WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.140 Welcome to this custom -tailored deep dive. We 00:00:03.140 --> 00:00:06.120 are really thrilled you could join us today. 00:00:06.259 --> 00:00:08.140 Absolutely. Whether you're just prepping for 00:00:08.140 --> 00:00:10.099 a meeting or maybe catching up on your music 00:00:10.099 --> 00:00:13.380 history, or if you are just insanely curious 00:00:13.380 --> 00:00:16.839 about the outer limits of human endurance, you 00:00:16.839 --> 00:00:19.339 are exactly the right place. Yeah, it's a wild 00:00:19.339 --> 00:00:21.800 one today. It really is. Today, we are exploring 00:00:21.800 --> 00:00:25.300 a set of source materials, primarily a very comprehensive 00:00:25.300 --> 00:00:28.780 Wikipedia article, and it details the life... 00:00:29.050 --> 00:00:31.690 of Philip John Taylor. Right. Though, I mean, 00:00:31.710 --> 00:00:33.829 if you know anything at all about the aggressive, 00:00:34.009 --> 00:00:36.649 thunderous landscape of heavy metal, you probably 00:00:36.649 --> 00:00:39.170 know him better by his legendary moniker. Filthy 00:00:39.170 --> 00:00:42.189 Animal. Exactly. Filthy Animal. It is a name 00:00:42.189 --> 00:00:44.469 that perfectly encapsulates his legacy, I think. 00:00:44.509 --> 00:00:46.689 For sure. He was the legendary English drummer 00:00:46.689 --> 00:00:50.280 for the rock band Motorhead. He was this central 00:00:50.280 --> 00:00:53.560 figure in a trio that essentially redefined what 00:00:53.560 --> 00:00:55.780 loud, fast and aggressive music could be. Right. 00:00:55.840 --> 00:00:58.500 Especially in the late 1970s and 80s. Oh, absolutely. 00:00:58.740 --> 00:01:01.119 So the mission for today's deep dive is pretty 00:01:01.119 --> 00:01:04.099 incredible. We are going to look at how a guy 00:01:04.099 --> 00:01:07.299 with a car and, you know, a bit of a wild streak 00:01:07.299 --> 00:01:11.120 became the rhythmic backbone of a legendary classic 00:01:11.120 --> 00:01:13.739 lineup. Yeah. We really wanted to explore what 00:01:13.739 --> 00:01:16.939 his chaotic but insanely dedicated life tells 00:01:16.939 --> 00:01:20.099 us about the sheer, unadulterated willpower required 00:01:20.099 --> 00:01:22.579 to survive in the trenches of rock and roll. 00:01:22.780 --> 00:01:25.299 It's a lot of willpower. It is. Okay. Let's unpack 00:01:25.299 --> 00:01:28.739 this. How does someone become the engine for 00:01:28.739 --> 00:01:31.760 one of the loudest bands on earth? Well, to really 00:01:31.760 --> 00:01:33.659 understand the man, we need to start at the beginning, 00:01:33.700 --> 00:01:36.280 and it's a surprisingly traditional beginning, 00:01:36.400 --> 00:01:39.040 actually. Really? Yeah. Philip John Taylor was 00:01:39.040 --> 00:01:41.900 born in Derbyshire in September of 1954. Okay. 00:01:41.980 --> 00:01:44.140 He lived in Ashington, Northumberland until he 00:01:44.140 --> 00:01:46.420 was about two, but he really grew up in Leeds, 00:01:46.420 --> 00:01:49.540 Yorkshire. Got it. And what is brilliant about 00:01:49.540 --> 00:01:51.859 his early musical journey is that it didn't start 00:01:51.859 --> 00:01:55.319 in some dark, underground, sweat -soaked punk 00:01:55.319 --> 00:01:57.659 club. Which is totally what you'd expect. Right. 00:01:57.760 --> 00:01:59.579 But he actually took drum lessons at the Leeds 00:01:59.579 --> 00:02:01.959 College of Music simply because his father advised 00:02:01.959 --> 00:02:05.140 them to. Wow. That is such a fantastic contrast. 00:02:05.439 --> 00:02:08.360 It is. I mean, you picture the visceral pounding 00:02:08.360 --> 00:02:11.419 engine of Motorhead, and yet his foundation is 00:02:11.419 --> 00:02:13.939 rooted in listening to his dad's practical advice. 