Former Motorhead guitarist Michael Burston, better known as Wurzel, has passed away at the age of 61.
Tim Butcher, bass tech for Motorhead frontman Ian 'Lemmy' Kilmister, first reported the news with a post on his Facebook page, which read "RIP Wurzle, great guitarist an a complete gent.. we will miss you...". There has not been an official announcement yet but it is widely thought that he died at home from a heart attack.
Wurzel joined Motorhead in 1984 along with current guitarist Phil Campbell and remained with the band until 1995. One of his first appearances with the band was on cult TV show 'The Young Ones'. He went on to play some of Motorhead's best albums including 'Orgasmatron', '1916' and 'Sacrifice'. Since leaving the band he had made occasional guest apearances on stage, most notably at Download Festival in 2008. Prior to his untimely death he had been working on a release with his current band Leader Of Down.