Coming in a robust box via BMG on September 6, Make My Day: The Rock ‘N’ Roll Story Of Fast Eddie Clarke celebrates the late Motörhead/Fastway guitarist with a 4CD career retrospective and 320-page book written by veteran rock journalist Kris Needs with Clarke’s widow Mariko Fujiwara.
The book that named the set, Make My Day: The Rock ‘N’ Roll Story Of Fast Eddie Clarke charts the guitarist’s life and career including his epiphany seeing the Yardbirds at Eel Pie Island, playing with assorted bands, recording two albums with former Jimi Hendrix associate Curtis Knight, riding with Motörhead’s most revered lineup between 1976 and 1982, forming Fastway and releasing two solo albums. Mariko and Eddie’s closest friends provide detailed insights into Eddie’s life, including growing up in Twickenham, topping charts with Motörhead, overcoming personal problems, finding happiness with Mariko and becoming the smitten co-owner of Cookie the Maltese-Shihtzu cross.
As editor of the UK’s first serious music monthly Zigzag and one of Motörhead’s earliest press champions, Kris Needs spent five years close to the band during its most successful period and beyond. To this end, Needs also interviewed close friends, bandmates, associated bands including Girlschool and Saxon plus collaborators from different stages of Eddie’s roller coaster life and career, emerging with a definitive account that ends up a love story.
The CD boxset covers Fast Eddie’s recording career of over 40 years including tracks requested by Mariko, starting with The Early Years, which includes Zeus and his subsequent band Continuous Performance, along with three tracks from the legendary Muggers, who Eddie and Philthy ‘Animal’ Taylor played with in 1978 along with ‘Speedy’ Keen and Heartbreakers bassist Billy Rath.
CD2’s Motörhead highlights Eddie’s most outstanding performances with the ‘classic lineup’ of Lemmy, Philthy ‘Animal’ Taylor, including Ace Of Spades and other much-loved rampages, three previously unreleased Bomber album demos and his vocal performances on the Headgirl project with Girlschool and Stone Dead Forever.
CD3’s Fastway straddles different incarnations of the band Fast Eddie formed with UFO bassist Pete Way after departing from Motorhead in 1982, including demos, remixes and tracks from their eight albums. Along with curios.
CD4, The Solo Years mainly draws from Fast Eddie’s two solo albums, It Ain’t Over ‘Till It’s Over and his final work with underrated peak Make My Day: Back To The Blues, created with Shakatak’s Bill Sharpe.
