Phil Taylor, original Motorhead drummer, dies at 61

Phil Taylor, one of the original members of the influential heavy metal group Motorhead, died on Wednesday. He was 61 years old.

Loudwire notes that ‘Philthy Animal’ Taylor was the drummer for the legendary band and played with them for 14 years. Taylor split from the band in 1984, only to join three years later and depart once again in 1992.

His friend and former band member Eddie Clark confirmed the news on his Facebook page.

Taylor was there for classics albums like Ace of Spades and Overkill and helped drive the band to great success. Taylor was one of the original drummers in thrash metal and inspired drummers like Lars Ulrich of Metallica, Dave Lombardo of Slayer and many more.

Information about Taylor’s survivors was not available.