On Wednesday Fast Eddie Clarke, went to join Lemmy and Phil Taylor in reforming the classic Motorhead lineup in the great beyond. He was 67 and passed from phenomena. Although the last Motorhead lineup of Phil Campbell and Mikkey Dee were in the band longer then Eddie, it is considered that the early Motorhead albums are their defining moment. Overkill I like a bit more than Ace Of Spades but that's a great album in its own right. No Sleep Till Hammersmith broke the band into the hard rock scene (they were not metal, Lemmy loved three chord garage rock and roll) But with Iron Fist, Clarke departed after Lemmy wanted to do a version of Stand By Your Man with Wendy O Williams.
His next band was Fastway, which he started with Pete Way but Chrysalis wouldn't let Way out of his contract, so Way departed and Charlie McCracken replaced him. Bonus points were given when Jerry Shirley played drums and the first Fastway album is one of the best albums of the 1980s, Eddie Kramer produced that one and the followup All Fired Up, which seemed to be more outtakes from the first album. But they did have a bona fide hit with Say What You Will. Waiting For The Roar was a career killer, Terry Manning, the producer opting to update Fastway's sound with keyboards and processed beats. The followup, Trick Or Treat was a slight return to form but David King left (he went on to Flogging Molly) and On Target, Clarke went for a Def Leppard sound to which fans got off the bus. In 2011, Clarke revived Fastway for Eat Dog Eat, which was his hardest rocking album since the first album. Clarke would jam with Lemmy a couple times in Motorhead and was rumored to be working on something with Lemmy till the iconic bass player died. With Clarke's passing, the book on Fastway is closed. A very underrated guitar player but at times when he tried to change with the times, it didn't quite work as well as his years with Motorhead and the first year of Fastway.
On Friday Keith Jackson, classic football announcer died at age 89. He was the voice of College Football but also announced the first season of Monday Night Football. With his passing, college football will never be the same again. One of my favorite announcers.
Dolores O'riordan, Cranberry's lead singer and solo artist died Monday. She was 46
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/15/cranberries-singer-dolores-oriordan-dies-aged-46
Edwin Hawkins, with his gospel band gave the world Oh Happy Day, a top ten hit in 1969 passed away on Monday from pancreatic cancer. He was 74
https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/8094294/edwin-hawkins-dead-gospel-singer-oh-happy-day
