150-725: Motörhead ( / ˈ m oʊ t ər h ɛ d / ) were an English rock band formed in London in 1975 by bassist and lead vocalist Lemmy Kilmister , guitarist Larry Wallis and drummer Lucas Fox . Lemmy was also the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band are often considered a precursor to the new wave of British heavy metal , which re-energised heavy metal in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Though several guitarists and drummers have played in Motörhead, most of their best-selling albums and singles feature drummer Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor and guitarist "Fast" Eddie Clarke . From 1995 until
300-724: A rock and roll band. He said they had more in common with punk bands, but with their own unique sound, Motörhead is embraced in both punk and metal scenes. Their lyrics typically covered such topics as war, good and evil , abuse of power , promiscuity , substance abuse and, most famously, gambling, the last theme being the focus of their hit song " Ace of Spades ". Lemmy died on 28 December 2015 from cardiac arrhythmia and congestive heart failure , after being diagnosed with prostate cancer . The day after his death, longtime members Dee and Campbell both confirmed that Motörhead had disbanded. By 2018, all three members of Motörhead's best-known line-up (Lemmy, Taylor and Clarke) had died. Lemmy
450-647: A Bruce Springsteen concert held there in 1975 was released as part of the Born to Run 30th Anniversary Edition package; later the CD Hammersmith Odeon London '75 was released. Melodic death metal band In Flames also released a DVD that featured footage of a December 2004 performance there. Comedian and actor Eddie Izzard 's show Glorious was also released as a DVD. Rush recorded their 1978 performance and later included it in their three-disc set, Different Stages . American musician Tori Amos released
600-512: A DVD of some of Motörhead's performances from the 1970s and 1980s along with some stock footage of the band was released as The Best of Motörhead . Two weeks earlier, the Hammered album was released and supported by the "Hammered" tour, which kicked off in the States at around the same time. The United States dates continued until late May, and a European leg followed between June and August. In October,
750-506: A band before, the band met with Singerman and decided to take him on board, firing Banker. In the midst of this, the band were recording an album at Music Grinder Studios, in the city's east part of Hollywood during the 1992 Los Angeles riots . Three drummers participated in the making of the March ör Die album: Phil Taylor, who was fired because he did not learn the drum tracks on the song "I Ain't No Nice Guy"; Tommy Aldridge who recorded most of
900-493: A band by the name of "Bastard" would never get a slot on Top of the Pops , Lemmy changed the band's name to " Motörhead " – the title of the last song he had written for Hawkwind. Soon after, Wallis and Fox were replaced with guitarist "Fast" Eddie Clarke and drummer Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor and with this line-up, the band began to achieve success. Lemmy's guttural vocals were unique in rock at that time, and were copied during
1050-602: A break to appear at the Reading Festival , the band were working on their next album, Bomber . Released on 27 October, it reached number 12 on the UK Albums Chart. On 1 December, it was followed by the " Bomber " single, which reached number 34 on the UK Singles Chart. The "Bomber" Europe and UK tour followed, with support from Saxon . The stage show featured a spectacular aircraft bomber -shaped lighting rig. During
1200-715: A choke on the English music charts and proved to all that a band could succeed without sacrificing its blunt power and speed". To coincide with the Ace of Spades release, Big Beat , who had inherited the Chiswick catalogue, put together four unused tracks from the Escape Studios sessions in 1977 and released them as Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers , which reached No. 43 on the UK Singles Chart in November. The band had more chart hits in 1981 with
1350-399: A cosmetic called "The Ace of Spades" with the description "In honor of a motoring head." Lemmy positioned his microphone in an uncommonly high position, angled so that he appeared to be looking up at the sky rather than at the audience. He said that it was for "personal comfort, that's all. It's also one way of avoiding seeing the audience. In the days when we only had ten people and a dog, it
1500-544: A crowd favourite throughout the band's career, and the UK #1 live album No Sleep 'til Hammersmith . Motörhead became one of the most influential bands in the heavy metal genre. Their – and Lemmy's – final live performance was in Berlin , Germany, on 11 December 2015 during the band's 40th Anniversary Tour . At the age of 17, Lemmy met a holidaying girl named Cathy. He followed her to Stockport , where she gave birth to his son Sean, who
1650-617: A deal with CBS , released three singles and toured Europe, reportedly being the first British band to visit the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia . The Rockin' Vickers moved to Manchester , where they shared a flat together. Leaving the Rockin' Vickers, Lemmy moved to London in 1967. He shared a flat with Noel Redding , bassist of the Jimi Hendrix Experience , and with Neville Chesters , their road manager. He got
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#17330850221591800-497: A farm in the Welsh village of Benllech , with Lemmy commenting that "funnily enough, being the only English kid among 700 Welsh ones didn't make for the happiest time, but it was interesting from an anthropological point of view". He attended Ysgol Syr Thomas Jones , a comprehensive school in Amlwch , where he was nicknamed "Lemmy." It was later suggested by some that the name originated from
