During the early 1980s, Motörhead headlined several UK festivals that have since deservedly gone on to attain quasi‑mythical status. These included the infamous Heavy Metal Barn Dance at Stafford Bingley Hall in July 1980 (also featuring Saxon, Girlschool and others), their Heavy Metal Goes To The Dogs bash at Hackney Stadium, and an open-air shebang at Wrexham FC that also served as the UK debut of Twisted Sister, the latter pair of 1982 gigs featuring Brian Robertson on guitar.
Sandwiched in between was the mutha of them all – the near-legendary Heavy Metal Holocaust, which featured the line-up of bassist/vocalist Lemmy, guitarist Fast Eddie Clarke and drummer Philthy Animal Taylor. It took place at Vale Park, the dilapidated home of Port Vale FC on 1 August, 1981. This might’ve been a ridiculous choice of venue had Kilmister not been born just a few streets away. It saw the ’Head performing with their famous Bomber lighting rig flying overhead, powered by what has since been called ‘the biggest PA system ever used in Britain’.
