Ex-Motorhead Members ‘Fast’ Eddie Clarke and ‘Philthy’ Phil Taylor Rejoin Band Onstage

It isn't the full-on reunion that some longtime Motorhead fans are hoping for, but the crowd at the band's Nov. 6 show received an unexpected treat when former members 'Fast' Eddie Clarke and 'Philthy' Phil Taylor joined the group onstage.

Although Taylor didn't step back behind the drum kit, instead opting to tell the crowd hello, Clarke strapped on his guitar and -- as you can see from the fan-shot video above -- joined in for the evening's rendition of the signature Motorhead number 'Ace of Spades.'

Both Clarke and Taylor were in the lineup during the band's rise to fame in the '70s and early '80s, but according to most versions of the story, Clarke walked out in 1982 over his objections to recording a cover of the country classic 'Stand by Your Man' with Wendy O. Williams and the Plasmatics. Clarke has disputed this, however, telling Classic Rock Revisited that Taylor was "the main instigator in my being excluded from the band" and adding, "Everyone else says I left, not me! It is funny how I am still a little raw about the whole thing of not being in Motorhead anymore. Some things you just don’t get over. I had imagined dying onstage with Motorhead, so it was a blow when they did not want me in the band any longer."

Taylor left the band in 1984, then returned in 1987, lasting until 1992, when he was let go after cutting the drums for one song ('I Ain't No Nice Guy') on the band's 'March or Die' LP. Nice as it is to see the guys (somewhat) back together again, there's no reason to believe this was anything more than a one-off thing; as recently as 2011, Motorhead mastermind Lemmy scoffed at the notion of a reunion with his former mates, telling Guitar International, "They’ve been out of practice. It’s ridiculous to think of it. Then I would be a nostalgia act. I’m all for the now and the future."