00:02:14.180 --> 00:02:17.099 Just being a good son? Yeah, taking proper formal 00:02:17.099 --> 00:02:20.580 lessons at a college of music. He was presumably 00:02:20.580 --> 00:02:24.419 learning standard rudiments, proper grip, jazz 00:02:24.419 --> 00:02:27.240 phrasing, all of that before he ever became Filthy 00:02:27.240 --> 00:02:30.500 Animal. Exactly. It gave him this technical bedrock 00:02:30.500 --> 00:02:33.340 that is... Honestly, often overlooked in punk 00:02:33.340 --> 00:02:36.039 and speed metal. For sure. But the jump from 00:02:36.039 --> 00:02:38.800 a formal music student to heavy metal history, 00:02:38.960 --> 00:02:42.060 that is where this story takes a wildly mundane 00:02:42.060 --> 00:02:44.659 turn. Right. He first met Motorhead frontman 00:02:44.659 --> 00:02:48.780 Lemmy in 1973. Okay, so that's early on. Yeah. 00:02:48.840 --> 00:02:50.719 At the time, Lemmy was still playing bass in 00:02:50.719 --> 00:02:52.960 the psychedelic space rock band Hawkwind. Right. 00:02:53.099 --> 00:02:54.780 And the source notes that they initially bonded 00:02:54.780 --> 00:02:56.639 because they were fellow speed users. Which is 00:02:56.639 --> 00:02:59.259 a really crucial detail to contextualize here. 00:02:59.340 --> 00:03:03.639 In 1973, mainstream rock was often characterized 00:03:03.639 --> 00:03:06.960 by these sprawling, slow tempo, 20 minute progressive 00:03:06.960 --> 00:03:09.939 rock anthems. The really long solos. Exactly. 00:03:10.280 --> 00:03:14.280 So the use of amphetamines or speed. It wasn't 00:03:14.280 --> 00:03:16.360 just a recreational habit for these guys. No. 00:03:16.460 --> 00:03:19.360 It acted as a chemical catalyst that fueled a 00:03:19.360 --> 00:03:22.879 frantic, aggressive tempo. Right. It was an active 00:03:22.879 --> 00:03:25.780 rebellion against the slow, psychedelic rock 00:03:25.780 --> 00:03:29.180 of the era. They wanted to play fast because 00:03:29.180 --> 00:03:32.319 they were physiologically wired to move fast. 00:03:32.620 --> 00:03:34.580 That is a vital piece of the musical puzzle. 00:03:34.699 --> 00:03:37.520 It shifted the entire rhythm section of the genre. 00:03:38.719 --> 00:03:40.539 Taylor didn't actually join Motorhead when they 00:03:40.539 --> 00:03:42.340 first met. Oh, he didn't? No, that didn't happen 00:03:42.340 --> 00:03:45.879 until two years later in 1975. Okay. The band 00:03:45.879 --> 00:03:48.900 was recording their first album on parole and 00:03:48.900 --> 00:03:51.240 they had an original drummer named Lucas Fox. 00:03:51.580 --> 00:03:54.479 Right, Lucas Fox. But Lemmy has explicitly stated 00:03:54.479 --> 00:03:56.860 in the sources that Fox just wasn't working out 00:03:56.860 --> 00:03:59.319 during those sessions. So how does Taylor secure 00:03:59.319 --> 00:04:01.819 the gig? Does he like come in and blow them away 00:04:01.819 --> 00:04:03.759 with a blistering drum solo that changes their 00:04:03.759 --> 00:04:06.330 lives? Not even close. No. The primary reason 00:04:06.330 --> 00:04:08.870 Taylor got the gig was simply that he had a car. 00:04:08.990 --> 00:04:12.110 A car? Yeah. He could give them a lift back down 00:04:12.110 --> 00:04:14.210 to the studio. That was literally it. You're 00:04:14.210 --> 00:04:17.129 kidding. No. He replaced Fox during those recording 00:04:17.129 --> 00:04:19.490 sessions, basically, because he could provide 00:04:19.490 --> 00:04:22.910 reliable transportation across town. I think, 00:04:22.930 --> 00:04:25.250 I mean, what's amazing to me is how monumental 00:04:25.250 --> 00:04:29.110 cultural shifts often hinge on the most practical 00:04:29.110 --> 00:04:31.750 everyday logistics. What's fascinating here is 00:04:31.750 --> 00:04:35.000 how entirely mundane it is. Yeah. We tend to 00:04:35.000 --> 00:04:37.720 mythologize the creation of classic bands, you 00:04:37.720 --> 00:04:40.079 know. We really do. We imagine these profound, 00:04:40.300 --> 00:04:43.339 destiny -filled auditions where the stars align 00:04:43.339 --> 00:04:46.279 and the music gods smile down. Right. But in 00:04:46.279 --> 00:04:48.759 reality, carrying a drum kit across London in 00:04:48.759 --> 00:04:51.639 the 1970s was a nightmare. It's heavy. They needed 00:04:51.639 --> 00:04:54.870 a ride. Taylor had a vehicle. That incredibly 00:04:54.870 --> 00:04:57.350 ordinary necessity accidentally locked in the 00:04:57.350 --> 00:04:59.649 foundational rhythm of speed metal. The logistics 00:04:59.649 --> 00:05:02.069 of a startup band are often way more important 00:05:02.069 --> 00:05:04.170 than the raw talent in those