MUMBAI: Former Motorhead drummer, Phil Taylor, has passed away aged 61 due to a prolonged illness. His friend and former Motorhead band-mate Eddie Clarke issued a statement confirming the musician’s demise. "My dear friend and brother passed away last night. He had been ill for sometime but that does not make it any easier when the time finally comes. I have known Phil since he was 21 and he was one hell of a character. Fortunately, we made some fantastic music together and I have many many fond memories of our time together."Rest in peace, Phil!," said Clarke.

Motorhead's official Facebook page paid tribute to Taylor, whose nickname was Philthy Animal.

'Philthy Animal' or Taylor, quickly became Motorhead's permanent drummer after he replaced Lucas Fox for the band's first recording 'On Parole' in 1975. The drummer went on to contribute for the band's successive albums- 'Motorhead' (1977), 'Overkill' (1979), 'Bomber' (1979), 'Ace Of Spades' (1980), 'No Sleep Till Hammersmith' (1981), 'Iron Fist' (1982), 'Another Perfect Day' (1983). Taylor's first stint with the legendary British band ended with a final performance on 'The Young Ones' in 1984. He later, toured with Frankie Miller, and also formed a band called Operator, along with ex-Motorhead man Brian Robertson.

However, Taylor regretted leaving Motohead and returned in 1987 for a second stint with the band. Unfortunately, things were not the same. The drummer quite often under-performed and could not continue to make a similar impact, which prompted the band to fire him in 1992. Before parting ways, the he played his part for the band's eighth, ninth and tenth studio albums- 'Rock n Roll', '1916' and 'March or Die'.

Taylor stood as an inspiration to many musicians and fans alike. While he fueled many a young boy's classic punk hairstyles, he also helped set the double-bass trend, now a dominant feature in metal music. Lars Ulrich, drummer of Metallica, said in one of the documentaries, "Motorhead's drumming pattern blew my head off". Joining the praises was Slayer's Dave Lombardo. "I had heard of other double-bass drummers, but I don’t think they did anything like that, at that tempo and that beat."

Taylor's last appearance on the stage with Motohead came in 2014 when he joined the band before its tour kick-off. However, the drummer did not perform.

Great to have Philthy Animal Taylor and Fast Eddie Clarke join us in Birmingham What a way to start the tour!!!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/c5hSRGjZVV

— Official Motörhead (@myMotorhead) November 7, 2014

Taylor’s sudden demise came as a shock to the metal community. Few used their social media accounts to share their grief after news of his passing was made known.

Black Sabbath’s Ozzy Osbourne took to his official Facebook account to express his condolence-

Legendary guitarist Slash, who is on tour in India also shared his tribute, tweeting-

Sad sad news about losing Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor. One of the best drummers in Rock n Roll. RIP Phil, you will be missed. A lot.

— Slash (@Slash) November 12, 2015

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