Portal:Motörhead/Selected biography/4

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Michael Burston (born October 23, 1949), commonly known by the stage name Würzel, is an English musician. Formerly a guitarist in the heavy metal band Motörhead, Würzel is currently a figure in British ambient music.

Burston was born in Cheltenham, England. Before joining Motörhead in 1984, Burston had been a corporal in the army and had played in the bands Bastard and Warfare. Joining another relatively unknown guitarist, Phil Campbell, they played so well together at the rehearsal they were invited, both were taken on. The new, four-piece line-up made its debut recording a backing track for The Young Ones on February 14, 1984. He had acquired the nickname Wurzel whilst in the Army, due his scarecrow-style hair and bumpkin-like manner. (See Worzel Gummidge for an explanation of this nickname.) Lemmy demanded that Würzel add an umlaut to the 'U' in his name, for important dramatic Heavy Metal effect.

Burston saw a number of interesting changes to the line-up in the band, each involving the drummer, until he left in 1995. Although he played on the Sacrifice, he left the band before the tour. He was not replaced and Motörhead remains a three-piece.

In 1998, quasi-inspired by psychedelically-informed experiences in Ghent, Belgium, Würzel recorded and released an ambient, improvised avant-garde album entitled Chill Out Or Die. He followed this up with a piece called Trippin' Me Nuts Off - Live and Wankered in Leuven. (read more...)