Fast Eddie Clarke (Motorhead/Fastway) was born on 5 October, 1950 in Twickenham, Middlesex, England. He got his first guitar in 1965 when his father had “a win on the horses”.
And a little later in that year when he turned fifteen years old, he had already been through several local bands, one of which was called The Bitter End. Of his “Fast” moniker, Clarke has said “I didn’t get the name Fast Eddie because of any sex thing, and it wasn’t even because I could play fast. It was just that I could play one note in a solo really fast,” referring to his skillful tremolo picking. He became a proficient guitarist, honing his chops with various other bands, playing local gigs until 1973, when he turned professional by joining Curtis Knight’s blues prog rock band, Zeus, as lead guitarist.
In 1974, the band recorded an album called The Second Coming at Olympic Studios. Clarke wrote the music to Knight’s lyrics on a track entitled “The Confession”.
Clarke also recorded the album Sea of Time with Zeus. Later, with guitarist friend Allan Callan, keyboard player Nicky Hogarth, and drummer Chris Perry, Clarke attended a recorded jam session at Command Studios in Piccadilly. As a result of the tracks from this session, the quartet secured a deal with Anchor Records, and called the band Blue Goose. With a recording contract secured, Clarke, Hogarth and Perry left Zeus to focus on their own project with Callan.
But Clarke soon formed another band with Be-Bop Deluxe bassist Charlie Tumahai, vocalist Ann McCluskie and drummer Jim Thompson. Called Continuous Performance, this line up lasted until early 1975, when their demo tracks failed to secure them a record deal and the band split up. Still out to secure a record deal, Clarke then formed a group with Nicky Hogarth from Blue Goose, bass player Tony Cussons and drummer Terry Slater. Their efforts to get a deal were also unsuccessful, and Clarke temporarily gave up the music industry.
While re-fitting a houseboat, he met drummer Phil Taylor, who had recently joined Motörhead. However, according to Lemmy Kilmister‘s authorized biography, it appears that Clarke was introduced to Lemmy by a receptionist at the rehearsal studio, Gertie, who was romantically involved with Clarke at the time.
So the threesome (Lemmy, Clarke, Taylor) are considered the classic Motörhead line-up and have the Motörhead, Overkill, Ace of Spades, Bomber, No Sleep ’til Hammersmith and Iron Fist albums plus a string of hit singles to their credit.
Eddie was a member of Motörhead for the most successful five years of their career following the release of the Chiswick album.
And then in 1982, whilst on tour in the US he was unexpectedly kicked out of the band over musical differences with Lemmy and Phil Taylor. Clarke himself later said:
“[Philthy] was the main instigator in my being excluded from the band. Notice I do not call it leaving, as it was not my choice. I had imagined dying onstage with Motörhead, so it was a blow when they didn’t want me in the band any longer.”
But soon after, Eddie got together with UFO bass player Pete Way to form Fastway, an amalgamation of their own two names. Added by ex-Humble Pie drummer Jerry Shirley and vocalist Dave King. Just as the band signed a deal with CBS Records, Way left the band to be replaced by former Taste bassist Charlie McCracken. CBS however had faith in Fastway and decided to sign them despite this setback. Fastway went on to record a total of nine albums over 25 years with Eddie Clarke the only permanent member of the band and with numerous contributions from amateurs and professional musicians.
Just like during the excessive rock and roll lifestyle during the Motorhead years, the candle kept burning on both sides and there was a price to pay.
By 1993 Clarke was being admitted to a hospital for quite a while. After a slow recovery, Clarke released a solo album, It Ain’t Over Till It’s Over, which blends Motörhead and Fastway styles. Lemmy also helped out on the album by writing and singing the track “Laugh at the Devil”. The double CD release, Fast Eddie Clarke Anthology, on Sanctuary Records showcased a collection of Clarke’s music spanning his career before and after Motörhead. It also marked a return to live performances with a re-formed Fastway, including an appearance in the UK at the Download Festival in summer 2007.
Eddie’s inspirational driving guitar-playing kept fans interested and Fastway toured and played festivals all over the world, but gradually sales spiraled down and “Dog Eat Dog” for the German Steamhammer label in 2011 was the band’s final album.
Eddie had a home studio and continued playing guitar and his final album was “Make My Day – Back To Blues” in 2014; a collaboration between Clarke and the keyboardist from Shakatak, Bill Sharpe. Clarke reunited with Lemmy on 6 November 2014 at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham to play the Motörhead track “Ace of Spades”.
Fast Eddie Clarke died on 10 January 2018, aged 67, in a hospital where he was being treated for pneumonia. He suffered from emphysema.
