Motörhead

Surely one of the greatest hard rock bands thats ever lived, started in the mid 1970s by lemmy [he had previously been kicked out of Hawkwind for doing the wrong drugs so decided he had to start a band on his own]. They started out as a power trio consisting of Fast Eddie Clarke on guitar, Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister on Bass & Vocals and Philthy Phil Taylor on drums. Harnessing the energy of punk with raw, biker-driven hard rock Motorhead created a sound which to this day is still copied by bands all over the world. Motorhead were nothing short of a phenomena, stating quite clearly that if they moved in next door your lawn would die!!
Their early material contained lyrics about being out on the road, war, sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll, they even performed a cover of Richard Berry's louie Louie which in fact was to be their first appearance on Top of the Pops. Their best albums for me have to be the live album "No sleep till Hammersmith" called that because Philthy broke his collarbone when playing "who can lift who the highest" with an Irishman!! and the genre defining "Ace of Spades".
Not many bands can say they have achieved what Motorhead have, they still perform to this day, albeit as a rather different set up to the original, but they still deliver the same raw, hard hitting power they did over 30 years ago. How Lemmy hasnt got an OBE for services to music is beyond belief.