Michael Burston

Born October 23, 1949 in Cheltenham, England.
Died July 9th, 2011
61 years old

Würzel ed Motörhead in 1984 and played with the band for eleven years, appearing on six studio albums plus live albums, videos and compilations. Prior to being in Motörhead he was also in the bands Bastard and Warfare. Burston also served in the British Army, earning the nickname Worzel due to his resemblance to the English fictional character Worzel Gummidge. Lemmy reportedly insisted he add the umlaut because it was more “metal.”

After leaving Motörhead, Würzel appeared on albums by several other punk and metal bands, including Splodgenessabounds, WVKEAF and Disgust. He also released an experimental ambient album called “Chill Out or Die” in 1998. More recently, Würzel had started a new band, Leader of Down, who had announced that their debut would be released in 2010, but it never came out.

In 2009, Würzel made an appearance with Motörhead at the Hammersmith Apollo, where they performed their classic song “Ace of Spades.”