The band was founded when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett (who joined the band in 1983) and bassist Robert Trujillo (a member since 2003) alongside Hetfield and Ulrich. Previous members of the band include former lead guitarist Dave Mustaine (who later went on to found the band Megadeth) and former bassists Ron McGovney, Cliff Burton and Jason Newsted. The band also had a long collaboration with producer Bob Rock, who produced all of its albums from 1990 to 2003 and served as a temporary bassist between the departure of Newsted and the hiring of Trujillo.

Metallica's early releases included fast tempos, instrumentals, and aggressive musicianship that placed the band as one of the founding "big four" of thrash metal alongside Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax. A settlement was reached, and Napster became a pay-to-use service. Despite reaching number one on the ''Billboard'' 200, the release of ''St. Anger'' alienated many fans with the exclusion of guitar solos and the "steel-sounding" snare drum. A film entitled ''Some Kind of Monster'' documented the recording process of ''St. Anger'' and the tensions within the band during that time.

Metallica has released nine studio albums, three live albums, five extended plays, 24 music videos, and 45 singles. The band has won nine Grammy Awards, and has had five consecutive albums debut at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200, making Metallica the first band to do so; this record was later matched by the Dave Matthews Band. The band's 1991 album, ''Metallica'', has sold over 15 million copies in the United States, and 22 million copies worldwide, which makes it the 25th-best-selling album in the country. In December 2009, it became the best-selling album of the SoundScan era, surpassing 1997's ''Come on Over'' by country artist Shania Twain. The band has sold more than 100 million records worldwide as of the release of their latest album, ''Death Magnetic''. As of December 2009, Metallica is the fourth best-selling music artist since the SoundScan era began tracking sales on May 25, 1991, selling a total of 52,672,000 albums in the United States alone. Metallica is currently working on a new album. They also recently finished recording a collaborative album with Lou Reed, ''Lulu'', which is due for release on October 31, 2011.

History

Early years (1981–1983)

Ulrich talked to his friend Ron Quintana, who was brainstorming names for a fanzine. Quintana had proposed the names MetalMania and Metallica. Ulrich used Metallica for the name of his band. A second advertisement was placed in ''The Recycler'' for a position as lead guitarist. Dave Mustaine answered, and after seeing his expensive guitar equipment, Ulrich and Hetfield recruited him. In early 1982, Metallica recorded its first original song "Hit the Lights" for the ''Metal Massacre I'' compilation. Hetfield played bass on the song and Lloyd Grant was credited with a guitar solo. Released on June 14, 1982, early pressings of ''Metal Massacre I'' listed the band incorrectly as "Mettallica". Although angered by the error, Metallica managed to create enough "buzz" with the song and the band played its first live performance on March 14, 1982 at Radio City in Anaheim, California with newly recruited bassist Ron McGovney. Metallica recorded its first demo, ''Power Metal'', a name inspired by Quintana's early business cards in early 1982. In the fall of 1982, Ulrich and Hetfield attended a show at the West Hollywood nightclub Whisky a Go Go which featured bassist Cliff Burton in a band called Trauma. The two were "blown away" by Burton's use of a wah-wah pedal and asked him to join Metallica. Hetfield and Mustaine wanted McGovney out as they thought that he "didn't contribute anything, he just followed."

Metallica was ready to record its debut album, but when Metal Blade was unable to cover the additional cost, the band began looking for other options. Concert promoter Johny "Z" Zazula, who had heard the demo ''No Life 'til Leather'' (1982), offered to broker a record deal with Metallica and New York City-based record labels. After receiving no interest from various record labels, Zazula borrowed the money to cover the record's recording budget and signed Metallica to his own label, Megaforce Records.

''Kill 'Em All'' and ''Ride the Lightning'' (1983–1984)

Mustaine, who went on to found Megadeth, has expressed his dislike for Hammett in interviews. He said Hammett "stole my job." Mustaine was "pissed off" because he believes Hammett became popular by playing the guitar leads that Mustaine wrote. In a 1985 interview with ''Metal Forces'', Mustaine slammed Hammett saying, "it's real funny how Kirk Hammett ripped off every lead break I'd played on that ''No Life 'til Leather'' tape and got voted No. 1 guitarist in your magazine." On Megadeth's debut album ''Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good!'' (1985), Mustaine included the song "Mechanix", which Metallica renamed to "The Four Horsemen" on ''Kill 'Em All''. Mustaine said he did this to "straighten Metallica up", as Metallica referred to Mustaine as a drunk and said he could not play guitar. Metallica's first live performance with Hammett was on April 16, 1983 at the nightclub The Showplace in Dover, New Jersey. In February 1984, Metallica supported Venom on the Seven Dates of Hell tour, where the band performed in front of 7,000 people at the Aardschok Festival in Zwolle, Netherlands.

