# Fastway (band)
**Fastway** was an English hard rock band formed in 1982 by guitarist "Fast" Eddie Clarke, recently of [Motörhead](https://www.edgepedia.org/motorhead), and bassist Pete Way, recently of UFO; the band's name combines the two founders' names. With drummer Jerry Shirley of Humble Pie and the then-unknown Irish vocalist Dave King, the band scored an immediate American success with its 1983 self-titled debut, but could not sustain it, and after several lineup changes and a 1990 breakup the name was revived once more for a 2011 album.[1](https://www.metalmusicarchives.com/artist/fastway) • [2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mn0000796576)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1982, by "Fast" Eddie Clarke (Motörhead 1976–1982) and Pete Way (UFO), with Jerry Shirley (Humble Pie) and vocalist Dave King[1](https://www.metalmusicarchives.com/artist/fastway) • [3](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/jan/11/fast-eddie-clarke-motorhead-guitarist-dies) |
| Debut album | *Fastway* (1983, Columbia), produced by Eddie Kramer; reached No. 31 on the Billboard 200 and No. 43 in the UK[4](https://www.digmeoutpodcast.com/p/fastway-history-of-the-band) • [5](https://www.fastwayofficial.com/site/index.php?Itemid=4&id=4&layout=blog&option=com_content&view=category) |
| Biggest hit | "Say What You Will", an MTV hit from the debut and the band's best-known song[6](https://www.allmusic.com/album/collection-mw0000339983) |
| Studio albums | Nine: *Fastway* (1983), *All Fired Up* (1984), *Waiting for the Roar* (1986), *Trick or Treat* (1987), *On Target* (1988), *Bad Bad Girls* (1990), and *Eat Dog Eat* (2011), plus live and reworked releases[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mn0000796576) |
| Vocalists | Dave King (1983–1986, later of Flogging Molly), then Lea Hart from *On Target* (1988), then Toby Jepson on *Eat Dog Eat* (2011)[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mn0000796576) • [7](https://www.fastwayofficial.com/site/index.php?Itemid=2&id=1&layout=blog&option=com_content&view=category) |
| End of the band | Broke up after *Bad Bad Girls* (1990); Clarke died 10 January 2018 of pneumonia at 67, and Pete Way died in 2020[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mn0000796576) • [3](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/jan/11/fast-eddie-clarke-motorhead-guitarist-dies) • [8](https://getreadytorock.me.uk/blog/2023/06/album-review-fastway-as-and-bs-the-sony-years/) |
## Formation and the lost bassist
Clarke left Motörhead in 1982, reportedly unhappy with how the album *Iron Fist* had turned out, and joined forces with Pete Way, who had just left UFO after twelve years in the band.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/jan/11/fast-eddie-clarke-motorhead-guitarist-dies) • [1](https://www.metalmusicarchives.com/artist/fastway) The pair recruited Shirley, whom Clarke and Way found working as a painter and decorator after [Humble Pie](https://www.edgepedia.org/humble-pie)'s end, and held auditions for a singer; a demo tape from Dublin by Dave King won the position.[9](https://rockcandymag.com/storage/app/media/latest-issue/issue7/rc-mag-issue7-sm.pdf)
**Pete Way never recorded with the band.** After Clarke signed with CBS, Way's own label Chrysalis objected, and Way then accepted an offer to play in [Ozzy Osbourne](https://www.edgepedia.org/ozzy-osbourne)'s band, leaving before the debut sessions began.[10](https://earofnewt.com/2015/04/16/fastways-fast-eddie-clarke-on-his-days-with-motorhead-and-not-wanting-to-be-a-guitar-hero/) • [1](https://www.metalmusicarchives.com/artist/fastway) Session bassist Mick Feat played on the album and was uncredited, and the band had no full-time bassist at that point.[11](https://www.allmusic.com/album/fastway-mw0000201444)
## The debut and early success
Produced by [Eddie Kramer](https://www.edgepedia.org/eddie-kramer), the engineer and producer known for his work with [Jimi Hendrix](https://www.edgepedia.org/jimi-hendrix) and [Led Zeppelin](https://www.edgepedia.org/led-zeppelin), *Fastway* appeared in 1983 on Columbia and combined bluesy hard rock and boogie with King's high-register, Robert Plant-style vocals.[12](https://www.loudersound.com/music/albums/fastway-fastway) • [11](https://www.allmusic.com/album/fastway-mw0000201444) The album reached No. 31 on the Billboard 200 and No. 43 on the UK chart, and the video for "Say What You Will" received heavy MTV rotation; AllMusic notes that the debut outsold any Motörhead album in the United States.[4](https://www.digmeoutpodcast.com/p/fastway-history-of-the-band) • [5](https://www.fastwayofficial.com/site/index.php?Itemid=4&id=4&layout=blog&option=com_content&view=category) • [6](https://www.allmusic.com/album/collection-mw0000339983) Critics compared the band to Led Zeppelin, though AllMusic's reviewer observed that Fastway avoided the hostile comparisons suffered by Kingdom Come five years later.[11](https://www.allmusic.com/album/fastway-mw0000201444)
The band toured heavily, opening for Iron Maiden, AC/DC, Ratt, Rush, and the Scorpions, and recruited Charlie McCracken as bassist for the follow-up.[10](https://earofnewt.com/2015/04/16/fastways-fast-eddie-clarke-on-his-days-with-motorhead-and-not-wanting-to-be-a-guitar-hero/) • [1](https://www.metalmusicarchives.com/artist/fastway) • [13](https://www.classicbands.com/FastwayInterview.html) *All Fired Up* (1984) still reached the American Top 60, but interest from CBS was waning and the UK response remained indifferent.[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mn0000796576)
