Why Motorhead haven't achieved any commercial success in the USA?

[WildRanger]

According to RIAA Motorhead don't have one single certified album, it means they suffered poor album sales. None of their singles have ever hit American charts. And I can bet that Ace of Spades is the only their known song to a wider American rock public.

Were they ignored by American mainstream? What was their problem to achieve a commercial success in America?

Motorhead were definitely a way bigger in the UK and Europe than USA.

[rumborak]

Even in Europe they are usually only known to metal fans in my experience. I for one could also only name Ace of Spades as one of their songs.

[Anguyen92]

I mean aside from Ace of Spades, I know Line in the Sand, The Game, and King of Kings, but that was manly due to the band's relationship with WWE, especially with WWE wrestler (now COO of WWE) Triple H.

[ChuckSteak]

Cause Americans have bad taste. 

[Crow]

I mean for a heavy metal band I'd say they're at least pretty well known 

[Elite]

Overkill

[Cool Chris]

Did they have any video/MTV presence in the 80s? I wasn't in to metal in that period but I knew of metal bands because of MTV and radio, and Motorhead wasn't one of them.

[Adami]

Cause they were a super specific, and immensely unattractive metal band that had no commercial appeal for Americans.

[Cool Chris]

How were they any more specific than any other popular metal band?

I almost brought up the aesthetics. You can look like Alice Cooper, meaning Vincent Furnier, if you are fronting the band Alice Cooper, and that is your shtick. Likewise you don't have to look like <insert attractive singer here> but at some point does being unattractive become a hindrance?

[deggs37]

They weren't good looking enough. It's America. Looks first, music last.

[deggs37]

How were they any more specific than any other popular metal band?

I almost brought up the aesthetics. You can look like Alice Cooper, meaning Vincent Furnier, if you are fronting the band Alice Cooper, and that is your shtick. Likewise you don't have to look like <insert attractive singer here> but at some point does being unattractive become a hindrance?

I'm willing to bet that Pull Me Under wouldn't have been on heavy rotation on MTV if JLB had a giant mole on his face.

[Dream Team]

Motörhead is NOT a metal band. Now aside from that, I can’t fathom why anyone would think Lemmy’s voice would appeal to mainstream American audiences. 

[TAC]

Cause they were a super specific, and immensely unattractive metal band that had no commercial appeal for Americans.

Yeah, a lot of this for sure.


They came out in the late 70's/early 80's when Metal was out of style. They were kind of a niche band. I like Motorhead, trust me, and I'm surely a metal fan, but if I'm being honest, they're not even that great. Bands were faster. Bands sang better. Bands wrote better songs. Bands looked better.
But Motorhead more than survived sporting an immense discography. They toured constantly.

They were cool, but not cool enough to sell a ton of records.

[pg1067]

Were they ignored by American mainstream? What was their problem to achieve a commercial success in America?

Is it really that difficult to understand?  Lemmy's voice is, at best, an acquired taste, and his "cool guy" image is of relatively recent vintage.

Did they have any video/MTV presence in the 80s?

I believe Killed by Death got a bit of play on MTV, but otherwise, no.

They weren't good looking enough. It's America. Looks first, music last.

SMH.   

[deggs37]

SMH.   

You may not like it, but you'd be silly to deny that there is some truth to it.

[Stadler]

Cause they were a super specific, and immensely unattractive metal band that had no commercial appeal for Americans.

Yeah, a lot of this for sure.


They came out in the late 70's/early 80's when Metal was out of style. They were kind of a niche band. I like Motorhead, trust me, and I'm surely a metal fan, but if I'm being honest, they're not even that great. Bands were faster. Bands sang better. Bands wrote better songs. Bands looked better.
But Motorhead more than survived sporting an immense discography. They toured constantly.

They were cool, but not cool enough to sell a ton of records.

