Phil Taylor, better known as Phil “Philthy Animal” Taylor, former drummer for heavy metal icons Motorhead, died on Wednesday, November 11, 2015. He was 61.

Word of Taylor’s passing comes from his former Motorhead bandmate “Fast” Eddie Clarke, who posted the news today to his official Facebook page, noting that his friend “had been ill for sometime.” There was no mention of the cause of death.

The British-born Taylor was drummer for the popular Motorhead line-up that consisted of Ian “Lemmy” Kilmister on bass and vocals, and Clarke on guitar, and appeared on the band’s most classic albums, Overkill (1979), Bomber (1979), Ace of Spades (1980), and Iron Fist (1982). He was with the group from 1975 till 1984, when he left, but then he returned in 1987 for the album Rock and Roll before leaving again in 1992.