Editing Motörhead (section)

===1978–1979: Rise to success: ''Overkill'' and ''Bomber''===
[[File:Lemmy-taylor-clarke.JPG|thumb|The 1976–1982 Motörhead line-up: [[Lemmy|Lemmy Kilmister]], [[Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor]] and [[Eddie Clarke (musician)|"Fast" Eddie Clarke]]]]

In July 1978, the band returned to the management of Douglas Smith, who secured a one-off singles deal with [[Gerry Bron]]'s [[Bronze Records]].<ref name="PFFT" /> The resulting "[[Louie Louie (Motörhead version)|Louie Louie]]" single (a cover version of [[Richard Berry (musician)|Richard Berry]] and [[The Kingsmen]] standard) was issued in September peaking at number 68 on the [[UK Singles Chart]],<ref name="Mhcharts" /> and the band toured the UK to promote it, recorded a [[BBC Radio 1]] ''[[John Peel#BBC career|John Peel in session]]'' on 18 September (these tracks were later issued on the 2005 ''[[BBC Live & In-Session]]'' album), and appeared for the first time on [[BBC Television]]'s ''[[Top of the Pops]]'' on 25 October.<ref name="ICGM"/> Pub rock and early Punk rock label [[Chiswick Records]] capitalised on this new level of success by re-issuing the debut album ''Motörhead'' on white vinyl through [[EMI Records]].

The single's success led to Bronze extending their contract, and put the band back into the studio to record an album, this time with producer [[Jimmy Miller]] at [[The Roundhouse|Roundhouse Studios]].<ref name="RC1"/> A hint of what the band had recorded for the album came on 9 March 1979 when the band played "[[Overkill (Motörhead song)|Overkill]]" on ''[[Top of the Pops]]'' to support the release of the single ahead of the ''[[Overkill (Motörhead album)|Overkill]]'' album, which was released on 24 March. It became Motörhead's first album to break into the top 40 of the UK Albums chart, reaching number 24, with the single reaching number 39 on the UK Singles Chart.<ref name="Mhcharts" /> These releases were followed by the "Overkill" UK tour which began on 23 March.<ref name="ICGM"/> A subsequent single was released in June, coupling the album track "[[No Class]]" as the [[A-side and B-side|A-side]] with the previously unreleased song "Like a Nightmare" on the B-side. It fared worse than both the album and previous single but reached number 61 on the UK singles chart.<ref name="Mhcharts" />

During July and August, except for a break to appear at the [[Reading Festival]], the band were working on their next album, ''[[Bomber (album)|Bomber]]''. Released on 27 October, it reached number 12 on the UK Albums Chart.<ref name="Mhcharts" /> On 1 December, it was followed by the "[[Bomber (song)|Bomber]]" single, which reached number 34 on the UK Singles Chart.<ref name="Mhcharts" /> The "Bomber" Europe and UK tour followed, with support from [[Saxon (band)|Saxon]]. The stage show featured a spectacular aircraft [[bomber]]-shaped lighting rig. During the "Bomber" tour, United Artists put together tapes recorded during the Rockfield Studios sessions in 1975–1976 and released them as the album ''On Parole'', which peaked at number 65 on the UK Albums Chart in December.<ref name="Mhcharts" />

On 8 May 1980, while the band were on tour in Europe, Bronze released ''[[The Golden Years (EP)|The Golden Years]]'', which sold better than any of their previous releases, reaching number eight on the UK Singles Chart.<ref name="Mhcharts" /> The band had, however, preferred the title ''Flying Tonight'', in reference to the "Bomber" lighting rig. On 20 August, the band had a 40-minute filmed slot, along with [[Girlschool]]'s 20 minutes performing live at the Nottingham Theatre Royal for the ''Rockstage'' programme, broadcast on UK television by the [[Associated Television|ATV]] on 4 April 1981.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/series/16507 |title=BFI – Film & TV Database – ROCKSTAGE |access-date=5 July 2009 |publisher=[[British Film Institute]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022093447/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/series/16507 |archive-date=22 October 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>