early days. So true. 00:05:04.410 --> 00:05:06.649 And it doesn't stop there. Because once Taylor 00:05:06.649 --> 00:05:08.870 is in the band, he actually becomes the connective 00:05:08.870 --> 00:05:10.889 tissue for the rest of the classic lineup. Oh, 00:05:10.889 --> 00:05:13.889 so? Well, he introduced Lemmy to guitarist Fast 00:05:13.889 --> 00:05:18.259 Eddie Clark. Okay. And how did he know this soon 00:05:18.259 --> 00:05:20.360 -to -be legendary guitarist? Because they had 00:05:20.360 --> 00:05:22.500 worked together painting a houseboat. Painting 00:05:22.500 --> 00:05:25.399 a houseboat. Yeah. That is wild. You have these 00:05:25.399 --> 00:05:27.860 three individuals, Lemmy, Taylor, and Clark, 00:05:28.079 --> 00:05:31.620 who go on to record 11 studio albums and four 00:05:31.620 --> 00:05:34.339 live albums together. An incredible run. Yeah. 00:05:34.500 --> 00:05:38.240 They are universally regarded as the iconic, 00:05:38.480 --> 00:05:43.170 untouchable, classic lineup of Motorhead. Unquestionably. 00:05:43.329 --> 00:05:45.790 And the entire trio was assembled through a car 00:05:45.790 --> 00:05:48.829 ride and a manual labor gig on the water. It 00:05:48.829 --> 00:05:50.629 just strips away all the glamour, doesn't it? 00:05:50.670 --> 00:05:52.790 Completely. It leaves you with the gritty reality 00:05:52.790 --> 00:05:56.290 of working class musicians scraping by. It highlights 00:05:56.290 --> 00:05:58.750 how utterly unglamorous the origins of history 00:05:58.750 --> 00:06:01.589 can be. The origin story is charmingly mundane. 00:06:01.949 --> 00:06:04.149 But here's where it gets really interesting. 00:06:04.389 --> 00:06:07.329 Oh, yeah. Because while the networking was casual. 00:06:07.839 --> 00:06:10.379 The actual physical toll of being in this band 00:06:10.379 --> 00:06:12.579 was mind -boggling. It's hard to even read about. 00:06:12.759 --> 00:06:15.500 Filthy Animal wasn't just a fun nickname. The 00:06:15.500 --> 00:06:18.019 man seemed to possess a terrifying level of physical 00:06:18.019 --> 00:06:21.519 endurance. What exactly did he put his body through? 00:06:21.740 --> 00:06:24.060 The level of physical trauma he endured while 00:06:24.060 --> 00:06:26.160 keeping the beat for this band is almost difficult 00:06:26.160 --> 00:06:29.519 to comprehend. The most glaring example from 00:06:29.519 --> 00:06:32.079 the source material is his broken neck. A broken 00:06:32.079 --> 00:06:35.480 neck. Yes. Shortly after recording the band's 00:06:35.480 --> 00:06:39.079 classic Ace of Spades album in 1980, Taylor was 00:06:39.079 --> 00:06:41.699 involved in what the text calls a test of strength. 00:06:42.060 --> 00:06:44.819 Okay, that never ends well. No, it doesn't. He 00:06:44.819 --> 00:06:46.839 was lifted above the head of a friend, but things 00:06:46.839 --> 00:06:49.839 went terribly wrong and he was dropped directly 00:06:49.839 --> 00:06:52.800 on his head. Oh, man. He literally broke his 00:06:52.800 --> 00:06:55.220 neck. A broken neck. I mean, for anyone, that 00:06:55.220 --> 00:06:57.699 is a life -altering medical emergency requiring 00:06:57.699 --> 00:07:02.079 months of absolute immobility. Right. But I want 00:07:02.079 --> 00:07:04.500 to explore how that affects a drummer specifically. 00:07:05.579 --> 00:07:07.980 Drumming is not just moving your wrists. No, 00:07:08.019 --> 00:07:10.839 it's a workout. It is a full -body kinetic exercise. 00:07:11.139 --> 00:07:14.199 Your core and your neck are the stabilizing anchors 00:07:14.199 --> 00:07:16.560 for your limbs. Exactly. When you strike a crash 00:07:16.560 --> 00:07:18.699 cymbal with the force required in a heavy metal 00:07:18.699 --> 00:07:21.779 band, that shockwave travels up your arm, through 00:07:21.779 --> 00:07:24.300 your shoulder, and directly into your neck. Yeah. 00:07:24.439 --> 00:07:27.300 Playing at 150 beats per minute with a fractured 00:07:27.300 --> 00:07:30.819 cervical spine shouldn't just be painful. It 00:07:30.819 --> 00:07:33.500 should be biomechanically impossible. It really 00:07:33.500 --> 00:07:35.959 should be. How does that not end his career on 00:07:35.959 --> 00:07:38.420 the