplash".
• A dutch version of "Ace of Spades" (Called "Schoppen Aas")is coverd by the Dutch Hard Rock band Peter Pan Speedrock. Dikke Dennis performes the vocals on this version.

Phil Campbell Phil Campbell (born Philip Anthony Campbell , May 7, 1961) is a guitarist in the British heavy metal band Motörhead. ... Michael Burston (October 23, 1949 in Cheltenham, England - ), more commonly known as Wurzel, was a guitarist in the heavy metal band Motörhead Before joining Motörhead in 1984 , Burston had been a corporal in the army and had played in the bands Bastard and Warfare. ... Bambi was the seventh episode of British sitcom The Young Ones. ... The Young Ones was a popular British sitcom, first seen in 1982, which aired on BBC2. ... Golden Wonder is a United Kingdom-based company that manufactures crisps. ... In the UK, Pot Noodle is a specific brand of cup noodles (ramen-style snack). ... Map of countries with IKEA stores. ... C & J Clark company headquarters C. and J. Clark Ltd, better known as Clarks, is a British shoe manufacturer with a high street retail operation. ... This article is about the snack food manufacturer. ... For the original series, see Top Gear (original format). ... The Lotus Exige (pronounced: ex-seej) is a two-door, two-seat sports car made by Lotus Cars. ... Men Behaving Badly is a British comedy, which first broadcasted in 1992 on the ITV network, however moved to BBC One (and a later timeslot) from the third series onwards. ... A sitcom or situation comedy is a genre of comedy performance originally devised for radio but today typically found on television. ... It is believed that air guitar possibly originated from early Iron Maiden fans in the late 1970s. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article contains a trivia section. ... This article is about the actor. ... Zombie Nightmare is a 1986 zombie movie directed by Jack Bravman starring Adam West and Tia Carrere. ... Mystery Science Theater 3000, often abbreviated MST3K, is an American cult television comedy series created by Joel Hodgson and produced by Best Brains, Inc. ... Smokin Aces is an action film written and directed by Joe Carnahan, set in Lake Tahoe, and primarily shot at MontBleu Resort Casino & Spa (renamed the Nomad Casino in the film). ... Computer and video games redirects here. ... Tony Hawks Pro Skater 3, often called THPS3, is a video game in the Tony Hawks series. ... This article is about the 2005 video game. ... It has been suggested that Xbox 360 Elite be merged into this article or section. ... Guitar Hero II is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems and published by RedOctane. ... Albert Pujols in the Wii version of The BIGS The Bigs is an arcade-style baseball video game that has been released for the Wii,[1] Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable. ... Q is a music and entertainment magazinepublished monthly in the United Kingdom. ... is the 313th day of the year (314th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Simon Mayo (born 21st September 1958 in Southgate, London) is one of the most recognised and respected voices of radio in the UK, currently presenting a daily afternoon programme on BBC Radio Five Live. ... BBC Radio 1 (commonly referred to as just Radio 1) is a British national radio station operated by the BBC, specialising in popular music and speech and is aimed primarily at the 14-29[1] age group. ... Noel Fielding (born 21 May 1973 in Westminster, London) is an English comedian and actor, best known for his role as Vince Noir in The Mighty Boosh. ... Judd Apatow (born December 6, 1967, in Syosset, New York)[1] is an Emmy-winning American screenwriter, director, and producer. ... Superbad, the 1997 creation of web designer Ben Benjamin, is an artistic work that was produced using the tools and methods of web design. ... Seth Rogen (born April 15, 1982 in Vancouver, British Columbia) is a Canadian actor, comedian, and Emmy-nominated writer. ... Jonah Hill (born December 20, 1983[1]) is an American actor, screenwriter, and producer. ... For the video/computer game genre, see Shoot em up. ... Metallica is a Grammy Award-winning American heavy metal/thrash metal band formed in 1981[1] and has become one of the most commercially successful musical acts of recent decades. ... Whiplash is the result of impulsive stretching of the spine, often the result of a rear-end collision between cars or trucks. ... Peter Pan Speedrock (PPS or PPSR in short) is a Dutch band from Eindhoven. ...

Credits

• Guitars, vocals - Fast Eddie Clarke
• Drums - Philthy Animal Taylor
• Bass, lead vocals - Lemmy

See also

• Ace of Spades
• Dead man's hand

An Ace of Spades playing card. ... This article is about the poker hand. ...

References

Alan Burridge (May 7, 1951 - ), is the official biographer of the heavy rock band, Motörhead. ... Cover of the Nov 2005 issue Record Collector started in 1979 and is the UK’s longest-running monthly music magazine. ... Alan Burridge (May 7, 1951 - ), is the official biographer of the heavy rock band, Motörhead. ... Cover of the Nov 2005 issue Record Collector started in 1979 and is the UK’s longest-running monthly music magazine. ... is the 253rd day of the year (254th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 101st day of the year (102nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Video clip of November 6, 1980 Top of the Pops broadcast of the song (RealPlayer required - right click to play).