Burston’s death was announced in a Facebook posting made by Lemmy’s bass tech, Tim Butcher.

After reading an interview with Lemmy Kilmister in which the Motörhead bassist/vocalist/songwriter said the band’s guitarist, Brian Robertson, was leaving, Burston sent Kilmister a letter and a tape. Kilmister responded by phoning Burston up and inviting him to audition for the band, according to The Guardian.

One of Burston’s first appearances with Motörhead was on the Brit comedy TV show “The Young Ones.”

Burston spent 11 years with Motörhead, his friendly nature often providing a counterpoint to the very serious Lemmy. He played on nine Motörhead studio albums and made the occasional guest appearance with the band after his departure.

He took to using the name Würzel when his bandmates began comparing him to TV children’s show character Worzel Gummidge and tweaked the spelling after Lemmy suggested that he add an umlaut to the moniker, à la the ö in Motörhead.

Click here for the complete article in The Guardian.