spot? For a normal person, it absolutely 00:07:38.420 --> 00:07:41.959 would have. But Taylor's dedication defied all 00:07:41.959 --> 00:07:44.639 medical logic. What did he do? He simply put 00:07:44.639 --> 00:07:47.420 on a medical neck brace and got right back behind 00:07:47.420 --> 00:07:50.240 the drum kit. You're joking. No. If you watch 00:07:50.240 --> 00:07:52.620 the promotional music video for the song Ace 00:07:52.620 --> 00:07:54.600 of Spades, which was filmed around this time, 00:07:54.699 --> 00:07:56.899 you can actually see him wearing the neck brace 00:07:56.899 --> 00:08:00.649 while performing. That is insane. He had to completely 00:08:00.649 --> 00:08:04.129 isolate his neck muscles while violently thrashing 00:08:04.129 --> 00:08:06.209 his arms and legs. And the aftermath of that 00:08:06.209 --> 00:08:08.470 injury is permanently etched onto his body too, 00:08:08.589 --> 00:08:11.389 right? Oh, yeah. The trauma left him with a prominent 00:08:11.389 --> 00:08:13.750 lump located on the back of his neck, which was 00:08:13.750 --> 00:08:16.370 thought to be a calcium deposit resulting from 00:08:16.370 --> 00:08:19.930 the spinal injury healing improperly. Yeah. And 00:08:19.930 --> 00:08:23.370 in true irreverent rock and roll fashion, the 00:08:23.370 --> 00:08:25.509 band affectionately referred to this lump as 00:08:25.790 --> 00:08:28.310 his knob they didn't stop the machine to let 00:08:28.310 --> 00:08:30.089 him heal they just incorporated the physical 00:08:30.089 --> 00:08:32.169 damage into the lure of the band unbelievable 00:08:32.169 --> 00:08:35.590 and tour disrupting injuries were a recurring 00:08:35.590 --> 00:08:38.830 theme for taylor he had an astonishingly high 00:08:38.830 --> 00:08:41.970 threshold for pain which brings us to the gaffer 00:08:41.970 --> 00:08:45.149 taped hand this one is rough the sources describe 00:08:45.149 --> 00:08:47.750 an incident where he broke his hand punching 00:08:47.750 --> 00:08:50.830 a man outside his flat in london right now playing 00:08:50.830 --> 00:08:53.629 with a stabilized broken neck is one thing but 00:08:53.629 --> 00:08:56.250 drumming with a broken hand? It's impossible. 00:08:56.690 --> 00:08:58.610 You fundamentally cannot hold the drumstick. 00:08:58.870 --> 00:09:02.250 A drumstick requires a fulcrum between your thumb 00:09:02.250 --> 00:09:04.669 and index finger to bounce off the drum head. 00:09:04.830 --> 00:09:07.009 And that bounce is essential for speed. If you 00:09:07.009 --> 00:09:08.990 can't grip the stick, you can't play. Exactly. 00:09:09.269 --> 00:09:13.090 So how did he do it? Well... his solution bypassed 00:09:13.090 --> 00:09:16.409 the need for a grip entirely he used thick gaffer 00:09:16.409 --> 00:09:18.750 tape to attach the drumstick directly to his 00:09:18.750 --> 00:09:21.509 broken hand he taped it he essentially bound 00:09:21.509 --> 00:09:24.009 the wood to his fractured bones so he could keep 00:09:24.009 --> 00:09:26.590 playing the tour until the hand healed that sounds 00:09:26.590 --> 00:09:29.250 agonizing by removing the natural bounce of the 00:09:29.250 --> 00:09:31.490 stick he was likely playing entirely from the 00:09:31.490 --> 00:09:33.850 elbow and shoulder which causes massive fatigue 00:09:33.850 --> 00:09:36.750 that challenges every modern notion we have of 00:09:36.750 --> 00:09:39.460 workplace boundaries and self -care Completely. 00:09:39.460 --> 00:09:41.799 But does that cross the line from relentless 00:09:41.799 --> 00:09:45.080 dedication into outright self -destruction? It's 00:09:45.080 --> 00:09:48.159 a fine line. It feels like the band, and perhaps 00:09:48.159 --> 00:09:51.360 the entire industry at the time, enabled a physically 00:09:51.360 --> 00:09:55.419 unsustainable environment. If your drummer breaks 00:09:55.419 --> 00:09:57.679 his hand, you cancel the tour. You don't hand 00:09:57.679 --> 00:09:59.870 him a roll of duct tape. It's a complex psychological 00:09:59.870 --> 00:10:01.850 profile, really. I mean, think about it from 00:10:01.850 --> 00:10:04.389 their perspective. You have to factor in the 00:10:04.389 --> 00:10:07.789 intense fear of losing