Ace of Spades (song)

Overview

The song was first released as a 7-inch vinyl single in October 1980, serving as a preview for both the album of the same name and the band’s autumn tour. Bronze Records also put out a 12-inch vinyl pressing with a special Christmas picture sleeve, limited to 50,000 copies. The cover photo, showing the band in Santa outfits, was shot at the Aylesbury Fair while they were on tour. Additional 7-inch versions came out in Germany and Spain with different sleeves, and a Japanese release included a color picture insert featuring the lyrics in both English and Japanese.

One-sided test pressings, which were not mis-presses but used in the trade, made their way out of the pressing plant and are now available on the market. The track begins with an overdriven bass intro played by Lemmy. He explained that the lyrics “used gambling metaphors, mostly cards and dice—when it comes to that sort of thing, I'm more into the one-arm bandits actually, but you can't really sing about spinning fruit, and the wheels coming down.”

On September 6, 1980, Lemmy was interviewed by Graham Neale on BBC Radio 1’s Rock on Saturday show, where “Bomber,” “Ace of Spades,” and “Love Me Like a Reptile” were played. The band later performed the song on the BBC TV show Top of the Pops on October 6 and 20.

Commercial success

Following frontman Lemmy's death in December 2015 and the band's breakup, "Ace of Spades" re-entered the UK Singles Chart. It initially peaked at number 15 upon its original release, spending 13 weeks on the chart. In January 2016, the song hit number 9 at the midweek point, settling at number 13 on the official Friday chart. By that month, it had sold 208,830 digital copies. On 9 January 2016, it topped the UK Rock & Metal Singles and Albums Charts. The track has also appeared in advertisements for Pot Noodle (Computer Graphic), IKEA, and Kronenbourg 1664.

Critical reception

Though widely regarded as the signature Motörhead track, Lemmy himself never saw it that way. In 2000, he stated, "I don't see the song that way at all. I believe we've done our best work since Eddie left the band in 1982." The song was once described as having "put a choke on the British music charts and proved to all that a band could succeed without sacrificing its blunt power and speed."

In March 2005, Q magazine ranked it number 27 on its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks, noting that its intro "wouldn't be out of place ushering in the end of the world." VH1 named it the tenth greatest hard rock song of all time in 2009. Loudwire placed it first on their top 10 Motörhead songs list in 2012, while Louder Sound ranked it second on their top 50 Motörhead songs list in 2021. NME included it at number 155 on their 2014 list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

In May 2019, a PokerStars survey of 1,000 customers declared it the favorite poker-themed song, and it reportedly "not only won, but crushed" the other finalist, Lady Gaga's "Poker Face." Rolling Stone ranked it number 442 on its "Top 500 Best Songs of All Time" and number three on its list of the 100 greatest heavy metal songs.

Live version

In 1988, Motörhead released a live version of "Ace of Spades" as a 7-inch vinyl single. It came in a plain white paper cover without a picture sleeve, and was both issued and then withdrawn. The three tracks on this single all came from the band's live album No Sleep at All, recorded at the Giants of Rock Festival in Hämeenlinna, Finland on July 2, 1988. The band originally wanted "Traitor" to be the A-side, but the label chose "Ace of Spades" instead. When Motörhead discovered the switch, they refused to let the single be sold in shops. As a result, it was only available at concerts and through the Motörheadbangers fan club, and it did not match the success of the original 1980 version, which had reached No. 15 on the UK Singles Chart.

The song became a fixture of Motörhead's live shows. Lemmy admitted he sometimes grew "sick" of playing it, but explained they "can't ditch Ace of Spades, it wouldn't be right. If I go to see Little Richard, I expect to hear Good Golly Miss Molly, or I'd be pissed off." He later softened his stance, saying, "I used to have that thought occasionally, but I killed it.

'Ace of Spades' has been really good to us, and it's one of the best songs that I ever wrote. So I suppose you have to put up with it, because everybody wants to hear it, every night." Live renditions of the song appear on several albums: No Sleep 'til Hammersmith (1981), Nö Sleep at All (1988), Everything Louder than Everyone Else (1999), Live at Brixton Academy (2003), Better Motörhead than Dead: Live at Hammersmith (2007), The Wörld Is Ours - Vol. 1: Everywhere Further Than Everyplace Else (2011), The Wörld Is Ours - Vol. 2: Anyplace Crazy as Anywhere Else (2012), and Clean Your Clock (2016).

The song marked the first time Phil Campbell and Würzel played with the band, during the "Bambi" episode of The Young Ones. This lineup—Lemmy, Campbell, Würzel, and Phil Taylor—was particularly rare until 1987. Taylor had already left the band when filming began, but he kept his promise to perform.

In September 1993, WGAF Records re-released the original 1980s track on CD single, cassette single, 12-inch vinyl picture sleeve, and picture disc. This release paired "Ace of Spades" with "Louie Louie", "Dirty Love", and "Ace of Spades (The CCN Remix)". Although the band was not happy with the CCN Remix, the single reached No. 23 on the UK chart.