Motörhead Guitarist Würzel Dead at 61

Motörhead guitarist Michael “Würzel” Burston died on July 10, 2011 at the age of 61 after a struggle with heart disease. Würzel was a member of the British metal band between 1984 and 1996, and performed on seven of the group’s albums including Orgasmatron, 1916 and March ör Die. In addition to his work with Motörhead, the guitarist recorded two solo albums, Bess and Chill Out or Die (The Ambient Album), and was more recently working on music with his new band, Leader of Down.
Burston acquired the name Würzel while serving in Germany as a corporal in the British army. The name was a reference to the British children’s television character Worzel Gummidge, a talking scarecrow. Burston added an umlaut to the name on the suggestion of Motörhead leader Lemmy Kilmister, who thought it would come across as more “metal” that way.