Bomber (album) - History

History

During the recording of this album, the producer Jimmy Miller was increasingly under the influence of heroin, at one point disappearing entirely from the studio, later being found asleep at the wheel of his car. Ironically the album features the band's first anti-heroin song - "Dead Men Tell No Tales".

This album caught Lemmy at his most ferocious, hitting hard at the police in "Lawman", marriage and how his father left him and his mother in "Poison", television in "Talking Head" and show business in "All the Aces". This album is the first to have a picture of the band on the cover, which all three members are inside a plane. The title track was inspired by Len Deighton's novel Bomber. On one track, "Step Down", "Fast" Eddie Clarke is featured on vocals.

The single "Bomber" was released on 1 December 1979, two months ahead of the album; the single's initial pressing of 20,000 on blue vinyl was soon sold out and was replaced by black vinyl. The album was released on 27 October 1979 and like the single, was initially pressed in blue vinyl. The Bomber Tour followed, for which a forty-foot aluminium-tube 'bomber' was made; this had four 'engines', whereas the plane depicted on the album sleeve (which bore a resemblance to the Heinkel He 111) had two. This lighting-rig could move backwards and forwards, and side-to-side - the first to be able to do so.

The album cover features art by English commercial artist, Adrian Chesterman who was also responsible for creating cover art for, amongst others, Chris Rea for his 1989 Road to Hell album.

A special double CD reissue of Bomber was released in June 2005 to coincide with Motörhead's 30th anniversary tour. The bonus tracks (bar one) on the second CD, however, have all previously been available.