Metallica recorded its second studio album, ''Ride the Lightning'', at Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen, Denmark. Released in August 1984, the album reached number 100 on the ''Billboard'' 200. A French printing press mistakenly printed green covers for the album, which are now considered collectors' items. Other songs on the album include "For Whom the Bell Tolls", "Fade to Black", "Creeping Death" (which tells the biblical story of the Hebrews' exodus from slavery in Egypt, focusing on the final plague that was visited on the Egyptians), and the instrumental "The Call of Ktulu". Mustaine received writing credit for "Ride the Lightning" and "The Call of Ktulu". Metallica's burgeoning success was such that the band's British label Music for Nations released a limited edition "Creeping Death" single, which sold 40,000 copies as an import in the United States. Two of the three songs on the record (cover versions of Diamond Head's "Am I Evil?", and Blitzkrieg's "Blitzkrieg") appeared on the 1989 Elektra reissue of ''Kill 'Em All''. Metallica embarked on its first major European tour with Tank to an average crowd of 1,300. Returning to the U.S. marked a tour co-headlining with W.A.S.P. and Armored Saint supporting. Metallica played its largest show at the Monsters of Rock festival on August 17, 1985, with Bon Jovi and Ratt at Donington Park in England, playing in front of 70,000 people. A show in Oakland, California, at the Day on the Green festival saw the band play in front of a crowd of 60,000. The album was the band's first to be certified gold on November 4, 1986, and was certified six times platinum in 2003. Steve Huey of Allmusic considered the album "the band's greatest achievement". Following the release of the album, Metallica supported Ozzy Osbourne for a United States tour.

Burton's death and ''Garage Days Re-Revisited'' (1986–1987)

Roughly 40 people tried out for auditions including Hammett's childhood friend, Les Claypool of Primus, Troy Gregory of Prong, and Jason Newsted, formerly of Flotsam and Jetsam. Newsted learned Metallica's entire setlist, and after the audition Metallica invited him to Tommy's Joynt in San Francisco. Hetfield, Ulrich, and Hammett decided that Newsted was the one to replace Burton, and Newsted's first live performance with Metallica was at the Country Club in Reseda, California. The members took it on themselves to "initiate" Newsted by tricking him into eating a ball of wasabi.

After Newsted joined Metallica, the band left its El Cerrito practice space (dubbed ''"the Metalli-mansion"'', a suburban house formerly rented by sound engineer Mark Whitaker) and relocated to the adjacent cities of Berkeley and Albany before eventually settling in the Marin County city of San Rafael, North of San Francisco.

Metallica finished its tour in the early months of 1987. In March 1987, Hetfield broke his wrist a second time skateboarding, forcing the band to cancel a ''Saturday Night Live'' appearance. In August 1987 an all-covers extended play titled ''The $5.98 E.P.: Garage Days Re-Revisited'' was released. The extended play was recorded in an effort to utilize the band's newly constructed recording studio, test out the talents of Newsted, and to relieve grief and stress following the death of Burton. A video titled ''Cliff 'Em All'' was released in 1987 commemorating Burton's three years in Metallica. Footage included bass solos, home videos, and pictures.

''...And Justice for All'' (1988–1990)

In 1989, Metallica received its first Grammy Award nomination for ''...And Justice for All'', in the new Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance Vocal or Instrument category. Metallica was the favorite to win; however, the award was given to Jethro Tull for the album ''Crest of a Knave''. The award was named in ''Entertainment Weekly''s "Grammy's 10 Biggest Upsets".

Following the release of ''...And Justice for All'', Metallica released its debut music video for the song "One". The band performed the song in an abandoned warehouse, and footage was remixed with the film, ''Johnny Got His Gun''. Rather than organize an ongoing licensing deal, Metallica purchased the rights to the film. The remixed video was submitted to MTV, with the alternate performance-only version held back in the event that MTV banned the remix version. MTV accepted the remix version, and the video was viewers' first exposure to Metallica. It was voted number 38 in 1999 when MTV aired its "Top 100 Videos of All Time" countdown, and was featured in the network's 25th Anniversary edition of ''ADD Video'', which showcased the most popular videos on MTV in the last 25 years.

''Metallica'' (1990–1993)

On August 8, 1992, during the co-headlining Guns N' Roses/Metallica Stadium Tour with Guns N' Roses, Hetfield suffered second and third degree burns to his arms, face, hands, and legs. There was confusion with the new pyrotechnics setup, which resulted with Hetfield walking into a flame during "Fade to Black". Newsted recalls that Hetfield's skin was "bubbling like on ''The Toxic Avenger''".

''Load'', ''ReLoad'', ''Garage Inc.'', and ''S&M;'' (1994–1999)

During early production of the album, the band had produced enough material for a double album. It was decided that half of the songs were to be released, and the band would continue to work on the remaining songs and release them the following year. This resulted in the follow-up album, ''ReLoad''. The cover was created by Serrano, this time using a mixture of blood and urine.