1950-501: A film in which Lemmy appears as the narrator. The band decided to continue as a three-man line-up and a tour of Europe was performed throughout October and the first two days of November. A three-day tour of South America followed the week after. Lemmy celebrated his 50th Birthday later that year with the band at the Whisky a Go Go in Los Angeles; Metallica played at the event under the name
2100-523: A guitar, which he then took to school, and was himself surrounded by girls even though he could not play. By the time he left school, he had moved with his family to Conwy . He went on to work several odd jobs, including one at the local Hotpoint electric appliance factory, while also playing guitar for local bands such as the Sundowners and spending time at a horse-riding school. He saw the Beatles perform at
2250-605: A guitarist, including one to Brian Robertson , formerly with Thin Lizzy , who was recording a solo album in Canada. He agreed to help out and complete the tour with them. Robertson signed a one-album deal resulting in 1983's Another Perfect Day and the two singles from it, " Shine " and " I Got Mine ". In June and July the band played five dates in Japan, and from mid-October until mid-November they toured Europe. From late May until early July,
2400-457: A job as a roadie for the band. In 1968, he joined the psychedelic rock band Sam Gopal under the name Ian Willis and recorded the album Escalator which was released in 1969. After meeting Simon King at a shopping centre in Chelsea in 1969, he joined the band Opal Butterfly , but the group soon disbanded, having failed to raise enough interest with their singles. In August 1971, Lemmy joined
2550-579: A lodger who lives in a closet. He appeared on Down and Dirty with Jim Norton as the series DJ, and also wrote the theme music. He appeared in a 2001 advertisement for Kit Kat , playing violin as part of a string quartet in a genteel tearoom. In 2015, Lemmy appeared as a central figure in the Björn Tagemose -directed silent film Gutterdämmerung opposite Grace Jones , Henry Rollins , Iggy Pop , Tom Araya of Slayer and Eagles of Death Metal 's Jesse Hughes . The 2010 rockumentary film Lemmy
2700-424: A model dedicated to Lemmy, the 1992LEM, which was available with the same cabinets Lemmy used. Lemmy described his style as "I play a lot of notes, but I also play a lot of chords. And I play a lot of open strings. I just don't play like a bass player. There are complaints about me from time to time. It's not like having a bass player; it's like having a deep guitarist. Lemmy's unconventional playing style changed
2850-421: A new lift and about 1,200 organ pipes housed in large chambers above the front stalls ceiling. Having fallen into disrepair, the organ was disconnected in the 1990s and the console removed from the building. At the insistence of English Heritage and the local council, however, it was reinstated and the entire organ restored. At a launch party, on 25 July 2007, an invited audience and media representatives witnessed
3000-568: A recital by Richard Hills. Many bands have released live albums, videos or DVDs of concerts held at the Apollo, such as Queen , Black Sabbath , Rush , DIO , Hawkwind , Iron Maiden , Celtic Frost , Kings of Leon , Tears for Fears , Bananarama , Dire Straits , Frank Zappa , Sophie Ellis-Bextor , David Bowie , Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band , Japan , Erasure , Spear of Destiny , Motörhead , and Robbie Williams . In September 1979 Gary Numan recorded his Touring Principle show at
3150-556: A roadie for the Nice . Emerson used these knives many times as keyholders when playing the Hammond organ during concerts with The Nice and Emerson, Lake & Palmer before destroying them. Lemmy defended his collection by saying that if his then-girlfriend (who was black) had no problem with it, nobody else should. In December 2000, Lemmy's tour was cancelled when he was hospitalised in Italy with
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#17330850221593300-470: A second tour with Black Sabbath, this time supported by Tiamat , until the band succumbed to influenza and headed back to Los Angeles and Cherokee Studios in Hollywood where they were to record an album. During the sessions it became clear that Würzel was not extending himself and left the band after the recording. The title track from the album, Sacrifice , was later used in the movie Tromeo and Juliet ,
3450-700: A series of six live albums in 2005 known as The Original Bootlegs , one of which was recorded at the Apollo. Photographs of The Who outside the Hammersmith Odeon appear on their 1973 album Quadrophenia . Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour performed three nights at the venue in April 1984 which was documented on the David Gilmour Live 1984 concert film. These shows are of note as Roy Harper guested on "Short and Sweet" and Gilmour's Pink Floyd bandmate Nick Mason played drums on " Comfortably Numb ". In 1984
3600-599: A show at the Brixton Academy on 25 October, where the guest musician was Paul Inder, Lemmy's son, for "Ace of Spades". A further four dates in October in Russia concluded the year 1997. Lemmy recalled that the touring was going particularly well, with some countries like Argentina and Japan putting the band in larger venues, and the English promoters discovered that "they could turn a nice profit with Motörhead shows". In his opinion,
3750-413: A sort of lead on bass which sometimes is very effective", and Motörhead drummer Taylor echoed the sentiment with "Onstage he's difficult to follow cos he's not really a bass player. There's no solid bass lines to follow. A lot of the time I play more with Eddie [Clarke] than with Lemmy, but he's out on his own because he is what he is." Hammersmith Odeon The Hammersmith Apollo , currently called
