Motörhead guitarist Clarke dies at 67

LONDON >> “Fast Eddie” Clarke, the last remaining member of the British rock band Motörhead’s best-known lineup, died Wednesday night in a hospital here. He was 67.

Todd Singerman, the band’s manager, confirmed the death in a telephone interview. The band released a statement on its Facebook page saying that the hospital had been treating Clarke for pneumonia.

Clarke, who was born Edward Allen Clark, joined the band as its guitarist in 1976, alongside drummer Phil Taylor and singer and bassist Ian Fraser Kilmister, who was known as Lemmy.

The band released 22 studio albums and went through numerous lineup changes, but the one with Clarke was regarded as the classic one. Taylor died in November 2015 at 61. Kilmister died a month later at 70.

Clarke, who was born on Oct. 5, 1950, in Twickenham, a suburb of London, played on some of the band’s best-selling albums, including “Motörhead” (1977), “Overkill” and “Bomber” (both 1979), and “Ace of Spades” (1980).

Clarke left the band while it was on tour in the United States after the release of “Iron Fist” in 1982. He went on to form the two-piece hard-rock group Fastway with the former UFO bassist Pete Way in 1983.

Fastway released seven albums, including its debut, “Fastway,” in 1983, and “All Fired Up” the next year. The band toured with AC/DC.

Phil Campbell, Motörhead’s guitarist from 1984 to 2015, said in a statement that Clarke would be remembered for his “iconic riffs” and that he had been a “true rock ‘n’ roller.”

There was no immediate word on his survivors.