LONDON (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — Michael "Wurzel" Burston, longtime guitarist for the band Motörhead died on July 9th due to complications with the heart-muscle disease cardiomyopathy. He was 61.
Burston played with the band from 1984–1995, appearing on 9 different Motörhead albums, including Rock n' Roll, 1916, March ör Die, Bastards and Sacrifice.
A native of Cheltenham, England, Burston served in the British Army and played in several bands, including Bastard and Warfare before auditioning successfully for Motörhead. During his tenure with the band, Motörhead experimented with a four person lineup. When Burston left the band ahead of the 'Sacrifice' tour, he was not replaced. He subsequently appeared with the band on stage several times and was included in the 2005 BBC Live & In-Session album as well.
Burston also recorded two solo albums, 1988's "Bess" and the experimental ambient "Chill out or die" in 1998.
At the time of his death, Burston had been in the studio working on material for his new band Leader of Down.
"[Burston] wrote damn good Motörhead riffs. I remember that I missed that when he was not there. I missed the simple classic Motörhead riffs. They were never written after that. They left with him. He was wonderful, he was really funny. There was a lot of rock and roll in the old man." Drummer Mikkey Dee told Swedish newspaper Expressen. – CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
