Motörhead shook the foundations of the Top of the Pops studio in 1980 when they played a barnstorming cover of an old Motown tune.

Back in 1976, Lemmy had been chucked out of Hawkwind, surely one of the druggiest bands around, either for taking too many drugs – or (depending on who you ask) for taking the wrong drugs.

Acid and pot were fine, as I understand it, but lifelong speed freak Lemmy’s preferred stimulant was apparently unacceptable to his hippy bandmates.

Lemmy’s new hard-rocking trio – Lemmy on bass, Fast Eddie Clarke on guitar and Phil ‘Philthy Animal’ Taylor on drums – were quite a different beast from the space rockers.

A hybrid of heavy metal played in the primal spirit of the emerging punk rock movement, they prided themselves on being heavier and faster than anyone else. I think my ears are still ringing from an early gig.

This was their debut single in 1977 (backed with White Line Fever) but they didn’t play it on TOTP until 1980 – sandwiched between Hot Chocolate and The Nolan Sisters – when it came out on a live EP, The Golden Years.

Back then I had no idea it was a cover version, and I would have been highly surprised to learn it originated on the Motown label 14 years earlier.

Even when I did, I associated Eddie Holland not as a performer but as one-third of Motown’s legendary songwriting team of Holland-Dozier-Holland (with his brother Brian and Lamont Dozier).

Eddie was the lyricist for the trio who effortlessly churned out 143 hits – including a dozen number ones – for The Supremes, The Temptations, The Four Tops, The Isley Brothers, Martha Reeves & The Vandellas and more.

Initially he was a recording artist in his own right, recording 20 solo singles, including one minor hit – Jamie – and a solitary album in the late ’50s and early ’60s, before stage fright sent him back to the studio to work behind the scenes.