Phil Taylor (musician)

Phil Taylor
Taylor at Afan Lido, Port Talbot in 1982
Background information
Also known as	Philthy Animal Taylor
Born	(1954-09-21)21 September 1954 Hasland, Chesterfield, England
Died	11 November 2015(2015-11-11) (aged 61)
Genres	Heavy metal, rock n roll, hard rock, speed metal
Instruments	Drums
Years active	1975–2015
Associated acts	Motörhead, Waysted

Philip John Taylor (21 September 1954 – 11 November 2015), better known as Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor, was an English rock drummer in the English rock band Motörhead from 1975–1984 and 1987–1992 recording eleven studio albums and four live albums, including No Sleep 'til Hammersmith and Nö Sleep at All, between them. The Motörhead line-up consisting of Lemmy, "Fast" Eddie Clarke and Taylor are considered the 'classic' line-up of the band.

Born on 21 September 1954, in Hasland, Chesterfield, England, Taylor grew up in Leeds and was a Leeds United hooligan. He took up drum lessons at Leeds College of Music on advice from his father. He replaced Motörhead's first drummer, Lucas Fox, during the recording of the band's first album On Parole in 1975. Lemmy explains choosing him to play in Motörhead 'because he had a car and could give us a lift back down to the studio, the drummer we had wasn't working out very well and Phil kept saying that he could play'. Taylor introduced the band to "Fast" Eddie Clarke, having worked with him while painting a houseboat. Taylor was unable to overdub the drumming on the "Lost Johnny" track as he was arrested for being drunk and disorderly. Also, the studio time had run out by the time he was released.

In 1978, Taylor, Lemmy and Clarke interrupted one of The Damned's Chiswick album sessions, turning it into a recorded 'jam session'. One track from this – "Ballroom Blitz" – appeared as the B-side of I Just Can't Be Happy Today. Shortly after recording the classic Ace of Spades album in 1980, Taylor broke his neck after being lifted above the head of a friend in a test of strength, only to be dropped upon his head. Taylor continued to play in Motörhead with the aid of a neck brace, as is visible in the music video for "Ace of Spades". As a result, Taylor had a prominent lump located on the back of his neck (affectionately referred to as his "knob"), thought to be a calcium deposit caused by his previous spinal trauma. Tour-disrupting injuries were not unfamiliar to Taylor at the time, as he had previously broken his hand whilst punching a man outside his flat in London. In typical uncompromising Motörhead style, Taylor continued to drum by using gaffer tape to attach his drum stick into his hand until it had sufficiently healed.