In 1998, Metallica compiled a double album of cover songs titled ''Garage Inc.'' The first disc contained newly recorded covers of songs by bands such as Diamond Head, Killing Joke, The Misfits, Thin Lizzy, Mercyful Fate, and Black Sabbath. The second disc featured the original ''The $5.98 E.P.: Garage Days Re-Revisited'', which had become a scarce collectors' item. The album entered the ''Billboard'' 200 at number two.

On April 21 and April 22, 1999, Metallica recorded two performances with the San Francisco Symphony orchestra conducted by Michael Kamen. Kamen, who had previously worked with producer Rock on "Nothing Else Matters", approached the band in 1991 with the idea of pairing Metallica's music with a symphony orchestra. Kamen and his staff of over 100 composed additional orchestral material for Metallica songs. Metallica wrote two new Kamen-scored songs for the event, "No Leaf Clover" and "-Human". The audio recording and concert footage were released in 1999 as the album and concert film ''S&M;''. It entered the ''Billboard'' 200 at number two, and the Australian ARIA charts and Top Internet Albums chart at number one.

Napster controversy (2000–2001)

Metallica hired online consulting firm NetPD to monitor the Napster service for a weekend. A list of 335,435 Napster users who were believed to be sharing Metallica's music was compiled, and the 60,000 page document was delivered to Napster's office as Metallica requested the users be banned from the service. The users were banned, and rap artist Dr. Dre joined the lawsuit against Napster, which resulted in an additional 230,142 Napster users banned.

Ulrich provided a statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding copyright infringement on July 11, 2000. Federal Judge Marilyn Hall Patel ordered the site place a filter on the program in 72 hours or be shut down. A settlement was reached between Metallica and Napster when German media conglomerate Bertelsmann BMG showed interest to purchase the rights to Napster for $94 million. Under the terms of settlement, Napster agreed to block users who shared music by artists who do not want their music shared. However, on June 3, 2002 Napster filed for Chapter 11 protection under U.S. bankruptcy laws. On September 3, 2002, an American bankruptcy judge blocked the sale to Bertelsmann and forced Napster to liquidate its assets according to Chapter 7 of the U.S. bankruptcy laws.

At the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards, Ulrich appeared in a skit with host Marlon Wayans that blasted the idea of using Napster to share music. Marlon played a college student sitting in his dorm room listening to Metallica's "I Disappear". Ulrich walked in and asked for an explanation. On receiving Wayans' excuse that using Napster was just "sharing", Ulrich retorted that Marlon's idea of sharing was "borrowing things that were not yours without asking." He called in the Metallica road crew, who proceeded to confiscate all of Wayans' belongings, leaving him almost nude in an empty room. Napster creator Shawn Fanning responded later in the ceremony by presenting an award wearing a Metallica shirt, saying, "I borrowed this shirt from a friend. Maybe, if I like it, I'll buy one of my own."

Newsted's departure and ''St. Anger'' (2001–2005)

In April 2001, filmmakers Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky began following Metallica to document the recording process of the next studio album. Over two years, more than 1,000 hours of footage was recorded. On July 19, 2001, before preparations to enter the recording studio, Hetfield entered rehab due to "alcoholism and other addictions". All recording plans were put on hiatus and the band's future was in doubt. Hetfield left rehab on December 4, 2001,

For the duration of the recording period, producer Bob Rock played bass, both on the album and for the few live shows at which Metallica performed during that time frame. Once the record was completed, in early 2003, the band started to hold auditions for Newsted's permanent replacement. Bassists that auditioned included Pepper Keenan, Jeordie White, Scott Reeder, Eric Avery, Danny Lohner, and Chris Wyse. Following three months of auditions, Robert Trujillo, formerly of Suicidal Tendencies and Ozzy Osbourne's band, was chosen as the new bassist. As Metallica moved on, Newsted joined Canadian thrash metal band Voivod in 2002, and was Trujillo's replacement in Osbourne's band during the 2003 Ozzfest tour, which included Voivod as part of the touring bill.

In June 2003, Metallica's eighth studio album, ''St. Anger'', debuted at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200, and drew mixed reactions from critics. Ulrich's "steely" sounding snare drum, and the absence of guitar solos received particular criticism. Kevin Forest Moreau of ''Shakingthrough.net'' commented that "the guitars stumble in a monotone of mid-level, processed rattle; the drums don't propel as much as struggle to disguise an all-too-turgid pace; and the rage is both unfocused and leavened with too much narcissistic navel-gazing", and Brent DiCrescenzo of ''Pitchfork Media'' described it as "an utter mess". However, ''Blender'' magazine called it the "grimiest and grimmest of the band's Bob Rock productions", and ''New York Magazine'' called it "utterly raw and rocking". The title track, "St. Anger", won the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 2004, and was used as the official theme song for WWE's ''SummerSlam 2003''.

