Bastards (1993–1994)

Lemmy had known Mikkey Dee from the time when King Diamond had toured with Motörhead. He had asked Dee to become Motörhead's drummer before, but Dee had declined due to his commitment to King Diamond. On this occasion, Dee was available and met the band to try out. Playing the song "Hellraiser" first, Lemmy thought "he was very good immediately. It was obvious that it was going to work." After recording "Hellraiser" and "Hell on Earth" in the studio, Dee's first gig with Motörhead was on August 30 at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center. The new line-up then went on tour, playing dates with Ozzy Osbourne, Skew Siskin and Exodus. On 27 September, the band played at the Los Angeles Coliseum with Metallica and Guns N' Roses. The band toured Argentina and Brazil during October and conducted the 'Bombers and Eagles in '92' tour of Europe with Saxon throughout December.

Motörhead played two dates at the Arena Obras Sanitarias in Buenos Aires in April 1993 and toured Europe from early June until early July, returning to the states to play one show at the New York Ritz on 14 August. A new producer was sought for the band's next album and eventually Howard Benson, who was to produce the band's next four albums, was chosen. The band recorded at A & M Studios and Prime Time Studios in Hollywood and the resultant album, Bastards, was released on 29 November 1993. The single "Don't Let Daddy Kiss Me" included the song "Born to Raise Hell" which also appeared on the album and would later be rerecorded and released as a single in its own right. Although Bastards received airtime, the record company, ZYX, would not pay for promotional copies, so the band sent out copies themselves. A further tour of Europe was made throughout December that year.

In February and March, 1994, Motörhead toured the US with Black Sabbath and Morbid Angel. In April the band resumed their tour of the States until early May, playing a gig with the Ramones on 14 May at the Estadio Velez in Buenos Aires, attracting a crowd of 50,000 people. The band toured Japan in late May and Europe in June, August and December.