I think I'm agreeing with TAC here, but they really weren't that good, and part of their legend now is that Lemmy didn't give up despite NOT having sold anything and didn't succumb to the power ballad.   Honestly if they had been bigger they wouldn't have the legacy they have now.   

Also they didn't tour as much as some other bands; I've seen hundreds of shows, and while I've seen Motorhead three times, but not until '94, '95.   To my knowledge, they never got the big tour like Queensryche (Kiss, Scorpions) or Bon Jovi (Kiss) or Ratt (Aerosmith).

[TAC]

It's true they never get on any of the big 80's tours. I remember them opening for Alice Cooper the second time he came around on the RYFAY tour in early '88.

They played clubs all throughout the 80's here in the US.

I saw them on the Operation Rock And Roll Tour in 1991.
Stadler, how did you miss that tour??

[jammindude]

When 1916 came out in the early 90s, I remember I’m So Bad Baby I Dont Care getting some radio airplay, and a bit of MTV rotation.   It was sort of a “comeback” album and metal was just hitting its popular phase. 

To tell you the truth, I was a bit shocked at the OP.  I had no idea that they had no certified albums in the states.   I didn’t know too many people that had any of the individual Motörhead albums....but more than quite a few got their hands on the No Remorse compilation. 

[WildRanger]

I can’t fathom why anyone would think Lemmy’s voice would appeal to mainstream American audiences. 

Then explain me how is Back in Black by AC/DC the best selling rock album of all time in America? That album features a new AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson which voice is absolutely like fingernails on a chalkboard.

[Cool Chris]

Because everyone, EVERYONE, heard on the radio or saw on MTV "You Shook Me All Night Long." Plus Malcolm and Angus knew how to write the riffs and the hooks.

That, and it is one of the greatest rock albums ever.

[TAC]

   I didn’t know too many people that had any of the individual Motörhead albums....but more than quite a few got their hands on the No Remorse compilation.

I got No Sleep Till Hammersmith when I was like 13.



1916 was terrible though.

Then explain me how is Back in Black by AC/DC the best selling rock album of all time in America? That album features a new AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson which voice is absolutely like fingernails on a chalkboard.

It just is. Johnson's vocals weren't that bad on BiB. They were distinctive, but not Lemmy bad. Plus it had a great production and massive airplay. AC/DC was a band on the rise at that time.

[WildRanger]

That, and it is one of the greatest rock albums ever.

Nope. IMO it's not. It's very overrated. If I want to listen some AC/DC I would take Powerage or Highway to Hell.

[TAC]

Nothing against Powerage or Highway To Hell, but I'm taking Let There Be Rock over both.


WildRanger, how on earth can you say that Back In Black is overrated? Even if you don't like it, you simply cannot deny it.

[jammindude]

Sometimes I have to transport myself back to a time when I had never heard that album before.

I personally never listen to it anymore just because of how overplayed the entire album is.  But honestly, when I go back in time to the place in my mind that heard it first....I have to admit it was a pretty amazing experience.

But ya...Brian Johnson has said his all time favorite AC/DC album is Powerage, and I totally agree.  That album was the perfect blend of the raw and unhinged that came before, with just a bit more focus and clarity that would be overdone on the Mutt Lange albums.   It’s a perfect balance, and to me, represents AC/DC at their peak.

But I thought 1916 was a pretty cool album, so what do I know.   I thought the title track was rather touching and extremely well done.  And very different for Motörhead...but not in a way that compromised. 

[TAC]

Been a long time since I listened to 1916. I remember getting it and thinking it wasn't great. But I was a big fan of Orgasmatron and Rock And Roll.


I just prefer the heaviness of Let There Be Rock.

[Stadler]

That, and it is one of the greatest rock albums ever.

Nope. IMO it's not. It's very overrated. If I want to listen some AC/DC I would take Powerage or Highway to Hell.

