MOVING TRIBUTES PAID TO FAST EDDIE CLARKE


13th January 2018



fast eddie clarke

Tributes to legendary Motörhead and Fastway guitarist Fast Eddie Clarke have been paid and there are some incredibly moving words amongst the many acknowledgements.

Eddie passed away peacefully on Wednesday night, 10th January 2018, after a battle with pneumonia. He was, in his own words, the "last man standing" of Motörhead's classic 1976 to 1982 line-up and enjoyed major success with his post-Motörhead band, Fastway.

Eddie's wife, Mariko, made the following post on Eddie's Official Facebook page early this morning:



Fastway drummer Steve Strange is the man responsible for organising the band's tours of recent years and wrote a beautiful and heartfelt tribute to Eddie which you can read in full here.

"I was totally devastated late yesterday to hear of the passing of my very good friend and Fastway bandmate & leader, Eddie Clarke.

"I have known Eddie for over 30 years and he had a huge impact and influence on my life.

"I remember living in his flat in Belsize Park for many months where he took me under his wing and looked after me during the late 80s.

"He was a true hero and one of the kindest most generous people I have ever met. Motörhead were the first band I ever saw live and his was the first autograph I ever got and ironically we would become great friends a little later on in life.

"I've some fantastic memories of Eddie over the years and had a lot of great fun touring with him. When we put Fastway back together again in 2006/7 we got to enjoy some great experiences playing on many big festivals in Europe and Japan. It was always Eddie's dream to play in Japan as he never made it there with either Motörhead or Fastway previously. We all felt honoured to be with him on that trip when he got to play in front of 15,000 – 20,000 people.

"We also played some more shows in October & November 2016 as special guests to Saxon along with our good friends Girlschool. It was very nostalgic to play alongside Biff and the girls. We had so much fun on that tour and some amazing shows.

"I still can't believe he's gone but on behalf of Toby Jepson, John McManus and myself we would like to send our loving condolences to his wife Mariko at this very difficult time for her.

"RIP my friend. Steve"

fast eddie clarke

Fastway frontman Toby Jepson also paid an incredibly wonderful tribute to Eddie, as follows:



Live Nation and Decadence promoter Paul Shuff has very special memories of Eddie:



Producer and Director of the famed 2010 'Lemmy' documentary, Wes Orshoski, shared some wise words that he received from Eddie when they met:

"Really, really sad to wake to the news of the passing of Fast Eddie Clarke, the last living member of the classic Motörhead line-up. Meeting and interviewing Fast Eddie was one of the absolute highlights of the Lemmy documentary experience for me. Beyond the fact that he was a hero, he was also a great hang, a bloke's bloke. My gut was hurting from laughing so hard by the end of the interview.

"That interview came at the end of a long winter Motörhead tour in 2007. Motörhead played in northern Finland, in Oulu, and we had an early flight from Oulu to the UK. So everyone stayed up drinking cider and Jack in this backstage labyrinth, band, crew, film crew and super fans (hey Klaus Fabry, remember that night?!?!) playing pool, laughing. It was the first of only two times that I saw Lemmy's eyes get glassy from drink.

"Anyways, our flight was at like 6.00am and we were completely exhausted from two weeks of work, booze and travel, and instead of flying home to the States, I wanted to push it and stop at Heathrow to interview Fast Eddie, who lived in a row of terrace houses near the airport. We did the interview in his little detached studio behind his home (Motörhead sales plaques on the wall), and he was so friendly, honest and warm. And he just laughed so much, remembering the speed and mayhem filled glory days.

"I remember him saying that you always remember and treasure the early days of your career most. He said you might make a million bucks on this film, and go on to all sorts of success, but it's the struggle that's the good stuff, when you're broke and you're doing it for the love. Those are the memories you'll cherish the most."

fast eddie clarke

Michael Hann of The Guardian wrote one of our favourite tributes with an exceptional piece that pointed out just how influential Eddie's playing was, and shall remain. You can read Michael's article right here.

Tributes have also been paid by Phil Campbell, Mikkey Dee, Lars Ulrich, Girlshool, Biff Byford of Saxon and many others and the outpouring of respect and love for Eddie has been immense. A true legend, in every sense of the word, he will be badly missed.