momentum. In the early 00:10:07.789 --> 00:10:11.629 1980s, if a working class metal band stops touring, 00:10:11.809 --> 00:10:15.090 they stop getting paid. They lose their spot 00:10:15.090 --> 00:10:17.549 in the cultural conversation. There was this 00:10:17.549 --> 00:10:20.490 machismo embedded in the genre that equated physical 00:10:20.490 --> 00:10:23.029 suffering with authenticity. Suffering is proof 00:10:23.029 --> 00:10:25.649 of commitment. Exactly. I want you to think about 00:10:25.649 --> 00:10:29.080 that for a second. What level of passion or stubbornness 00:10:29.080 --> 00:10:32.159 does it take to quite literally take yourself 00:10:32.159 --> 00:10:34.320 to your work instrument? A lot. Taping a stick 00:10:34.320 --> 00:10:37.100 to a broken hand wasn't just a workaround. It 00:10:37.100 --> 00:10:38.960 was a badge of honor that proved you were tough 00:10:38.960 --> 00:10:42.179 enough for the gig. It shows the intense, punishing 00:10:42.179 --> 00:10:45.200 reality of that lifestyle. But operating at that 00:10:45.200 --> 00:10:47.960 redline level of intensity inevitably creates 00:10:47.960 --> 00:10:50.460 turbulence. You can't run an engine that hot 00:10:50.460 --> 00:10:54.460 without blowing a gasket eventually. And Taylor's 00:10:54.460 --> 00:10:57.419 timeline with the band. Certainly reflects that 00:10:57.419 --> 00:10:59.240 pressure. It sure does. He didn't just stay in 00:10:59.240 --> 00:11:02.100 the drum seat continuously from 1975 onward. 00:11:02.200 --> 00:11:04.600 No, his tenure was definitely a revolving door. 00:11:04.740 --> 00:11:08.179 He originally left Motorhead in 1984. But he 00:11:08.179 --> 00:11:12.039 came back in 1987. He did. And I actually love 00:11:12.039 --> 00:11:15.100 the way he framed that absence. He casually brushed 00:11:15.100 --> 00:11:17.059 off his departure by telling the press that he 00:11:17.059 --> 00:11:19.840 always regretted leaving and suggested they just 00:11:19.840 --> 00:11:22.759 say he took a three -year holiday. Calling it 00:11:22.759 --> 00:11:25.559 a holiday is a remarkably nonchalant way to describe 00:11:25.559 --> 00:11:27.500 leaving one of the biggest metal bands in the 00:11:27.500 --> 00:11:30.179 world. Right. But if we look at what he actually 00:11:30.179 --> 00:11:32.840 did during that holiday and in the years following 00:11:32.840 --> 00:11:35.620 his eventual permanent departure, it becomes 00:11:35.620 --> 00:11:38.379 clear that instead of fading away, he became 00:11:38.379 --> 00:11:40.860 a relentless journeyman. He never really stopped. 00:11:40.960 --> 00:11:43.720 So what kind of projects was he taking on when 00:11:43.720 --> 00:11:45.860 he wasn't behind the kit for Motorhead? He was 00:11:45.860 --> 00:11:47.950 everywhere. You see his name popping up in a 00:11:47.950 --> 00:11:50.450 variety of hard rock contexts. He made appearances 00:11:50.450 --> 00:11:54.570 with a band called Wasted in 1985. He joined 00:11:54.570 --> 00:11:57.710 former Thin Lizzy guitarist Brian Robertson to 00:11:57.710 --> 00:12:00.759 form a group called Operator. Wow. He toured 00:12:00.759 --> 00:12:03.059 with Frankie Miller. And even decades later, 00:12:03.220 --> 00:12:05.159 he was playing in groups like The Web of Spider 00:12:05.159 --> 00:12:07.600 alongside guys who played with Iggy Pop. He just 00:12:07.600 --> 00:12:10.080 kept going. He formed a band called Little Villains. 00:12:10.340 --> 00:12:13.139 Two of their releases actually came out posthumously 00:12:13.139 --> 00:12:16.379 in 2019 and 2020. That's incredible. He even 00:12:16.379 --> 00:12:18.779 jumped on stage with the American thrash band 00:12:18.779 --> 00:12:22.620 Overkill in 2009. He was a guy who simply could 00:12:22.620 --> 00:12:25.539 not stop creating and performing. Music wasn't 00:12:25.539 --> 00:12:28.059 just his job. It was his entire identity. We 00:12:28.059 --> 00:12:30.240 should also mention... A brilliant little cameo 00:12:30.240 --> 00:12:31.799 the source points out, which I think perfectly 00:12:31.799 --> 00:12:34.360 captures his personality. Oh, the video. Yes. 00:12:34.720 --> 00:12:37.799 In 1980, right in the thick of the classic Motorhead 00:12:37.799 --> 00:12:40.620 era, he popped up in a promotional music video 00:12:40.620 --> 00:12:43.659 for the all -female hard rock band Girl School. 