Biography

Played in bands Motörhead and Fastway.

The band name, Fastway, was a combination of "Fast" Eddie Clarke's nickname and Pete Way's last name.

The excesses Clarke had indulged in with Motörhead had taken their toll, and led to Clarke being admitted to hospital, spending time afterwards in recuperation. Having recovered, Clarke released a solo album, It Ain't Over Till It's Over, which blends Motörhead and Fastway styles. Lemmy also helped out on the album by writing and singing the track "Laugh at the Devil".

The double CD release, Fast Eddie Clarke Anthology, on Sanctuary Records showcased a collection of Clarke's music spanning his career before and after Motörhead. It also marked a return to live performances with a re-formed Fastway, including an appearance at the UK's Download Festival in summer 2007.

Clarke began playing guitar and by the time he was aged fifteen had been through many local bands, one of which was called The Bitter End. He continued playing local gigs until 1973, when he turned professional by joining Curtis Knight's blues prog rock band, Zeus, as lead guitarist. In 1974, the band recorded an album called The Second Coming at Olympic Studios. Clarke wrote the music to Knight's lyrics, on a track entitled "The Confession". Clarke also recorded the album Sea of Time with Zeus.

Clarke with guitarist friend Allan Callan, keyboard player Nicky Hogarth, and drummer Chris Perry, Clarke attended a recorded jam session at Command Studios in Piccadilly. As a result of the tracks from this session, the quartet secured a deal with Anchor Records, and called the band Blue Goose. With a recording contract secured, Clarke, Hogarth and Perry left Zeus to focus on their own project with Callan. Afrter an argument between Clarke and Callan, because Callan did not have any amplifiers and Clarke then found he could not hear his solos because Callan was drowning him out on shared speakers Clarke was sacked. Blue Goose finally released their eponymous album through Anchor in 1974, crediting an instrumental track, entitled "Over The Top", to Clarke-Hogarth-Perry.