Guitarist in classic line-up of Motorhead

Born: October 5, 1950;

Died: January 10, 2018

EDDIE Clarke, who has died aged 67, was one of the founding members of the heavy metal group Motorhead. Together with Ian Kilmister and Phil Taylor, Clarke was part of the line-up that produced all the classic albums including Ace of Spades in 1980 and was central to the band's distinctive, rowdy rock sound based round his thrilling riffs and solos; he also helped establish their reputation for drinking, drugs and all-round rock n roll bad behaviour.

It was Clarke's playing style that earned him his nickname - Fast Eddie. Nicknames were compulsory in the band from the start - Taylor's Philthy Animal and Kilmister was Lemmy. Known as the three amigos on the rock scene, all of them had a taste for drugs and drinking at one point, but Clarke was the least extrovert of the three and the first to give up and go into rehab.

Clarke had joined the band by chance. Already a veteran of several groups, by the mid 1970s he was considering giving it all up and was working on the renovation of a houseboat in Battersea. However, it was there that he met Taylor who asked him if he wanted to join Motorhead. The band already had a burgeoning reputation and, after a rehearsal, he was in.

Born Edward Allan Clarke in Twickenham, Clarke started playing guitar when he was a teenager and worked his way through a number of bands with varying degrees of success. His first, and perhaps the best known, was Zeus with Curtis Knight, but before long he left to form Blue Goose which released an eponymous album in 1974. Clarke then moved on to a band called Continuous Performance with the bassist Charlie Tumahai.

His encounter with Taylor of Motorhead came in 1976 and he swiftly forgot any notion of renovating houseboats and joined the band. Lemmy later said that he had no idea that Clarke had been asked to rehearse but the threesome hit it off.

For Clarke, after years of trying to make things work in a number of bands, Motorhead was a chance to join an already established band that was beginning to go places. It was at one of their first concerts together that Lemmy bestowed Clarke's nickname on him.

They then entered a golden period, releasing a number of albums that established end embellished the band's sound, which was unrestrained, fast, and unapologetic. The first of the albums was Motorhead in 1977 followed by Bomber and Overkill in 1979 and Ace of Spades in 1980. It was the last of those albums, with the hit single of the same name, that became their signature work.

By this point, the consumption of alcohol and drugs was prodigious and there were strains in the internal relationships. They released two more albums together - No Sleep 'til Hammersmith in 1981 and Iron First in 1982 but the same year Clarke left.

There was never any consensus about whose choice the departure was. Lemmy and Taylor said that Clarke resigned; Clarke said he was forced out because the three amigos were no longer amigos. "It was not my choice," said Clarke. "I had imagined dying onstage with Motorhead so it was a blow when they didn't want me in the band any longer."

Clarke went on to form another band, Fastway. originally with the bassist of UFO Pete Way, and they released seven albums in all, the last of which was Dog Eat Dog in 2011. In 2000, Clarke made a guest appearance at Motorhead's 25th anniversary concert at Brixton Academy, London, and in 2014, appeared on stage with Lemmy at the Birmingham Arena for a rendition of Ace of Spades.

He had given up drinking and smoking but had suffered from emphysema and for the last two years had the status of the last survivor of Motorhead's original line-up. Lemmy died in 2015 little more than a month after the death of Taylor. Speaking about their deaths, Clarke said: "I did stop partying as heavy as they did. He was strong as an ox, Lem, but I stopped drinking many years ago so I had the advantage."

Clarke died after being treated in hospital for pneumonia. Paying tribute to him, the band's ex-drummer Mikkey Dee said: "This is terrible news, the last of the three amigos.

"I saw Eddie not too long ago and he was in great shape, so this is a complete shock. I was looking forward to seeing him in the UK this summer. Now Lem and Philthy can jam with Eddie again and if you listen carefully I'm sure you'll hear them, so watch out!"