00:12:43.919 --> 00:12:46.740 Classic. For their song. Yeah. Right. He appears 00:12:46.740 --> 00:12:49.799 midway through dressed in drag, angrily brandishing 00:12:49.799 --> 00:12:52.360 a rolling pin. It's a great moment. It really 00:12:52.360 --> 00:12:55.039 shows he didn't take himself too seriously, despite 00:12:55.039 --> 00:12:57.460 the aggressive music he played. It adds a nice 00:12:57.460 --> 00:13:00.139 layer of theatrical humor to that tough guy reputation. 00:13:00.480 --> 00:13:02.899 Yeah, it really does. But despite his return 00:13:02.899 --> 00:13:06.220 to Motorhead in 1987, the friction eventually 00:13:06.220 --> 00:13:09.139 reached a breaking point. His time with the band 00:13:09.139 --> 00:13:13.100 came to a final, rather abrupt end in 1992. That 00:13:13.100 --> 00:13:15.779 was the end of his run. Yeah. He was fired after 00:13:15.779 --> 00:13:18.080 recording the track I Ain't No Nice Guy for the 00:13:18.080 --> 00:13:20.960 album March or Die. Considering this is the same 00:13:20.960 --> 00:13:23.539 man who taped a piece of wood to his broken bones 00:13:23.539 --> 00:13:25.940 just to make sure the band didn't miss a show, 00:13:26.080 --> 00:13:28.919 what actually led to him being fired? The source 00:13:28.919 --> 00:13:31.419 material provides some sobering context here. 00:13:31.539 --> 00:13:33.820 He wasn't just dropped out of nowhere on a whim. 00:13:33.980 --> 00:13:36.440 The text specifically notes that he had been 00:13:36.440 --> 00:13:38.860 worn three separate times over the previous two 00:13:38.860 --> 00:13:41.139 years to get his act together three warnings 00:13:41.139 --> 00:13:44.440 yes he was ultimately dismissed for poor performance 00:13:44.440 --> 00:13:47.039 his drumming was no longer meeting the standard 00:13:47.039 --> 00:13:50.120 the band required that is a deeply tragic irony 00:13:50.120 --> 00:13:53.220 it is he gave his physical body entirely to the 00:13:53.220 --> 00:13:55.919 machine of the band he absorbed the broken neck 00:13:55.919 --> 00:13:59.840 the smashed hand the grueling tours but eventually 00:14:00.399 --> 00:14:02.259 The physical toll and the lifestyle wear you 00:14:02.259 --> 00:14:05.240 down. The very machine he helped build and bled 00:14:05.240 --> 00:14:08.080 for ultimately let him go because his broken 00:14:08.080 --> 00:14:10.779 body and lifestyle choices could no longer keep 00:14:10.779 --> 00:14:13.840 time. Yeah. It is the cold corporate reality 00:14:13.840 --> 00:14:17.139 hidden inside a rebellious rock band. It's a 00:14:17.139 --> 00:14:20.139 stark reminder of how demanding and unsentimental 00:14:20.139 --> 00:14:22.740 the music industry can be. Yeah. You are only 00:14:22.740 --> 00:14:24.700 as valuable as your last performance, regardless 00:14:24.700 --> 00:14:26.840 of the blood you spilled to get there. Tough 00:14:26.840 --> 00:14:29.899 business. And unfortunately, the lifestyle and 00:14:29.899 --> 00:14:32.279 the extreme mileage inevitably catch up with 00:14:32.279 --> 00:14:35.080 you. Which brings us to the final chapter of 00:14:35.080 --> 00:14:38.080 his story and what becomes a truly tragic domino 00:14:38.080 --> 00:14:40.820 effect for the entire classic Motorhead lineup. 00:14:41.159 --> 00:14:44.240 Yeah. Taylor's final public moment with his old 00:14:44.240 --> 00:14:47.259 bandmates was brief but incredibly poignant. 