Before the band's set at the 2004 Download Festival in England, Ulrich was rushed to the hospital after having an anxiety seizure, and was unable to perform. Having toured for two years in support of ''St. Anger'' on the Summer Sanitarium Tour 2003 and the Madly in Anger with the World Tour, with multi-platinum rockers Godsmack in support, Metallica took a break from performing and spent most of 2005 with friends and family. However, for two shows on November 13, 2005, and November 15, 2005, Metallica opened for The Rolling Stones at AT&T; Park in San Francisco.

''Death Magnetic'' (2006–2010)

In 2006, Metallica announced on its official website that after 15 years, long-time producer Bob Rock would not be producing Metallica's next studio album. The band chose to work with producer Rick Rubin. Metallica scheduled the release date for ''Death Magnetic'' as September 12, 2008, and the band filmed a music video for the album's first single "The Day That Never Comes".

On September 2, 2008, a French record store began selling copies of ''Death Magnetic'' nearly two weeks ahead of its scheduled worldwide release date, which resulted in the album being made available on peer-to-peer clients. This prompted the band's United Kingdom distributor, Vertigo Records, to officially release the album two days ahead of schedule, on September 10, 2008. It is currently unconfirmed whether Metallica or Warner Bros. will be taking any action against the retailer, though drummer Lars Ulrich has made such responses to the leak as, "...We're ten days from release. I mean, from here, we're golden. If this thing leaks all over the world today or tomorrow, happy days. Happy days. Trust me," and, "By 2008 standards, that's a victory. If you'd told me six months ago that our record wouldn't leak until 10 days out, I would have signed up for that."

''Death Magnetic'' debuted at number one in the United States selling 490,000 units with Metallica becoming the first band to have five consecutive studio albums debut at number one in the history of the ''Billboard'' 200. After a week of its release, ''Death Magnetic'' remained at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200, the European album chart, and became the fastest selling album in Australia for 2008. ''Death Magnetic'' remained at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200 album chart for three consecutive weeks. Metallica was one of two artists, along with Jack Johnson with the release of the album ''Sleep Through the Static'', to remain on the ''Billboard'' 200 for three consecutive weeks at number one in 2008. ''Death Magnetic'' had also remained at number one on ''Billboard'''s Hard Rock, Modern Rock/Alternative and Rock album charts for five consecutive weeks. Internationally, the album reached number one in 32 countries including the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia.

In November 2008, Metallica came to the end of its record deal with Warner Bros., and the band is now considering its options for the future and, according to Ulrich, one of the band's options is to release its next album through the internet.

On January 14, 2009, it was announced that Metallica would be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 4, 2009, and that former bassist Jason Newsted (who left the band in 2001), would perform with the band at the ceremony. Initially, it was announced that the matter had been discussed, and that current bassist Trujillo had agreed not to play, as he "wanted to see the Black Album band". However, during the band's set of "Master of Puppets" and "Enter Sandman", both Trujillo and Newsted were on stage. Ray Burton, father of the late Cliff Burton, accepted the honor on his behalf. Metallica also invited Dave Mustaine to take part in the induction ceremony, though he declined, citing his touring commitments in Europe.

Metallica, along with Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax, performed on the same bill for the first time on June 16, 2010 at Bemowo Airport (Warsaw, Poland). It was the first performance of that bands played as a part of Sonisphere Festival series, one of the following (Sofia, Bulgaria, June 22, 2010) was sent via satellite in HD to cinemas. They also went on to play in Bucharest, Romania (June 26, 2010) and then in Istanbul, Turkey (June 27, 2010) also as part of the Sonisphere Festival. On June 28, 2010, ''Death Magnetic'' was certified 2X platinum by the RIAA.

The band's World Magnetic Tour ended on November 21, 2010 in Melbourne, Australia. The band had been touring for over two years in support of ''Death Magnetic''. To go with its final tour dates in Australia and New Zealand, a live limited edition EP of past performances in Australia was released called ''Six Feet Down Under''. The EP was also followed by ''Six Feet Down Under (Part II)'', which was released on November 12, 2010. Part 2 contains a further 8 songs recorded during the first two Oceanic Legs of the World Magnetic Tour.

On November 26, 2010, Metallica released another live EP, entitled ''Live at Grimey's'', which was recorded in June 2008 at Grimey's Record Store, just prior to its appearance at Bonnaroo that year.

