Motorhead Asks Fans Not to Buy Their Record
Attention all Motorhead fans who have been saving up to buy the band's upcoming 'Complete Early Years' box: Don't bother, because they really don't want you to.
In fact, they tried to sue to prevent its release, but they lost the case -- so now that those early recordings are surfacing to the tune of a whopping $600 price tag, it's a good time to revisit the band's public disdain for the project. As frontman Lemmy put it, "Unfortunately, greed once again rears its yapping head. I would advise against it, even for the most rabid completists!"
He continued, "It really bothers me that these people would put this out at these prices, especially in this day and age, when money is tight. There you go again, labels, trying to squeeze out every last dime you can from our fans. But they reap what they sow, don't they? Look what's going on with the music business. These are fine examples of corporate greed: Reissuing the same stuff over and over again, overcharging the customers with outrageous pricing, basically trying to rape our fanbase."
Timed to celebrate the band's 35th anniversary, the 'Complete Early Years' set devotes 15 CDs to the dawn of Motorhead's career, collecting their first eight albums (from 'Motorhead' to 'No Remorse') along with assorted early singles and EPs, plus a book, poster, and "a collection of badges." It's all bound up in a handsome-looking box affixed with an outsized version of their logo, but as far as Lemmy is concerned, none of it's worth the cost.
"Although we still make money from record sales, this is not the way I ever intended it," he added. "I don't like to see fans getting ripped off or taken advantage of. And that's what's happening here."