With another shocking blow to the music world, it's been announced that the last surviving member of the classic Motorhead line-up, Fast Eddie Clarke, has passed away at the age of 67 during a short stay in hospital. His death comes just over two years after that of frontman Lemmy Kilmister. 

The classic Motorhead line-upThe classic Motorhead line-up

Motorhead fans everywhere will be mourning the sudden and unexpected death of the band's guitarist, who was the last remaining member of what most deem to be the 'classic' line-up, following the death of Phil 'Philthy Animal' Taylor in November 2015 and singer Lemmy in December 2015.

'We are devastated to pass on the news we only just heard ourselves earlier tonight', Motorhead wrote on their Facebook page. 'Edward Allan Clarke - or as we all know and love him Fast Eddie Clarke - passed away peacefully yesterday.'

They added that Chiswick Records founder Ted Carroll (who formed Chiswick Records) heard the news from the band's former manager Doug Smith that the musician 'passed peacefully in hospital where he was being treated for pneumonia'.

'Just heard the sad news that Fast Eddie Clarke has passed away', said the band's last guitarist Phil 'Wizzö' Campbell. 'Such a shock, he will be remembered for his iconic riffs and was a true rock n roller. RIP Eddie.'

Motorhead's last drummer Mikkey Dee added: 'Oh my f***ing God, this is terrible news, the last of the three amigos. I saw Eddie not too long ago and he was in great shape. So this is a complete shock. Me and Eddie always hit it off great. I was looking forward to seeing him in the UK this summer when we come around with the Scorps [Mikkey's current band, the Scorpions]. Now Lem and Philthy can jam with Eddie again, and if you listen carefully I'm sure you'll hear them.'

Eddie was a part of Motorhead between 1976 and 1982 for the first six albums, including the band's biggest release 'Ace of Spades'. His last gig as part of the band was at the New York Palladium in May 1982, though he did feature on the 2003 live album 'Live at Brixton Academy' filmed for their 25th anniversary concert in 2000. 

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In 1983, he formed Fastway with UFO bassist Pete Way, and released seven albums up to 2011; returning for their last album 'Eat Dog Eat' 21 years after the release of their previous record. Eddie's last release was 2014's solo output 'Make My Day - Back To Blues'.