''Lulu'' and future events (2011–present)

On November 9, 2010, Metallica announced that it will be headlining the Rock in Rio, in Rio de Janeiro, on September 25, 2011. On December 13, 2010, the band announced that it will once again play as part of the "big four" during the Sonisphere Festival U.K., on July 8, 2011. It will be the first time all of the "big four" members play on the same stage in the United Kingdom. The performance will take place in Knebworth House, Hertfordshire. On December 17, 2010, Another "big four" Sonisphere performance was announced that will take place in France on July 9. On January 25, 2011, another "big four" performance was announced in the United States. It took place on April 23, 2011 in Indio, California at the Empire Polo Club. It was the only scheduled concert in the United States, it was also the first time all of the "big four" members played on the same stage in the United States. On February 17, 2011, another show was announced in Europe. The performance took place in Gelsenkirchen, Germany on July 2, 2011. On February 22, another "big four" show was announced, also in Europe. It took place in Milan, Italy on July 6, 2011. On March 2, 2011, again another "big four" concert was announced, which took place in Gothenburg, Sweden on July 3, 2011 at the Ullevi Stadion.

On June 15, 2011, Metallica announced that recording sessions with singer-songwriter Lou Reed had concluded. The Lou Reed and Metallica collaboration album titled ''Lulu'' which took place over several months, resulted in ten songs. They plan to release the album October 31, 2011 worldwide.

Style and lyrical themes

In 1991, with new producer Bob Rock, Huey felt Metallica simplified and streamlined its music for a more commercial approach to appeal to the mainstream audience. The band abandoned its aggressive, fast tempos to expand its music and expressive range, said Robert Palmer of ''Rolling Stone''. The change in direction proved commercially successful as ''Metallica'' was the band's first album to peak at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200. Metallica noticed changes to the rock scene created by the grunge movement of the early 1990s. In ''Load'' (an album that has been described as "an almost alternative rock" approach), the band focused on non-metal influences and changed musical direction. Moving away from lyrical themes dealing with drugs and monsters, Metallica's new lyrical approach focused on anger, loss, and retribution. Some fans and critics were not pleased with this change, which included haircuts, the cover of ''Load'', and headlining the alternative rock concert Lollapalooza. David Fricke of ''Rolling Stone'' described the move as "goodbye to the moldy stricture and dead-end Puritanism of no-frills thrash" and called ''Load'' the heaviest record of 1996. With the release of ''ReLoad'' in 1997, the band displayed more blues and early hard rock influences, incorporating more rhythm and harmony in song structures.

''St. Anger'' marked another large change in the band's sound. Guitar solos were excluded from the album, leaving a "raw and unpolished sound". The band used drop C tuning, and Ulrich's snare drum received particular criticism. ''New York Magazine'''s Ethan Brown noted it "reverberates with a thwong". Lyrics on the album dealt with Hetfield's stint in rehab, including references to the devil, anti-drug themes, claustrophobia, impending doom, and religious hypocrisy. At the advice of producer Rick Rubin, for its ninth studio album, ''Death Magnetic'', the band returned to E tuning (though all songs were tuned half step down live) and guitar solos, and adapted Middle Eastern influences.

Legacy and influence

Jonathan Davis of Korn respects Metallica as his favorite band and comments, "I love that they've done things their own way and they've persevered over the years and they're still relevant to this day. I think they're one of the greatest bands ever." Vocalist and guitarist Robb Flynn of Machine Head said that when creating the band's 2007 album, ''The Blackening'', "What we mean is an album that has the power, influence and epic grandeur of that album ''Master of Puppets'' – and the staying power – a timeless record like that". Trivium guitarists Corey Beaulieu and Matt Heafy said that when they heard Metallica they wanted to start playing guitar. M. Shadows of Avenged Sevenfold stated touring with Metallica was the band's career highlight, and said "Selling tons of records and playing huge shows will never compare to meeting your idols ''Metallica''." God Forbid guitarists Doc and Dallas Coyle grew up with Metallica as an inspiration, and the band's bassist John Outcalt admires Burton as a "rocker". Ill Niño drummer Dave Chavarri finds early Metallica releases as "heavy, raw, rebellious. It said, 'fuck you'", and Adema drummer Kris Kohls says the band is influenced by Metallica.

''Kerrang!'' released a tribute album with the April 8, 2006, edition of the magazine, titled ''Master of Puppets: Remastered'', which celebrated the 20-year anniversary of ''Master of Puppets''. The album featured cover versions of Metallica songs by the bands Machine Head, Bullet for My Valentine, Chimaira, Mastodon, Mendeed, and Trivium, all who are influenced by Metallica. Over 15 Metallica tribute albums have been released. On September 10, 2006, Metallica guest starred on ''The Simpsons'' eighteenth season premiere "The Mook, the Chef, the Wife and Her Homer", and Hammett's and Hetfield's voices were used in three episodes of the animated television series ''Metalocalypse''.

The Finnish cello metal band Apocalyptica released a tribute album, ''Plays Metallica by Four Cellos'', which featured eight Metallica songs recorded with cellos. A parody band named Beatallica plays music using a combination of The Beatles and Metallica songs. Beatallica faced legal troubles when Sony, who own The Beatles' catalogue, ordered a cease and desist claiming "substantial and irreparable injury"—ordering the group to pay damages. A fan of Beatallica, Ulrich asked Metallica lawyer Peter Paterno to help settle the legal case.

