METALLICA's LARS ULRICH Turns 60 Years Old

December 26, 2023

METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich is celebrating his 60th birthday on December 26.

A decade ago, just as Ulrich was turning 50, he said the milestone was "meaningless" and it made "no real difference" in his life. "I don't look at age," he explained. "I'm quite happy growing older, with the experiences and everything else that comes along with it. I'm fine. I'm a realist, if anything, so it's fine."

Ulrich, a native of Denmark, played tennis professionally as a teenager and could have gone on to a career as a tennis star, but chose music instead.

METALLICA was formed when Ulrich, who had moved to Los Angeles, placed an ad in a local paper called the Recycler looking for other musicians to play with. The ad was answered by guitarists James Hetfield and Hugh Tanner of the band LEATHER CHARM.

METALLICA officially formed in October 1981 and the band's first recording was "Hit The Lights" for the compilation "Metal Massacre".

Bay Area DJ Ron Quintana came up with the group's name: he was debating between using "Metallica" and "Metal Mania" for the name of his radio show and Ulrich encouraged him to use "Metal Mania" so that he could use "Metallica" for his new band.

METALLICA's first full lineup — featuring Hetfield, Ulrich, guitarist Dave Mustaine and bassist Ron McGovney — played its first gig on March 14, 1982 at Radio City in Anaheim, California.

"I went to see YESTERDAY AND TODAY [later known simply as Y&T], playing a show on, like, a Wednesday evening, at the Starwood in L.A. in December 1980," Lars told Kerrang! magazine a few years ago. "I remember the band were having a great time. There was this vibe and energy thing between them and the audience. It was pretty chill, and I remember thinking, 'This looks like so much fun.' At the same time, I was starting to realize that if I wanted to really get anywhere playing tennis, I would have to spend eight hours a day on the court and there was this grind in front of me that didn't have quite the same allure anymore. It wasn't like the next morning the roof opened and a lightning bolt came down, but over the next couple of months, the tennis thing fizzled out and music started taking over."

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