3900-464: A towering microphone tilted down into his weather-beaten face". He was also known for his bass playing style, using his Rickenbacker bass to create an "overpowered, distorted rhythmic rumble". A notable aspect of his bass sound was his guitar-like riffing, often playing power chords using heavily overdriven tube stacks by Marshall . Lemmy was born in Stoke-on-Trent and grew up between there,
4050-486: A two-room apartment two blocks away from his favourite hangout, the Rainbow Bar and Grill . In the 2005 Channel 4 documentary Motörhead: Live Fast, Die Old , it was claimed that Lemmy had slept with over 2,000 women. He later quipped, "I said more than 1,000; the magazine made 2,000 of it." Maxim had Lemmy at No. 8 on its top ten "Living Sex Legends" list, as they claimed that he had slept with around 1,200 women. He
4200-406: Is featured in the book Sex Tips from Rock Stars (2010) by Paul Miles. Dave Grohl , on his Probot website, describes musicians with whom he has worked. In his entry for Lemmy, he wrote: We recorded [Lemmy's] track in Los Angeles in maybe two takes about a year and a half ago. Until then I'd never met what I'd call a real rock 'n' roll hero before. Fuck Elvis and Keith Richards , Lemmy's
4350-527: The Victor Vran Downloadable content "Motorhead Through The Ages", there is a new "Lemmy's Outfit" armour. The other Motörhead bandmates' armour is also available. As an easter egg , a holographic woman in the final level of 2020's DOOM Eternal proclaims, " Lemmy is God! ". The appearance of the character King Novik from the same video game is also loosely based on facial features of Lemmy. Deep Rock Galactic features one of Lemmy's hats as
4500-540: The Cavern Club in Liverpool when he was 16, and then learned to play along on guitar to their first album Please Please Me . He also admired the sarcastic attitude of the group, particularly that of John Lennon , and later said of the group, " Brian Epstein cleaned them up for mass consumption, but they were anything but sissies. They were from Liverpool ... a hard, sea-farin' town, all these dockers and sailors around all
4650-726: The Eventim Apollo for sponsorship reasons, and formerly known as the Hammersmith Odeon , is a live entertainment performance venue, originally built as a cinema called the Gaumont Palace . Located in Hammersmith, London , it is an art deco Grade II* listed building . Designed by Robert Cromie, who also renovated the Prince of Wales Theatre , in the Art Deco style, it opened in 1932 as
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4800-407: The Gaumont Palace , with a seating capacity of nearly 3,500 people, being renamed the Hammersmith Odeon in 1962. It has had a string of names and owners, most recently AEG Live and Eventim UK . It became a Grade II listed building in 1990. The venue was later refurbished and renamed Labatt's Apollo following a sponsorship deal with Labatt Brewing Company (1993 or 1994). In 2002, the venue
4950-535: The Hammered album in the States, and on the three dates Phil Campbell had to miss, his mother having died, Todd Youth stood in for him. Between late May and mid-July the band played seven dates at Summer Festivals in Europe and from late-July until the end of August, they were touring the United States with Iron Maiden and Dio. On 7 October a comprehensive five-disc collection of the band's recordings covering 1975–2002
5100-684: The Hollywood Vampires performed at the Grammy Award ceremony as a tribute to Lemmy. On 11 June, Download Festival paid tribute to Lemmy by renaming the main stage the "Lemmy Stage", and in the slot where Motorhead were due to play, there was a video tribute to Lemmy in which they played his music and his peers talked about him. On 17 November, Metallica released a tribute song titled "Murder One", named after Lemmy's frequently used amp. The song, from their album Hardwired... to Self-Destruct , depicts Lemmy's rise to fame. On 18 January 2017, Lemmy
5250-518: The Marquee Club in London. Lemmy had become acquainted with Ted Carroll from Chiswick Records and asked him to bring a mobile studio to the show to record it for posterity. Carroll was unable to get the mobile unit to the Marquee Club on 1 April 1977, but showed up backstage after the engagement and offered them two days at Escape Studios with producer Speedy Keen to record a single. The band took
5400-491: The New York Ritz on 14 August. A new producer was sought for the band's next album and eventually Howard Benson , who was to produce the band's next four albums, was chosen. The band recorded at A&M Studios and Prime Time Studios in Hollywood and the resultant album, titled Bastards , was released on 29 November 1993. The single " Don't Let Daddy Kiss Me " included the song " Born to Raise Hell ", which also appeared on
5550-631: The Overnight Sensation tour in Europe on 12 January at the London Astoria , where the guest musicians were Todd Campbell, Phil Campbell's son, on "Ace of Spades" and "Fast" Eddie Clarke for "Overkill". The European leg lasted until March and was followed by four dates in Japan, from late May to 1 June, and an American tour with W.A.S.P. throughout the rest of June. In August, three dates in Europe were followed by seven dates in Britain, which ended with
5700-508: The space rock band Hawkwind in 1971, singing lead vocals on their hit " Silver Machine ". In 1975, he was fired from Hawkwind after an arrest for drug possession. That same year, he founded Motörhead. The band's success peaked around 1980 and 1981, including the hit single " Ace of Spades " and the chart-topping live album No Sleep 'til Hammersmith . Lemmy continued to record and tour regularly with Motörhead until his death on 28 December 2015 in Los Angeles, where he had lived since 1990. He