But dude, please.   You are one person, one opinion.   What on god's green earth gives you the impression that you can speak for the 25 million plus that bought that album?    At the time - fall of 1980 - that album was LEGENDARY.  It was almost the perfect blend of hard rock and balls - for the guys - and melody for the girls.   I can remember Christine D. walking around eighth grade with her math book emblazoned with "AC/DC" on it.  The only other band at that time to cross over like that was Van Halen (for obvious reasons; say what you want about him now, but at the time Diamond David Lee Roth was a god).   

I'm a huge AC/DC fan - I just spent about a week burning the various live tracks from the Family Jewels and Plug Me In DVD sets to my network drive - and while I would go to High Voltage, Dirty Deeds, or For Those About To Rock first, that album is still worthy of it's place in rock history.   

I'd also argue that Brian Johnson's voice is very different than Lemmy's.   Brian has an odd tone but he CAN sing (check out the bonus tracks from Sting's "the Last Ship"); Lemmy's voice is very pitchy, and more often than not, he's flat.  Finally, musically, AC/DC and Motorhead are rather different.

[The Walrus]

ACDC gets a lot of crap for being 'samey' and I'll admit I can't stand most of their albums, but their output through Black In Black is utterly fantastic and BIB is one of the best rock albums ever made. It deserves every single bit of praise it gets.

[gazinwales]

Maybe they weren't 'metal' enough for the head banging crowd and for those who didn't
like metal, they were too heavy.

[pg1067]

Maybe they weren't 'metal' enough for the head banging crowd and for those who didn't
like metal, they were too heavy.

Maybe, but I can tell you that my friends and I spent a good chunk of the 80s running around and making dumb comments like, "if you [like/don't like] [name of band], then you aren't true [or troooooooo] metal!" and we never would have said Motorhead wasn't metal.

You know how some folks (seems to be women mostly) think really ugly dogs (e.g., bulldogs) are super cute?  It think the same principle applied to Motorhead.  Lemmy's voice was so bad that it was good, and the music was, if nothing else, honest and pure.  But they never seemed to be anyone's favorite band.

[gazinwales]

@pg1067 we did the same thing too, none of use liked Motorhead, we even made fun of them, how Lemmy looked and how bad his voice was.
It wasn't until many years later that I saw them live and I still thought they were terrible.
It was only in the past 5 years that I was finally touched and felt a little of the Motorhead magic.

[Stadler]

I like not love Motorhead; I can tell you that if it wasn't for "Another Perfect Day", I would barely like them.  Couple of the hits are good, but a lot of it is pretty same-y. 

[pg1067]

@pg1067 we did the same thing too, none of use liked Motorhead, we even made fun of them, how Lemmy looked and how bad his voice was.
It wasn't until many years later that I saw them live and I still thought they were terrible.
It was only in the past 5 years that I was finally touched and felt a little of the Motorhead magic.

We made fun of them too -- mostly Lemmy's look and voice -- but none of us in "the head banging crowd" ever thought they weren't "metal enough."  I only ever owned a double album (live or greatest hits -- not sure) and a friend got me Orgasmatron as a gift.  I didn't think enough of either to replace them when I ditched my record player in the mid-90s.  But I like a handful of songs.

[jammindude]

I like not love Motorhead; I can tell you that if it wasn't for "Another Perfect Day", I would barely like them.  Couple of the hits are good, but a lot of it is pretty same-y.

....said the guy who loves AC/DC. 

[WildRanger]

Motörhead is similar to The Ramones in a lot of ways. Both very influential bands, that never had the commercial success like the bands that were built off their formulas - Metallica and Green Day respectively. They just had to tour their asses off to make a living.

It's very interesting how an album such as And Justice for All by Metallica that had a bad production, lack of bass and chugga chugga heaviness, has sold over 8 million copies in the US, while Overkill by Motorhead hasn't achieved even Gold in sales.
How could be And Justice for All a way more appealing album to the masses of American listeners than any Motorhead album is beyond me really.

[Podaar]

*choking on Hefesque response*

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