Metallica was ranked by MTV as the third "Greatest Heavy Metal Band in History", was listed fifth on VH1's ''100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock'', and was number one on VH1's ''20 Greatest Metal Bands'' list. ''Master of Puppets'' was ranked number 167 on ''Rolling Stone''s ''The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time'', and ''Metallica'' was number 252. ''Master of Puppets'' was named in ''Q Magazine'''s "50 Heaviest Albums of All Time", ranked number one on IGN's "Top 25 Metal Albums", and number one on the Metal-rules.com "Top 100 Heavy Metal Albums" list. The song "Enter Sandman" was ranked number 399 on ''Rolling Stone''s "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".

On March 7, 1999, Metallica was inducted into the San Francisco Walk of Fame. The mayor of San Francisco, Willie Brown, proclaimed the day "Official Metallica Day". Metallica was awarded the MTV Icon award in 2003, and a concert was held paying tribute to the band with artists performing Metallica songs. Performances included Sum 41 with a medley of "For Whom the Bell Tolls", "Enter Sandman", and "Master of Puppets". Staind covered "Nothing Else Matters", Avril Lavigne played "Fuel", hip-hop artist Snoop Dogg performed "Sad but True", Korn played "One", and Limp Bizkit performed a rendition of "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)".

The popular ''Guitar Hero'' series added a number of Metallica's songs into their games. The first instance was ''Guitar Hero III'' when "One" was a track in the game. In the sequel, ''Guitar Hero World Tour'', the song "Trapped Under Ice" was featured. Eventually in 2009, Metallica collaborated to make ''Guitar Hero: Metallica'', in which a number of Metallica's songs were included. Harmonix' Rock Band series included "Enter Sandman", with "Ride the Lightning", "Blackened", and "...And Justice for All" released as downloadable tracks. The song "Battery" was featured in the game's sequel ''Rock Band 2''.

Awards

Grammy Awards:

MTV Video Music Awards:

American Music Awards:

''Billboard'' Music Awards:

''Kerrang!'' Awards:

Band members

Current members

Former members

Timeline

Discography

;Studio albums

;Collaboration albums

See also

References

Sources

External links

Category:American hard rock musical groups Category:American thrash metal musical groups Category:Heavy metal musical groups from California Category:Thrash metal musical groups from California Category:Speed metal musical groups Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Kerrang! Awards winners Category:Music of the San Francisco Bay Area Category:Musical groups established in 1981 Category:Musical groups from Los Angeles, California Category:Musical quartets Category:Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees

Bailey was listed by ''The Observer'' as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy in 2003. In 2007 and again in 2010, he was voted the 7th greatest stand-up comic on Channel 4's 100 Greatest Stand-Ups. Bill Bailey is a patron of International Animal Rescue.

Personal life

Bailey was educated at King Edward's School, an independent school in Bath where he was initially an academic pupil winning most of the prizes. However, at about the age of 15 years, he started to become distracted from school work when he realised the thrill of performance as a member of a school band called Behind Closed Doors, which played mostly original work. He was the only pupil at his school to study A-level music and he passed with an A grade. He also claims to have been good at sport (captain of KES 2nd XI cricket team 1982), which often surprised his teachers. He would often combine the two by leading the singing on the long coach trip back from away rugby fixtures. It was here that he was given his nickname Bill by his music teacher, Ian Phipps, for being able to play the song "Won't You Come Home Bill Bailey" so well on the guitar.

He started an English degree at Westfield College of the University of London but left after a year.

He spent his early years listening to Monty Python records, and rehearsing with a band called the "Famous Five", who he himself confesses were very bad but still much better than him and who actually only had four members. However, he is a classically trained musician and received an Associateship Diploma from the London College of Music as well as being made an honorary member of the Society of Crematorium Organists. Despite this, he has said that he always had the temptation to be silly with music, a trait that influences his stand-up shows.

Bailey often mythologises his early years in his stand-up. In his show ''Bewilderness'', he claims to have attended Bovington Gurney School of Performing Arts and Owl Sanctuary. He talks about a succession of jobs he had before becoming a comedian, including lounge pianist, crematorium organist, door-to-door door-salesman and accompanist for a mind-reading dog. A clip of Bailey's appearance in the dog's routine was shown during his ''Room 101'' appearance. He also is self-deprecating about his appearance, suggesting he is so hairy that he is part troll, or that his hair or beard is a small animal named Lionel whom he has trained to sit 'very very still.'

Bailey also talks about his role as a "Disenfranchised Owl" in an experimental Welsh theatre troupe. Other acting roles included a part in a Workers' Revolutionary Party stage production called ''The Printers'', which also featured Vanessa Redgrave and Frances de la Tour. His trivia page on IMDb also claims that he was awarded Best Actor in the 1986 Institut Français awards.

