Rise To Success: Overkill & Bomber (1978–1979)

In July 1978, the band returned to the management of Douglas Smith, who secured a one-off singles deal with Bronze Records.^[13] The resulting "Louie Louie" single was issued in September peaking at number 68 on the UK Singles Chart, and the band toured the UK to promote it, recorded a BBC Radio 1 John Peel in session on the 18 September (these tracks were later issued on the 2005 BBC Live & In-Session album), and appeared for the first time on BBC Television's Top of the Pops on 25 October.^[15] Chiswick capitalised on this new level of success by re-issuing the debut album Motörhead on white vinyl through EMI Records. By this time, the standard of their performances had improved considerably, and the uncompromising nature of their music was beginning to garner a following from enthusiasts of both metal and punk.

The single's success led to Bronze extending their contract, and put the band back into the studio to record an album, this time with producer Jimmy Miller at Roundhouse Studios. A hint of what the band had recorded for the album came on 9 March 1979 when the band played "Overkill" on Top of the Pops to support the release of the single ahead of the Overkill album, which was released on 24 March. It became Motörhead's first album to break into the top 40 of the UK Albums chart, reaching number 24, with the single reaching number 39 on the UK Singles Chart. These releases were followed by the 'Overkill' UK tour which began on 23 March.^[15] A subsequent single was released in June, coupling the album track "No Class" as the A-side with the previously unreleased song "Like A Nightmare" on the B-side. It fared worse than both the album and previous single but reached number 61 on the UK singles chart.

During July and August, except for a break to appear at the Reading Festival, the band were working on their next album, Bomber. Released on 27 October, it reached number 12 on the UK Albums Chart. On 1 December, it was followed by the "Bomber" single, which reached number 34 on the UK Singles Chart. The 'Bomber' Europe and UK tour followed, with support from Saxon. The stage show featured a spectacular aircraft bomber-shaped lighting rig. The title-track of the Bomber album was inspired by the Len Deighton novel Bomber, which was a real-time chronicle of an RAF bombing raid from the points of view of all concerned: from the RAF crews, the Luftwaffe, and the civilians on the ground. During the 'Bomber' tour, United Artists put together tapes recorded during the Rockfield Studios sessions in 1975/6 and released them as the album On Parole, which peaked at number 65 on the UK Albums Chart in December.

On 8 May 1980, while the band were on tour in Europe, Bronze released The Golden Years, which sold better than any of their previous releases, reaching number eight on the UK Singles Chart. The band had, however, preferred the title Flying Tonight, in reference to the 'Bomber' lighting rig. On 20 August, the band (40 minutes) and Girlschool (20 minutes) were filmed performing live at the Nottingham Theatre Royal for the Rockstage programme, broadcast on UK television by the ATV station on 4 April 1981.