5850-510: The space rock band Hawkwind , who were based in Ladbroke Grove , London, as a bassist and vocalist. He had no previous experience as a bass guitarist, and was cajoled into joining immediately before a benefit gig in Notting Hill by bandmate Michael "Dik Mik" Davies, to have two members who enjoyed amphetamine . Lemmy states that he originally auditioned for Hawkwind as a guitarist, but on
6000-497: The " Bambi " episode in the British television series, The Young Ones . Scenes of the band playing are interspersed with the characters' antics as they rush to the railway station, in a parody of the Beatles ' comedy film A Hard Day's Night . Taylor quit the band after that recording, causing Lemmy to quip: "Did I leave them or did they leave me?". Before joining Motörhead, Phil Campbell had met former Saxon drummer Pete Gill , and
6150-638: The "Beyond the Threshold of Pain Tour" with the Count Bishops , a band who were gaining some popularity on the early punk rock and pub rock scene. In August, Tony Secunda took over the management of the band, and their cohesiveness became so unstable that by March 1978, Clarke and Taylor had formed and were performing as the Muggers with Speedy Keen and Billy Rath of American punk band The Heartbreakers . In July 1978,
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6300-558: The "Bomber" tour, United Artists put together tapes recorded during the Rockfield Studios sessions in 1975–1976 and released them as the album On Parole , which peaked at number 65 on the UK Albums Chart in December. On 8 May 1980, while the band were on tour in Europe, Bronze released The Golden Years , which sold better than any of their previous releases, reaching number eight on the UK Singles Chart. The band had, however, preferred
6450-695: The 16-bit video game Motörhead , released for the Commodore Amiga and Atari ST in 1992. Lemmy also appeared as an unlockable character in the 2009 game Guitar Hero: Metallica . He also provided his voice for the 2009 video game Brütal Legend , voicing the Kill Master, a character designed and based on his surname and likeness. Lemmy was also the inspiration for the Mario character Lemmy Koopa , who made his first appearance in Super Mario Bros. 3 . In
6600-560: The 1987 comedy Eat the Rich , for which Motörhead also recorded the soundtracks including the title song . He appeared as himself in the 1986 The Comic Strip Presents... episode " More Bad News ", along with fellow heavy metal musicians Ozzy Osbourne , the Scorpions and Def Leppard . In 1984, Motörhead were the musical guests on the TV show The Young Ones , in the episode " Bambi ". He appears in
6750-470: The 1994 comedy Airheads (in which he is credited as "Lemmy von Motörhead"). Lemmy has a cameo in Ron Jeremy 's 1994 pornographic film John Wayne Bobbitt Uncut as the discoverer of Bobbitt's severed penis. The appendage is thrown from the window of a moving car and lands at Lemmy's feet who exclaims: "Looks like a dick! Fucking hell! Ah well, it's not mine at least." The film's soundtrack also features
6900-400: The 2005 BBC Live & In-Session album), and appeared for the first time on BBC Television 's Top of the Pops on 25 October. Pub rock and early Punk rock label Chiswick Records capitalised on this new level of success by re-issuing the debut album Motörhead on white vinyl through EMI Records . The single's success led to Bronze extending their contract, and put the band back into
7050-584: The Apollo in 2006. The Hammersmith Apollo is seen in the American romantic comedy film Just My Luck where McFly perform. In the movie, the venue stands-in for the Hard Rock Café. It is also the location in The Football Factory where the Chelsea fans board the bus for Liverpool. It is mentioned in the poem "Glam Rock: The Poem" by the poet Robert Archambeau . The exterior of the (then) Gaumont Palace
7200-523: The Berlin Metropol on 11 November 1983. After Robertson's departure, the band received tapes from guitarists from all over the world who wished to be considered for a place in Motörhead. The group returned to the concept of dual lead guitars by hiring unknowns Würzel and Phil Campbell (formerly of Persian Risk ). In February 1984, the Lemmy, Campbell, Würzel, and Taylor line-up recorded "Ace of Spades" for
7350-769: The Canadian border in Windsor, Ontario , on drug possession charges. The border police mistook the amphetamine he was carrying for cocaine and he was kept overnight in jail before being released without charge. The band and management were concerned that his arrest might stop the band from crossing back into the United States, even though he had been released without charge. They were also tired of what they saw as his erratic behaviour, so they decided to fire him. He once said of Hawkwind: "I did like being in Hawkwind, and I believe I'd still be playing with them today if I hadn't been kicked out. It
7500-505: The Clash , Ice-T , Kat Von D , Henry Rollins , Lars Frederiksen of Rancid , Jim Heath of The Reverend Horton Heat , Slim Jim Phantom of the Stray Cats , Mike Inez , Joan Jett , pro skateboarder Geoff Rowley , pro wrestler Triple H , "Fast" Eddie Clarke , Jarvis Cocker , Marky Ramone , former Hawkwind bandmates Dave Brock and Stacia , and Steve Vai . He was the main character in
7650-572: The Lemmy's. In 1996, the band began touring the States in early January and played 30 venues up to 15 February; a seven-date tour of Europe in June and July was followed by two engagements in South America during August. A tour of the United States with Belladonna and Speedball began with two shows (Los Angeles & Hollywood) in early October 1996 and concluded in Washington on 4 December. During this time