Bailey married Kristin in 1998. An avid ''Star Trek'' fan, he named his son (born 2003) not after the'' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' character Dax as is often reported, but after a childhood friend, and often refers to himself as a Klingon (once claiming during his "Part Troll" tour that his ear-mounted microphone made him resemble "a wizard in a call centre" and "a Klingon motivational speaker").

He currently lives in Hammersmith and supports Queens Park Rangers. In 2010, Bailey endorsed the Labour Party in the upcoming General Election, appearing in the party's fifth party election broadcast of the 2010 campaign. He is also an outspoken feminist and supporter of the Fawcett Society.

Career

Early stand-up

Stubbs later quit to pursue a more serious career, and in 1994 Bailey performed ''Rock'' at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with Sean Lock, a show about an ageing rockstar and his roadie, script-edited by comedy writer Jim Miller. It was later serialised for the Mark Radcliffe show on BBC Radio 1. However, the show's attendances were not impressive and on one occasion the only person in the audience was comedian Dominic Holland. Bailey almost gave up comedy to take up a telesales job.

He persevered, however, and went solo the next year with the one man show ''Bill Bailey's Cosmic Jam''. The show was very well received and led to a recording at the Bloomsbury Theatre in London which was broadcast in 1997 on Channel 4 as a one-hour special called ''Bill Bailey Live''. It was not until 2005 that this was released in DVD uncut and under its original title. It marked the first time that Bailey had been able to tie together his music and post-modern gags with the whimsical rambling style he is now known for.

After supporting Donna McPhail in 1995 and winning a ''Time Out'' award, he returned to Edinburgh in 1996 with a critically acclaimed show that was nominated for the Perrier Comedy Award. Amongst the other nominees was future ''Black Books'' co-star Dylan Moran, who narrowly beat him in the closest vote in the award's history.

Bailey won the Best Live Stand-Up award at the British Comedy Awards, 1999.

Television

This was not Bailey's first foray into television. His debut was on the children's TV show ''Motormouth'' in the late 1980s, playing piano for a mind-reading dog. The trick went hilariously wrong, and Bailey reminisced about the experience on the BBC show ''Room 101'' with Paul Merton in 2000. In 1991, he was appearing in stand-up shows such as ''The Happening'', ''Packing Them In'', ''The Stand Up Show'', and ''The Comedy Store''. He also appeared as captain on two panel games, an ITV music quiz pilot called ''Pop Dogs'', and the poorly received Channel 4 science fiction quiz show, ''Space Cadets''. However ''Is it Bill Bailey?'' was the first time he had written and presented his own show.

With his star on the rise and gaining public recognition, over the next few years, Bailey made well received guest appearances on shows such as ''Have I Got News For You'', ''World Cup Comedy'', ''Room 101'', ''Des O'Connor Tonight'', ''Coast to Coast'' and three episodes of off-beat Channel 4 sitcom ''Spaced'', in which he played comic-shop manager Bilbo Bagshot.

In 1998, Dylan Moran approached him with the pilot script for ''Black Books'', a Channel 4 sitcom about a grumpy bookshop owner, his put-upon assistant, and their neurotic female friend. It was commissioned in 2000, and Bailey took the part of the assistant Manny Bianco, with Moran playing the owner Bernard, and Tamsin Greig the friend, Fran. Three series of six episodes were made, building up a large cult fanbase, providing the public awareness on which Bailey would build a successful national tour in 2001.

When Sean Hughes left his long-term role as a team captain on ''Never Mind the Buzzcocks'' in 2002, Bailey became his successor. His style quickly blended into the show, possibly helped by his background in music. He soon developed a rapport of sorts with host Mark Lamarr, who continually teased him about his looks and his pre-occupation with woodland animals. It was announced on 18 September 2008 that Bill would be leaving the series and be replaced by a series of guest captains including Jack Dee and Dermot O'Leary. Whilst touring in 2009, Bailey joked that his main reason for leaving the show was a lack of desire to continue humming Britney Spears' Toxic to little known figures in the indie music scene. It was during this time that he also left his position as "curator" of The Museum of Curiosity, and declared his intention to "retire" from panel games, although he has since appeared on QI many more times and hosted Have I Got News For You.

Bailey has appeared frequently on the intellectual panel game ''QI'' since it began in 2003, appearing alongside host Stephen Fry and regular panellist Alan Davies. Other television appearances include a cameo role in Alan Davies' drama series ''Jonathan Creek'' as failing street magician Kenny Starkiss and obsessed guitar teacher in the "Holiday" episode of Sean Lock's ''Fifteen Storeys High''. He later appeared with Lock again as a guest on his show ''TV Heaven, Telly Hell''. He has also appeared twice on ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross''. Bill also hosted his own show "Comic's Choice", which aired in 2011.

