This past weekend former Motörhead guitarist, Michael 'Würzel' Burston tragically passed away from ventricular fibrillation caused by heart muscle disease (cardiomyopathy), at the age of 61. Motörhead have issued a touching tribute regarding the death of Würz:
"We are greatly saddened to confirm that our long-time friend and comrade Würzel died Saturday at his home. Würz was pouring a Guinness and cracking a joke when he succumbed to a heart attack; at least we know he went with a smile. It is a cliche to say that words cannot describe how we feel, and in this case, other than ones such as 'shit' and 'awful' and 'very very sad' it is true, they really can't. We all shared many many great times together, and what he did for Motörhead is quite simply indelible. As our good friend Steve 'Krusher' Joule said, 'RIP dear Würzel, a rocker and a gentleman."
Burston joined the group in 1984 and lent his musical talents to such albums as Orgasmatron and March ör Die before departing in 1996. Besides his lightning-fast abilities on a six-string, he also made quite a memorable impression on both his bandmates and fans by way of his comedic personality.
The nickname Wurzel was actually given to him back when he served as an army corporal because of a supposed resemblance to a scarecrow named Worzel Gummidge on a British children's TV show. The umlaut was later added over the "u" after Burston joined Motörhead.
In addition to a couple of solo efforts, Burston had also recently formed the band Leader of Down. We will all miss your iron fist Würzel!