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#17330850221597800-517: The London-based band Iron Maiden recorded side 4 of their double live album 'Live After Death' at the venue. Iron Maiden's affection for the Hammersmith Odeon previously resulted in the filming of a 1982 performance which was subsequently released as Beast over Hammersmith . Other acts have made music videos featuring clips from performances at the Apollo; Kelly Clarkson made a special version of her " Breakaway " video using clips from her concert at
7950-599: The Millennium" tour with Manowar , Dio and Lion's Share , ending the Millennium with two shows at the London Astoria. The two shows were billed under the Kerrang! "X-Fest" banner and at the first show were supported by Backyard Babies and during the second show guest vocals were provided by Skin from Skunk Anansie and Nina C. Alice from Skew Siskin for "Born to Raise Hell", and Ace from Skunk Anansie played "Overkill" with
8100-636: The Motörhead song "Under the Knife". He has also appeared in several movies from Troma Entertainment , including the narrator in 1996's Tromeo and Juliet and as himself in both Terror Firmer and Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV . His last role was portraying the President of the United States in Return to Nuke 'Em High . He has a cameo role in the film Down and Out with the Dolls ( Kurt Voss , 2001). He appears as
8250-399: The Odeon on 22–23 July 1983, and the resulting album Alchemy: Dire Straits Live was released the following year. Kylie Minogue performed a one-off concert in the venue in 2003 and released a DVD of the performance in 2004. Minogue also performed the last show of her Anti Tour in the venue on 3 April 2012. Girls Aloud released a DVD of their concert at the Apollo in 2005. A DVD of
8400-526: The Ozzfest Tour and played dates across the States during early July until early August and were in Europe from early October until late November. The British leg of the tour was dubbed the "No Speak With Forked Tongue" tour and included support bands Groop Dogdrill , Radiator and Psycho Squad, which was fronted by Phil Campbell's son Todd. In 1999 Motörhead made a tour of the states between 20 April and 2 June, before going to Karo Studios in Brackel , Germany to record their next album, We Are Motörhead , which
8550-404: The Rich" as its second track, the band commented that the album was virtually "nailed together". On 2 July 1988 Motörhead were one of the performers at the Giants of Rock Festival in Hämeenlinna , Finland. The tracks were released as No Sleep at All on 15 October. A single from the album was planned with the band wanting "Traitor" as the A-side, but " Ace of Spades " was chosen instead. When
8700-474: The UK Album charts. The band were involved in a court case with Bronze over the next two years, believing that their releases were not being promoted properly, and the record company banned them from the recording studio. The band looked to more touring for income; Australia and New Zealand in late July to late August, a brief tour of Hungary in September, and the No Remorse "Death on the Road" tour between 24 October and 7 November. They kicked off their tour in
8850-464: The UK by making a live appearance on the early morning children's TV show The Saturday Starship . Their set, which included "Iron Fist", "Ace of Spades", and "Overkill", was performed in the car park of the Central TV studios , Birmingham, prompting complaints about the noise from local residents. On 26 October the band made a live appearance on the British Channel 4 music programme The Tube , performing "Killed By Death", "Steal Your Face" (over which
9000-545: The UK magazine Classic Rock presented Lemmy with its first "Living Legend" award. In a 2013 interview with the magazine, Lemmy said he had never expected to make it to 30, but he spoke very pointedly about the future, indicating neither he nor the band was obsessing about the end: Death is an inevitability, isn't it? You become more aware of that when you get to my age. I don't worry about it. I'm ready for it. When I go, I want to go doing what I do best. If I died tomorrow, I couldn't complain. It's been good. In February 2016,
9150-491: The album The Road to Utopia with production, arrangement and additional orchestrations by Mike Batt and a guest appearance from Eric Clapton . Lemmy worked with several musicians, apart from his Motörhead bandmates, over the course of his career. He wrote the song "R.A.M.O.N.E.S" for the Ramones , which he played in his live sets as a tribute to the band. He also produced a Ramones EP and an album for Warfare entitled Metal Anarchy in which Würzel guested on guitar, He
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#17330850221599300-436: The album and would later be re-recorded with collaborative vocals from both Ice-T and Ugly Kid Joe frontman Whitfield Crane for the soundtrack of the movie Airheads (in which Lemmy also made a cameo appearance) and released as a single in its own right. Although Bastards received airtime, the record company ZYX Music would not pay for promotional copies, so the band sent out copies themselves. A further tour of Europe
9450-399: The appeal of the Rickenbacker instruments, Lemmy said "The shape. I'm all for the image — always. If you get one that looks good, you can always mess with the pickups if it sounds bad." With Hawkwind Lemmy used a Selmer amplifier. With Motorhead, he got a Marshall Amplification 1992 JMP Super Bass Mark 2 bass stack from 1976, with a 4x15" and a 4x12" cabinet . In 2008, Marshall issued
9600-424: The band and Taylor returned to appear in the band's cameo as "In House Club Band" alongside Würzel and Campbell. The band wrote " Eat the Rich " especially for the film, its soundtrack featured tracks from Orgasmatron and Würzel's solo single "Bess". The band's second album for GWR was Rock 'n' Roll , released on 5 September, after a tight work schedule in the studio. While having some popular tracks and using "Eat