Bailey also presented ''Wild Thing I Love You'' which began on Channel 4 on 15 October 2006. The series focuses on the protection of Britain's wild animals, and has included rehoming badgers, owls, and water voles.

Bailey has most recently appeared in the second series of the E4 teenage "dramedy" ''Skins'' playing Maxxie's Dad, Walter Oliver. In episode 1, Walter struggles with his son's desire to be a dancer, instead wishing him to become a builder, which is what he himself does for a living. Walter is married to Jackie, played by Fiona Allen.

Bailey appeared on the first episode of Grand Designs Live on 4 May 2008, helping Kevin McCloud build his eco-friendly home. In 2009 Bailey appeared in the BBC show "Hustle" as the Character "Cyclops", a side-line character. In the Autumn of 2009, Bailey presented Bill Bailey's Birdwatching Bonanza.

As a continuation of Bailey's recent foray into natural history, he presented ITV1's half-hour wildlife mini-series ''Baboons With Bill Bailey''. The series was filmed in Cape Town and spanned 8 episodes, with exclusive content available on itvWILD.

International tours

Bailey premiered his show ''Part Troll'' at the 2003 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. A critical and commercial success, he then transferred it to the West End where tickets sold out in under 24 hours, and new dates had to be added. Since then he has toured it all over the UK as well as in America, Australia and New Zealand. The show marked the first time Bailey had really tackled political material, as he expanded on subjects such as the war on Iraq, which he had only touched upon before in his ''Bewilderness New York'' show. He also talks extensively on drugs, at one point asking the audience to name different ways of baking cannabis. A DVD was released in 2004.

2005 finally saw the release of his 1995 show ''Bill Bailey's Cosmic Jam''. The 2-disc set also contained a director's cut of ''Bewilderness'', which featured a routine on Stephen Hawking's ''A Brief History of Time'' not seen in the original version.

Bailey performed at show at the 2006 Edinburgh Festival Fringe entitled "Steampunk". It looked set to become the fastest selling fringe show ever (beating the record Bailey set with The Odd Couple in 2005). But a ticketing mix-up forced the last 10% of tickets to be purchased in person from the venue rather than pre-booked, meaning the venue filled at a slower overall rate than it should have.

Bailey appeared at the Beautiful Days festival in August 2007. The UK leg of the ''Tinselworm'' tour enjoyed 3 sell-out nights at the MEN Arena in Manchester, Europe's largest indoor arena, and culminated with a sell-out performance at Wembley Arena.

Early in 2007, a petition was started to express fans' wishes to see him cast as a dwarf in the 2010 film ''The Hobbit'', after his stand-up routine mentioned auditioning for Gimli in ''The Lord of the Rings''. The petition reached its goal in the early days of January, and was sent to the producers. It was hoped that as the Tinselworm tour took him to Wellington in New Zealand where the film is in pre-production, that he would be able to audition.

Bill Bailey's most recent tour, titled ''Dandelion Mind'', was released on DVD on 22 November 2010.

Other appearances

2000

2001

2002

2003

2005

2006

2007

2008

2010

Music

In February 2007, Bill appeared on two occasions with the BBC Concert Orchestra and Anne Dudley in a show entitled ''Cosmic Shindig''. Performed in The Colosseum in Watford on 24 February and in the Queen Elizabeth Hall on 26 February, the show contained orchestrally accompanied versions of many of Bill's previously performed songs, an exploration of the instruments of the orchestra and a number of new pieces of music. The Queen Elizabeth Hall performance was aired on BBC Radio 3 on 16 March 2007 as a part of Comic Relief 2007.

Bill had planned to put himself forward as Britain's Eurovision entry in 2008, as a result of several fan petitions encouraging him to do so.

In October 2008 he performed ''Bill Bailey's Remarkable Guide to the Orchestra'' at the Royal Albert Hall with the BBC Concert Orchestra, conducted by Anne Dudley.

In 2009, Bailey presented a project about the explorer and naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace, in the form of an Indonesian travelogue. Bailey said in an interview that Wallace had been "airbrushed out of history", and that he feels a "real affinity" with him.

In November 2009 he was a guest on ''Private Passions'', the biographical music discussion programme on BBC Radio 3.

In July 2011, Bailey performed at the Sonisphere Festival in Knebworth, headlining the Saturn Stage.

Tours

DVD releases

Filmography

References

External links

Category:1965 births Category:20th-century actors Category:21st-century actors Category:20th-century writers Category:21st-century writers Category:Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music Category:Alumni of Westfield College Category:English buskers Category:English comedians Category:English comedy musicians Category:English composers Category:English film actors Category:English guitarists Category:English stand-up comedians Category:English television actors Category:English television writers Category:Living people Category:Never Mind the Buzzcocks Category:People from Bath, Somerset Category:People from Keynsham Category:People educated at King Edward's School, Bath