00:14:47.360 --> 00:14:49.279 It was in Birmingham, right? Yes. On November 00:14:49.279 --> 00:14:52.320 6, 2014, he reunited with Lemmy and Fast Eddie 00:14:52.320 --> 00:14:55.139 Clark on stage at the National Indoor Arena in 00:14:55.139 --> 00:14:57.340 Birmingham. Okay. The band was playing their 00:14:57.340 --> 00:14:59.960 anthem, Ace of Spades. But Taylor didn't play. 00:15:00.059 --> 00:15:02.240 He just came out to wave to the crowd, acknowledge 00:15:02.240 --> 00:15:04.740 the fans, and then left the stage. Yeah. Just 00:15:04.740 --> 00:15:08.039 over a year later, on November 12, 2015, Phil 00:15:08.039 --> 00:15:11.200 Taylor died in London after an illness. He was 00:15:11.200 --> 00:15:14.500 61 years old, and liver failure was cited as 00:15:14.500 --> 00:15:17.470 the cause. The tributes from his bandmates really 00:15:17.470 --> 00:15:20.269 highlight the deep, complicated bond they shared 00:15:20.269 --> 00:15:22.990 beneath all the firings and the chaos. They really 00:15:22.990 --> 00:15:26.350 do. Fast. Eddie Clark released a statement referring 00:15:26.350 --> 00:15:29.850 to him as his dear friend and brother, noting 00:15:29.850 --> 00:15:32.330 that he'd known Phil since he was 21 years old. 00:15:32.490 --> 00:15:35.210 That's a lifetime. It is. Clark remembered him 00:15:35.210 --> 00:15:37.789 as one hell of a character and emphasized how 00:15:37.789 --> 00:15:39.889 much he cherished the fantastic music and the 00:15:39.889 --> 00:15:42.169 fond memories they made together. And the sources 00:15:42.169 --> 00:15:45.480 capture a very raw... unfiltered quote from Lemmy 00:15:45.480 --> 00:15:48.059 right after Taylor's death. Yes, they do. Now, 00:15:48.100 --> 00:15:49.539 before I share this, I want to be completely 00:15:49.539 --> 00:15:52.100 clear. We are strictly just the messengers here 00:15:52.100 --> 00:15:54.399 sharing his exact words as they appear in the 00:15:54.399 --> 00:15:57.200 historical record to capture his raw grief. Right. 00:15:57.340 --> 00:15:59.899 For historical context. We are not taking any 00:15:59.899 --> 00:16:02.700 political sides here or endorsing the viewpoint 00:16:02.700 --> 00:16:05.360 of his statement. We're merely conveying the 00:16:05.360 --> 00:16:07.519 original material as it was documented. It's 00:16:07.519 --> 00:16:10.669 important to state that. Right. So Lemmy told 00:16:10.669 --> 00:16:13.250 Classic Rock magazine that he was devastated 00:16:13.250 --> 00:16:16.090 because one of his best friends had died. He 00:16:16.090 --> 00:16:18.269 said he was feeling very sad and that he missed 00:16:18.269 --> 00:16:20.470 him already. He mentioned that Phil was their 00:16:20.470 --> 00:16:23.110 drummer twice in their career. And then Lemmy 00:16:23.110 --> 00:16:25.590 added that it really angered him that, and this 00:16:25.590 --> 00:16:27.929 is the direct quote, they take somebody like 00:16:27.929 --> 00:16:31.629 him and leave George Bush alive. Such a raw statement. 00:16:31.850 --> 00:16:34.909 Very raw. He told the interviewer to muse on 00:16:34.909 --> 00:16:37.340 that. lamenting that they were still going strong, 00:16:37.539 --> 00:16:39.820 but it was a shame to lose members like Wurzel 00:16:39.820 --> 00:16:42.039 and now Filthy. If we connect this to the bigger 00:16:42.039 --> 00:16:44.980 picture, the raw anger in that statement gives 00:16:44.980 --> 00:16:48.059 way to a moment of profound vulnerability. How 00:16:48.059 --> 00:16:51.360 so? Because in that same tribute, after all the 00:16:51.360 --> 00:16:53.940 bravado, Lemmy added a haunting sentence. He 00:16:53.940 --> 00:16:56.399 said, I think this rock and roll business might 00:16:56.399 --> 00:16:59.980 be bad for the human life. Wow. Coming from Lemmy. 00:17:00.279 --> 00:17:02.899 A man who served as the absolute indestructible 00:17:02.899 --> 00:17:05.119 poster child for the rock and roll lifestyle. 00:17:05.380 --> 00:17:07.579 To admit that the business might be fundamentally 00:17:07.579 --> 00:17:10.299 bad for human life is a staggering realization. 00:17:10.680 --> 00:17:12.920 It is. It's as if he was finally looking at the 00:17:12.920 --> 00:17:15.359 accumulated wreckage of their lifestyle. It was 00:17:15.359 --> 00:17:20.400 a heavy relic. Because the timeline that followed 00:17:20.400 --> 00:17:24.079 was a rapid, heartbreaking succession. It happened 00:17:24.079 --> 00:17:27.440 so fast. Lemmy himself passed away on December 00:17:27.440 --> 00:17:31.220 28, 2015. That was less than seven weeks after 00:17:31.220 --> 00:17:34.099 Phil Taylor died. Less than seven weeks. After 00:17:34.099 --> 00:17:36.599 decades of surviving everything the road threw 00:17:36.599 --> 00:17:39.099 at them, they exit the stage almost simultaneously. 