Where Did Motorhead’s Mascot Snaggletooth Come From?

Where did Motorhead's fierce, iconic mascot Snaggletooth come from?

What Is the Name of Motorhead's Mascot?

Motorhead's snarling, fang-toothed, tusk-faced mascot is named Snaggletooth. It's sometimes also referred to as a War-Pig.

Who First Drew Snaggletooth?

Visual artist Joe Petagno first drew Snaggletooth, creating an original character after learning what ideas bassist/singer Lemmy Kilmister had in mind.

What Was the Inspiration Behind Snaggletooth?

After Motorhead's manager contracted Pategno to do their logo, Kilmister relayed his ideas for a visual representation of his new, noisy band.

"I told him I wanted something between a rusty, decaying robot, and a knight-errant with armor. And he came back with the face with the horns on the head, with the chains between them. It looked really soppy, you know. So I said, "Why don't we put the horns in the mouth?" And we've never changed it, although he's done a lot of good variations on it for different album covers," Kilmister told Revolver back in 2002.

In 2016, Petagno recalled his creation in an interview with Metal Hammer, explaining, "On the way home I stopped off at the library in Chelmsford. Taking my cue from outlaw biker patches, I was looking for skulls and bones when I inadvertently came across a book of animal skulls, then it hit me; an animal skull would work better than a human skull."

"When I got home and began sketching, I thought; why not invent a new skull, a hybrid? I started playing around with mix and match sketches dog – lion, wolf and so on," he continued. "In the end I settled on a dog or wolf and gorilla cranium and gave it over-sized wild boar teeth. I hung a chain from the horns left to right under it and a small human skull to designate size, adorned it with an iron cross as a sign of bravery and then topped it off with a few spikes."

When Did Snaggletooth First Appear With Motorhead?

Snaggletooth made its debut on the cover of Motoread's self-titled 1977 album.

READ MORE: Where Did Iron Maiden's Mascot Eddie Come From?

How Many Motorhead Album Covers Has Joe Petagno Done?

Petagno has handled the bulk of Motorhead's studio album covers — 13 in total:

• Motorhead (1977)
• Overkill (1979)
• Bomber (1979)
• Another Perfect Day (1983)
• Orgasmatron (1986)
• Rock 'n' Roll (1987)
• Bastards (1993)
• Sacrifice (1995)
• Snake Bite Love (1998)
• We Are Motorhead (2000)
• Hammered (2002)
• Inferno (2004)
• Kiss Of Death (2006)