## Decline, soundtrack, and first breakup
Shirley and McCracken were dropped for the third album, and *Waiting for the Roar* (1986) featured only Clarke and King from the original lineup, with a more sanitized, keyboard-heavy sound that critics received poorly.[8](https://getreadytorock.me.uk/blog/2023/06/album-review-fastway-as-and-bs-the-sony-years/) • [2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mn0000796576) The band supported AC/DC across Europe on the *Fly On The Wall* tour, and in 1986 wrote the soundtrack for the horror film *Trick or Treat*, starring Ozzy Osbourne and [Gene Simmons](https://www.edgepedia.org/gene-simmons); the *Trick or Treat* album, the last with King on vocals, followed in 1987.[5](https://www.fastwayofficial.com/site/index.php?Itemid=4&id=4&layout=blog&option=com_content&view=category) • [2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mn0000796576)
Clarke rebuilt the band around vocalist Lea Hart for *On Target* (1988) and *Bad Bad Girls* (1990), both of which moved toward keyboard-driven, radio-friendly AOR (album-oriented rock; polished, radio-friendly hard rock) and sold poorly; after *Bad Bad Girls* the band folded.[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mn0000796576) • [14](https://www.nolifetilmetal.com/fastway.htm)
## Revival and later history
Clarke revived the Fastway name intermittently over the following decades. A 2007 Download festival set with Toby Jepson, formerly of Little Angels, on vocals was well received, and after those shows Clarke and Jepson developed material that became *Eat Dog Eat*, released in November 2011 on SPV, the first Fastway album in over twenty years, with Jepson also producing and playing bass.[15](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/jan/11/eddie-clarke-obituary) • [7](https://www.fastwayofficial.com/site/index.php?Itemid=2&id=1&layout=blog&option=com_content&view=category)
Clarke died of pneumonia on 10 January 2018 at the age of 67, the last surviving member of Motörhead's classic lineup; Pete Way died in 2020.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/jan/11/fast-eddie-clarke-motorhead-guitarist-dies) • [8](https://getreadytorock.me.uk/blog/2023/06/album-review-fastway-as-and-bs-the-sony-years/) Dave King went on to front the Irish-American band [Flogging Molly](https://www.edgepedia.org/flogging-molly).[3](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/jan/11/fast-eddie-clarke-motorhead-guitarist-dies)
## Style and reception
The debut's sound rested on Clarke's riff-centered guitar, King's powerful high vocals, and Shirley's drumming, with critics placing the band in the lineage of Led Zeppelin, ZZ Top, and Humble Pie; Clarke himself said the band did not want to be "another metal band".[12](https://www.loudersound.com/music/albums/fastway-fastway) • [13](https://www.classicbands.com/FastwayInterview.html) A retrospective Classic Rock assessment judged that the band "peaked early" and were never as good again, while still finding the debut's power undeniable.[12](https://www.loudersound.com/music/albums/fastway-fastway) Later albums drew criticism for slickness: AllMusic described *Waiting for the Roar* as coming off like a second-rate [Quiet Riot](https://www.edgepedia.org/quiet-riot), and the *On Target* era as saturated in 1980s keyboards.[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mn0000796576) • [14](https://www.nolifetilmetal.com/fastway.htm)
## References
1. [FASTWAY discography and reviews, MetalMusicArchives](https://www.metalmusicarchives.com/artist/fastway)
2. [Fastway – Biography, Discography, Albums & Expert Reviews, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mn0000796576)
3. [Motörhead guitarist 'Fast' Eddie Clarke dies, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/jan/11/fast-eddie-clarke-motorhead-guitarist-dies)
4. [Fastway | History of the Band, Dig Me Out](https://www.digmeoutpodcast.com/p/fastway-history-of-the-band)
5. [Fastway official site – Biography](https://www.fastwayofficial.com/site/index.php?Itemid=4&id=4&layout=blog&option=com_content&view=category)
6. [Fastway: Collection review, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/album/collection-mw0000339983)
7. [Fastway official site – News ('Eat Dog Eat' release)](https://www.fastwayofficial.com/site/index.php?Itemid=2&id=1&layout=blog&option=com_content&view=category)
8. [Album review: FASTWAY – A's and B's (The Sony Years), Get Ready to ROCK!](https://getreadytorock.me.uk/blog/2023/06/album-review-fastway-as-and-bs-the-sony-years/)
9. [Rock Candy Magazine issue 7, Fastway feature](https://rockcandymag.com/storage/app/media/latest-issue/issue7/rc-mag-issue7-sm.pdf)
10. [Fastway's "Fast" Eddie Clarke on his days with Motörhead, earofnewt.com (1983 interview)](https://earofnewt.com/2015/04/16/fastways-fast-eddie-clarke-on-his-days-with-motorhead-and-not-wanting-to-be-a-guitar-hero/)
11. [Fastway: Fastway review, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/album/fastway-mw0000201444)
12. [Fastway: Fastway album review, Louder / Classic Rock](https://www.loudersound.com/music/albums/fastway-fastway)
13. [Gary James' Interview With Jerry Shirley Of Fastway, ClassicBands.com](https://www.classicbands.com/FastwayInterview.html)
14. [No Life 'til Metal – Fastway CD Gallery](https://www.nolifetilmetal.com/fastway.htm)
15. [Eddie Clarke obituary | Motorhead | The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/jan/11/eddie-clarke-obituary)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Music scenes › Transnational genre scenes › Heavy metal scenes › Artists, groups, and people: Heavy metal scenes › Glam metal & hard rock*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license