00:17:39.559 --> 00:17:41.660 And the closure of that era didn't stop there. 00:17:41.779 --> 00:17:44.420 Just a couple of years later, on January 10th, 00:17:44.420 --> 00:17:48.960 2018, fast, Eddie Clark also passed away. So 00:17:48.960 --> 00:17:51.200 all three of them. In the span of just over two 00:17:51.200 --> 00:17:53.920 years, the book was rapidly and permanently closed 00:17:53.920 --> 00:17:56.599 on the classic Motorhead trio. That's incredibly 00:17:56.599 --> 00:17:59.000 sad. The three working class men who originally 00:17:59.000 --> 00:18:01.380 met through a convenient car ride and a houseboat 00:18:01.380 --> 00:18:04.000 painting job, who built this massive, aggressively 00:18:04.000 --> 00:18:07.000 fast wall of sound, they were all gone. So what 00:18:07.000 --> 00:18:08.880 does this all mean? That's the big question. 00:18:09.039 --> 00:18:11.480 When we look back at the life of Filthy Animal 00:18:11.480 --> 00:18:14.680 Taylor, we are looking at the gritty, quite literally 00:18:14.680 --> 00:18:17.599 duct -taped engine of a heavy metal revolution. 00:18:17.880 --> 00:18:20.380 Well said. Here's a guy who didn't secure his 00:18:20.380 --> 00:18:22.960 place in rock history through a boardroom meeting 00:18:22.960 --> 00:18:26.200 or a polished audition or even his formal college 00:18:26.200 --> 00:18:29.559 music training. Nope. His legacy was sparked 00:18:29.559 --> 00:18:32.859 by offering someone a simple lift across town 00:18:32.859 --> 00:18:35.779 in his car. A simple ride. And he cemented that 00:18:35.779 --> 00:18:39.799 legacy through a level of painful, sheer willpower 00:18:39.799 --> 00:18:43.180 and physical sacrifice that most of us can barely 00:18:43.180 --> 00:18:45.539 comprehend. It makes you look at your own limits 00:18:45.539 --> 00:18:48.000 differently, I think. Definitely. It is easy 00:18:48.000 --> 00:18:50.400 to look at a guy taping a drumstick to a fractured 00:18:50.400 --> 00:18:53.039 hand and think it is absolute insanity. It kind 00:18:53.039 --> 00:18:56.140 of is. It is. But it forces you to ask a revealing 00:18:56.140 --> 00:18:58.720 question about your own life. What is the one 00:18:58.720 --> 00:19:01.619 thing, the one passion or pursuit that you care 00:19:01.619 --> 00:19:04.380 about so deeply you would endure that kind of 00:19:04.380 --> 00:19:06.819 extreme discomfort to maintain it? It's a great 00:19:06.819 --> 00:19:09.279 question. Furthermore, it highlights how the 00:19:09.279 --> 00:19:12.220 most monumental trajectories in our lives often 00:19:12.220 --> 00:19:14.539 hinge on the most mundane practical decisions, 00:19:14.880 --> 00:19:18.279 like offering a stranger a ride. It is a fascinating 00:19:18.279 --> 00:19:21.440 lens through which to view our own choices. And 00:19:21.440 --> 00:19:23.240 I want to leave you with one final thought to 00:19:23.240 --> 00:19:25.119 mull over as you go about your day. Let's hear 00:19:25.119 --> 00:19:27.220 it. We talked at length about Taylor's physical 00:19:27.220 --> 00:19:30.319 grit. He successfully drummed through a broken 00:19:30.319 --> 00:19:33.640 neck while wearing a brace. He destroyed his 00:19:33.640 --> 00:19:36.319 body to ensure the band never missed a beat. 00:19:36.859 --> 00:19:39.859 He gave his physical self entirely to the gig. 00:19:39.960 --> 00:19:42.779 He gave it everything. Yet years later, despite 00:19:42.779 --> 00:19:45.660 all that undeniable loyalty and physical suffering, 00:19:45.940 --> 00:19:49.349 he was fired for poor performance. It really 00:19:49.349 --> 00:19:52.210 makes you wonder, at what point does sheer physical 00:19:52.210 --> 00:19:55.049 endurance stop being enough? It's a tough reality. 00:19:55.450 --> 00:19:57.609 In any high stakes, high pressure environment, 00:19:57.890 --> 00:20:00.390 how do the unseen personal struggles eventually 00:20:00.390 --> 00:20:03.890 overpower even the most legendary indestructible 00:20:03.890 --> 00:20:06.210 willpower? That's the real tragedy. It is something 00:20:06.210 --> 00:20:08.230 to think about. Thank you for joining us on this 00:20:08.230 --> 00:20:09.809 deep dive and we'll catch you next time.