Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers

The Rise of Motörhead

By: Martin Popoff

Narrated by: A. T. Chandler

Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers is the first book to celebrate the classic-era Motörhead lineup of Lemmy Kilmister, "Fast" Eddie Clarke, and Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor. Through interviews with all of the principal troublemakers, Martin Popoff celebrates the formation of the band and the records that made them legends: Motörhead, Overkill, Bomber, Ace of Spades, No Sleep 'til Hammersmith, and Iron Fist. An in-depth coda brings the story up to date with the shocking recent deaths of Taylor and Kilmister.

Motörhead comes to life in this book as bad-luck bad boys - doused in drink and drugs, most notably speed - incapable of running their lives right save for Fast Eddie, who is charged with holding things together. Popoff also examines the heady climate of music through the band's rise to prominence during the New Wave of British heavy metal, with detailed reflection on Motörhead's unique position in the scene as both originators and embattled survivors who carried on the renegade spirit of those times.

©2017 Martin Popoff (P)2017 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Martin has the most thorough knowledge of heavy metal of anybody I've ever met." (Dee Snider, Twisted Sister frontman)

Very disappointing to say the least

Being a fan of Motorhead, I had greater expectations. This reads (listens) like a collage of very cheezy MTV audio interviews (without video), lacking any substance, basic history, anecdotes and basically ends up left me unable to finish this audiobook. Sorry to be so negative, really I am.

Skip it if your already a fan

Basically a collection of interviews that most fans have already read/heard with some commentary by the "author". The narrator sounds like he's trying too hard to be "bad-ass" which I found condescending, yeah all the mouth breather fans will like it more if you try to sound tough. If you don't know anything about Motorhead this may be useful to you but other than a few bits about behind the scenes business it's pretty much all a repeat for a fan of the band. RIP Lemmy, Eddie and Phil.

Good but not great.

What did you love best about Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers?

The best bits are of course the stories from the studio and how the respective albums came to be and for a novice motorhead fan this will be a great listen. On the other hand, if you know your Motorhead - you've read the articles, seen the interviews and watched the films - then you're going to be listening to a lot of stories you've heard before, only this time round they have far less punch as it isn't Lemmy, Fast Eddie or Philthy that's telling them, it's some american dude who calls NWOBHM "N-W-O-B-H-M" (and that's only one of quite a few gaffs, which really subtract from the enjoyment of the book i'm afraid - the devil is in the details).

Would you be willing to try another one of A. T. Chandler’s performances?

Personally i didn't enjoy the narrator. The amount of gaffs and the slow, trudging pace of his american drawl are really not a match for what is - or should be - a fast paced story. Having it read by an englishman would've been far, far better in my opinion.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

If the information within the book was new to me, yes, i could've heard it in one session. As it was, and as a die hard Motorhead fan, this was packed with stories and anecdotes i'd heard before. It was good, but not great.

Horrible

horrible horrible horrible Horrible horrible horrible Horrible horrible horrible horrible horrible horrible horrible horrible Horrible horrible horrible Horrible horrible horrible horrible horrible don’t waste time and money on this horrible horrible pos

Nearly ideal

This particular Motorhead book is quite well done and it is always interesting hearing the divergent opinions of the main characters. I personally would have liked to hear more from Lemmy, but that's a small problem.

Great Listen!

Very insightful look into the history, evolution and interaction of the band members throughout the years. A must-read for the avid fan.

not bad but not what I thought

wasn't bad but not what I thought. covers the original lineup and felt more like long-winded reviews of their first handful of albums instead of a history of the band

well written and researched

fantastic look at one of the last true rock n roll gods. personally I would have rather heard more tales of their rock n roll debauchery and less about the band members fighting but a great read that really gives a deep dive into the og lineup.

LOVED IT!

One of the best books I've listened to so far. Hands down. I plan on listening to it at least a few more times as there is so much info to absorb.

awsome look into motorhead

it was a good book from start to finish really give you a inside look at the original line up of motor head.

Motõrhead - Best Rock n Roll band ever

Brilliant book. Very very greatly and graciously written. Not a lot can be said that's not entirely been covered. Motõrhead - Best Rock n Roll band ever because they're true to their fans and the music they graced me and millions of fans alike with absolutely no compromise.
A MUST read/listen!!!!!

We are Motorhead and we play Rock n Roll

Great book well researched, covering the "original" line up some nice anecdotes and stories from the band and people connected to them. Livened up with some memorably hilarious mispronounciations , I seriously doubt Phil ever called anyone a "Twot"

For true fans of Metal.

The book was great id highly recommend for all rock fans.Its tells a great story of the much lived trio of Lemmy,Philthy and fast Eddie and all the superb records of their era of Motorhead.
The narrator was good also and i breezed through the book due to that.

Okay, could be better

A nice collection of interviews. The narrator isn’t great, he mispronounces names, and his accent is very jarring. If you can get passed that, you deserve a medal.

Motörhead

Not my genre of music but this was a good listen even if you weren’t a fan

worth a listen

interesting as a fan of the band but I was hoping for a bit more 'dirt' on how the guys partied and lived from their perspective.
this book is more of a collection of interviews presented as a reference work.
it's about the band not the people in the band.

Ok biography

Reasonable account of a unique band. However, the narrator’s North American accent really jars. Either reading dialogue of the band members or mispronouncing place names (Chiswick!) became irritating in this accent.

Tough listening

What can I say other than this is the first book I had to give up on 30% in . Very repetitive, a little boring , not for me .

Brilliant

I was hooked throughout!!! Perfect for any Motorhead fan. Nicely read as well although it would have felt different if it was a British accent.

Terrible reading

A book named after a ZZ Top song that Motorhead covered tells you all you need to know. Quite a boring book with good album reviews, and no stories of hell raising, and I don't think one beer is even mentioned. Feels like it's pieced together by cuttings from magazine articles, repeats itself a lot, and to top it off, is read by someone that can't even pronounce most of the words properly. I'd suggest getting White Line Fever instead