9750-410: The band conducted the "Another Perfect Tour", followed by an American tour between July and August, and another European tour in October and November. Robertson began to cause friction in the band as a result of his on-stage attire, consisting of shorts and ballet shoes, and with his refusal to play old standards that Motörhead audiences expected to hear. Robertson left the band soon after their concert at
9900-474: The band conducted their "Orgasmatron" tour in Great Britain, supported by fledgling act Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction . In October they toured America and in December were in West Germany. In 1987, during the filming of Eat the Rich – in which Lemmy was taking a starring role alongside well-known comedy actors such as Robbie Coltrane , Kathy Burke , the regulars from the Comic Strip ensemble, and various other musician cameo appearances – Gill left
10050-412: The band gave a one-song performance for Triple H 's entrance at WrestleMania X-Seven at the Reliant Astrodome in Houston. The second leg of the "We Are Motörhead" tour began in May in Ireland, moving across to the United Kingdom. In Manchester, the band were supported by Goldblade , and by Pure Rubbish at the two London shows. The second London show also included Backyard Babies and Paul Inder, who
10200-415: The band had recorded Overnight Sensation , at Ocean Studio and Track House Recording Studio. The album was released on 15 October, the first official album of the band as a three-piece since Another Perfect Day and the best distributed album the band had had for years. The band concluded the year's touring with 13 dates in Germany. During 1997, the band toured extensively, beginning with the first leg of
10350-412: The band noticed the change, they refused to allow the single to be distributed to the shops, and it was withdrawn and became available only on the "No Sleep at All" tour and through the Motörheadbangers fan club. While they continued to play live shows during 1989 and 1990, Motörhead once again felt unhappy with their career, and a court case with GWR followed, which was not resolved until mid-1990. With
10500-424: The band played at the Los Angeles Coliseum with Metallica and Guns N' Roses . The band toured Argentina and Brazil during October and conducted the "Bombers and Eagles in '92" tour of Europe with Saxon throughout December. Motörhead played two dates at the Arena Obras Sanitarias in Buenos Aires in April 1993 and toured Europe from early June until early July, returning to the United States to play one show at
10650-526: The band played at the Monsters of Rock at Castle Donington and was recorded by BBC Radio 1 for a future Friday Rock Show broadcast. The performance closed with a flypast by a couple of Second World War German aircraft. Also that day Lemmy was filmed giving his views on spoof metal act "Bad News" for inclusion in a Peter Richardson Comic Strip film entitled "More Bad News" since the band featuring Rik Mayall , Peter Richardson, Nigel Planer and Adrian Edmondson were also performing at Donington. In September
10800-539: The band played five dates in Great Britain with Anthrax , Skew Siskin and Psycho Squad. The final venue was the Wembley Arena in London, where instead of Psycho Squad, the band were supported by Hawkwind, with Lemmy performing "Silver Machine" on stage with them. Throughout the rest of October and better part of November, the band were on a European tour with Anthrax. In April and May 2003, the band continued to promote
10950-763: The band played five dates in Japan and five dates in Australia and New Zealand. Between July and August, they played across the United States with Judas Priest , Alice Cooper , Metal Church and opener Dangerous Toys on the "Operation Rock 'n' Roll" tour. The band finished the year with six dates in Germany during December. On 28 March 1992, the band played what would turn out to be Taylor's last engagement at Irvine Meadows, Irvine, California. The band had been wanting Lemmy to get rid of their manager, Doug Banker, for some time and after an unsolicited visit from Todd Singerman, who insisted he should manage them despite never having managed
11100-510: The band recorded tracks at BBC's Maida Vale studio for the David Jensen show broadcast on 6 October. The band commenced a European tour on 20 November, supported by Tank , after which Clarke produced Tank's debut album Filth Hounds of Hades at Ramport Studios in December and January. Between 26 and 28 January 1982, the band started recording their self-produced new album at Ramport Studios, before moving onto Morgan Studios to continue
11250-553: The band returned to the management of Douglas Smith, who secured a one-off singles deal with Gerry Bron 's Bronze Records . The resulting " Louie Louie " single (a cover version of Richard Berry and The Kingsmen standard) was issued in September peaking at number 68 on the UK Singles Chart , and the band toured the UK to promote it, recorded a BBC Radio 1 John Peel in session on 18 September (these tracks were later issued on
11400-596: The band was short on gear. Their first engagement was supporting Greenslade at The Roundhouse , London on 20 July 1975. On 19 October, having played 10 gigs, they became the supporting act to Blue Öyster Cult at the Hammersmith Odeon . The band were contracted to United Artists by Andrew Lauder , the A&;R man for Lemmy's previous band, Hawkwind. They recorded sessions at Rockfield Studios in Monmouth with producer Dave Edmunds , during which Fox proved to be unreliable and
11550-432: The band went off air on their earlier appearance on The Tube programme. A week later the band, dressed in tuxedos, played four songs on the live Channel 4 music show ECT (Extra-Celestial Transmission). To celebrate the band's 10th anniversary, two shows were arranged at Hammersmith Odeon on 28 and 29 June, a video of the second show was taken and later released as The Birthday Party . From early June until early August
