Motördamn - Over The Top

After the failure of the Damned’s sophomore album “Music For Pleasure”, and the departure of Brian James in 1978, Dave Vanian, the Captain, and Rat continued playing briefly as the Doomed with Lemmy jamming live on bass before the intrepid trio could reclaim the band name. With Algy Ward recruited from Aussie legends The Saints on bass, the new Damned set about recording for their sixth single, “Love Song”. Then on May 14^th 1979, (I hope you’re taking notes, I may be asking questions later) The Damned found themselves in the same studio as Motörhead. What happens when legends collide? Well, this single for one. As the back label says, ‘the seven headed beast’ put down “Over The Top” then Lemmy hung around to help crackout the Doomed’s live favourite, “Ballroom Blitz”.

This historic 7" single offers an aggressive, time-capsule glimpse into the exact moment UK punk rock collided head-on with heavy metal. Recorded in May 1979 during a collaborative session featuring Lemmy Kilmister, Fast Eddie Clarke, Philthy Animal Taylor, and members of The Damned, the title track serves up a driving, high-octane groove. The single captures a raw, uncompromising energy; it trades polished studio finesse for sheer attitude, presenting a slower, sludgier, yet vastly more menacing take on the track compared to Motörhead’s frantic live versions.

For collectors and historians of loud British rock, this record remains an essential novelty artifact. The instrumentation feels delightfully anarchic, with Lemmy’s distorted Rickenbacker bass providing a concrete foundation for the dual-band chaos. While casual listeners might find the unrefined production somewhat muddy, the pure historical novelty of hearing two of the era's most notorious live acts completely loose in the studio makes this limited pressing a thrilling spin for completionists.

Ripped to MP3

A: "Over The Top"

B: "Ballroom Blitz" (alternatively pressed as "Neat Neat Neat" depending on the specific archive variant) (bet ya didn't know that!)

The Seven Headed Beast are;
Alisdair Ward: "Algy Ward"
Christopher Millar: "Rat Scabies"
David Letts: "Dave Vanian"
Eddie Clarke: "Fast Eddie Clarke"
Ian Kilmister: "Lemmy"
Phil Taylor: "Philthy Animal Taylor"
Raymond Burns: "Captain Sensible"