They're still going, of course, having earnt a similar place in the affections of the British public to that of the Queen Mother. While they've long since outgrown their usefulness, and while most people are hard put these days to recall what it was they were useful for in the first place, nobody really begrudges them anything. In Motorhead's case, Ace Of Spades is the reason. Or, to be precise, the title track of this album is the reason. "Ace Of Spades", along with Steppenwolf's "Born To Be Wild", is the definitive heavy metal biker anthem, and Lemmy's mid-song bellow of "And that's the way I like it baby, I don't want to live forever" is declaration of intent that has rung down the ages. That Lemmy has since given every appearance of obstinate immortality does not detract from it in the slightest. --Andrew Mueller