11700-500: The band were on their "Ace Up Your Sleeve" UK tour with support from Girlschool and Vardis , and also made an appearance as guests on the ITV children's show Tiswas on 8 November. The "Arizona desert-style" pictures used on the album sleeve and tour booklet cover were taken during a photo session at a sandpit in Barnet . "Ace of Spades", considered to be the definitive Motörhead anthem, "put
11850-663: The band were on their 'It Never Gets Dark' tour of Sweden and Norway, an American tour followed in mid-November until late December. From 26 March to 3 April 1986, the band toured West Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark on their "Easter Metal Blast" and in June, played two dates in Bologna and Milan in Italy. The court case with Bronze was finally settled in the band's favour. The band's management instigated their own label, GWR . Recording took place in Master Rock Studios, London and
12000-405: The band were still under contract to them, despite the label's refusal to issue their debut album. Initial reactions to the band had been unfavourable; they won a poll for "the best worst band in the world" in the music magazine NME . By April 1977, living in squats and with little recognition, Taylor and Clarke decided to quit the band, and after some debate, they agreed to do a farewell show at
12150-584: The band's 25th anniversary concert on 22 October at the Brixton Academy in London, where guest appearances were made by "Fast" Eddie Clarke, Brian May , Doro Pesch , Whitfield Crane , Ace, Paul Inder and Todd Campbell. The show also featured the return of the Bomber lighting rig. The event was filmed and released the following year as the 25 & Alive Boneshaker DVD, and the CD of the show, Live at Brixton Academy ,
12300-488: The band's break-up in 2015, the group consisted of Lemmy, guitarist Phil Campbell and drummer Mikkey Dee . Motörhead released 23 studio albums, 10 live recordings, 12 compilation albums and five EPs over a career spanning 40 years. Usually a power trio , they had particular success in the early 1980s with several successful singles in the UK Top 40 chart . The albums Overkill , Bomber , Ace of Spades and, particularly,
12450-687: The band's first headlining North America tour from 12 May until Clarke's last engagement at the New York Palladium on 14 May. Clarke left as a consequence of the band recording Stand By Your Man , a cover version of the Tammy Wynette classic, in collaboration with Wendy O. Williams and the Plasmatics . Clarke felt that the song compromised the band's principles, refused to play on the recording and resigned, later forming his own band, Fastway . Lemmy and Taylor made numerous telephone calls to find
12600-399: The band, his cancer had only been diagnosed two days prior to his death. Lemmy's manager, Todd Singerman, later revealed: He [Lemmy] gets home [from tour], we have a big birthday party for him at the Whisky a Go Go . His friends came down and played. Two days later I could tell he wasn't feeling good. So we took him to the hospital. They release him. Then after the brain scan , they found
12750-614: The band. In May 2000, the release of We Are Motörhead and the single from it, a cover of the Sex Pistol's " God Save the Queen ", coincided with the start of the band's "We Are Motörhead" tour across South and North America during May and June, with a further nine shows across in Europe in July. Shows in the United States and France were followed by the release of a double-disc compilation album, The Best Of , on 26 August. Four dates in Japan preceded
12900-475: The cancer in his brain and his neck. The doctor comes with the result a couple of days later and says "It's terminal." Lemmy's doctor had given him between two and six months to live. Mikael Maglieri, owner of his nearby hangout Rainbow Bar and Grill , subsequently had a video game machine that Lemmy was fond of playing taken from the establishment and put in Lemmy's apartment so he could continue playing it from his bedside. Although his manager had planned to keep
13050-566: The chance, and instead of recording a single they laid down 11 unfinished tracks. Carroll gave them a few more days at Olympic Studios to finish the vocals and the band completed 13 tracks for release as an album. Chiswick issued the single " Motorhead " in June, followed by the album Motörhead in August, which spent one week in the UK Albums Chart at number 43. The band toured the UK supporting Hawkwind in June, then from late July they commenced
13200-719: The company would raise money to fund a joint venture with the MAMA Group, to run eleven live music venues across the United Kingdom, including the Hammersmith Apollo. As a result, the venue was named HMV Apollo from 2009 until 2012. Other venues purchased include The Forum in London's Kentish Town, the Birmingham Institute and Aberdeen's Moshulu. The venue was sold by HMV Group in May 2012 to AEG Live and CTS Eventim . In 2013,
13350-500: The court case resolved, Motörhead signed to Epic/WTG and spent the last half of 1990 recording a new album and single in Los Angeles. Just prior to the album sessions the band's former manager, Doug Smith, released the recording of the band's 10th anniversary show, much against the bands wishes, having previously told him that they did not want it released, in 1986. In the studio they recorded four songs with producer Ed Stasium , before deciding he had to go. When Lemmy listened to one of
13500-789: The departure of Anderson, Kilmister bought a Hopf Studio bass off Hawkwind synth player Del Detmar. He used Rickenbacker basses for most of his career. In September 1996, a Rickenbacker belonging to him was a featured part of the Bang Your Head exhibition at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland , Ohio, US. From 1996 onward, Lemmy's main bass was a Rickenbacker 4001LK, from a limited edition run of 50 instruments, featuring hand carved body wings, featuring oak leaves, three HB1 humbucker pick-ups and all gold plated hardware. Lemmy had commented that at last Rickenbacker had made decent pick-ups. When asked about
13650-399: The dynamics of the group's rhythm section. Hawkwind drummer Simon King explained that "A lot of the time I play with [guitarist] Dave - he'll get into a kind of rhythmic thing and I'll follow him so you get this kind of percussion and rhythmic guitar thing going, so Lemmy can loon forward a bit because he's very much a front man and gives off a lot of energy, so he can get out front and play
13800-415: The end of each side of the album. During the sessions between 19 and 25 May 1984 at Britannia Row Studios, London, the band recorded six tracks for the single's B-side and the album. The single " Killed by Death " was released on 1 September and reached No. 51 in the UK Singles Chart, the double album No Remorse was released on 15 September and reached silver disc status, attaining the position of No. 14 in
13950-607: The face of mounting opposition to the contrary". Towards the end of his life, he had to use a walking stick. He had started smoking at the age of 11. In August 2015, he said he had cut down his smoking habit from two packs a day to one pack a week. He was hospitalised with a lung infection in September 2015, after having breathing problems when performing onstage. On 28 December 2015, Lemmy died at his Los Angeles apartment from prostate cancer , cardiac arrhythmia , and congestive heart failure . Motörhead announced his death on their official Facebook page later that day. According to
14100-485: The final week of the month they conducted the "Short Sharp, Pain in the Neck" UK tour from which the recordings for No Sleep 'til Hammersmith were made. From April through to July, the band toured North America for the first time as guests of Blizzard of Ozz , an early incarnation of Ozzy Osbourne 's band, but were still able to make an appearance on Top of the Pops on 9 July to promote the live "Motorhead" single. In October
14250-464: The flu, exhaustion, and a lung infection. He was hospitalised with extreme dehydration and exhaustion in Germany in July 2005. As he grew older, he consumed less alcohol and drugs because he suffered from diabetes and hypertension . In June 2013, it was reported that he had an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator fitted. His tour was cancelled in July 2013 due to a severe haematoma . He referred to his continuing drug use as "dogged insolence in
14400-425: The former. Before joining Hawkwind, he recalled Dik Mik, a former Hawkwind sound technician, visiting his home in the middle of the night and taking amphetamines with him. They became interested in how long "you could make the human body jump about without stopping", which they did for a few months until Mik ran out of money and wanted to return to Hawkwind, taking Lemmy with him. I first got into speed because it
14550-406: The genre following the advent of the new wave of British heavy metal , Lemmy was known for his appearance, which included his signature friendly mutton chops , his military-influenced fashion sense and his gravelly rasp of a voice. It was once declared "one of the most recognisable voices in rock". He was also noted for his unique posture when singing, which was once described as "looking up towards
14700-551: The king of rock 'n' roll—he told me he never considered Motörhead a metal band, he was quite adamant. Lemmy's a living, breathing, drinking and snorting fucking legend. No one else comes close. Lemmy was well known for his heavy drinking. The documentary Motörhead: Live Fast Die Old stated that he drank a bottle of Jack Daniel's every day and had done so since he was 30 years old. In 2013, he stopped drinking Jack Daniel's for health reasons. During his time with Hawkwind, he developed an addiction to amphetamine and LSD , particularly
14850-464: The latter format, the venue can accommodate around 5,000 people. The venue's listing was upgraded to Grade II* status in 2005. In 2006, the venue reverted to its former name, the Hammersmith Apollo. In 2007, the original 1932 Compton pipe organ, still present from the building's days as a cinema, was restored. The building was then bought by the MAMA Group. On 14 January 2009, a placing announcement by HMV Group revealed that by selling additional shares,
15000-463: The live album No Sleep 'til Hammersmith cemented Motörhead's reputation as a top-tier rock band. The band are ranked number 26 on VH1 's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock. By 2023, the band has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide. Most often classified as heavy metal, Motörhead has been credited with being part of and influencing numerous musical scenes, thrash metal and speed metal especially. Lemmy, however, always insisted that they were
15150-452: The material on the album; and Mikkey Dee , who recorded " Hellraiser ", a song originally written by Lemmy for Ozzy Osbourne's No More Tears album. March ör Die features guest appearances by Ozzy Osbourne and Slash . Lemmy had known Mikkey Dee from the time when King Diamond had toured with Motörhead. He had asked Dee to become Motörhead's drummer before, but Dee had declined due to his commitment to King Diamond. On this occasion, Dee
15300-522: The mixes of "Going to Brazil", he asked for him to turn up four tracks, and on doing so heard claves and tambourines that Stasium had added without their knowledge. Stasium was fired and Peter Solley was hired as producer. The story according to Stasium was that Lemmy's drug and alcohol intake had far exceeded the limitations of Stasium's patience so he quit. The single " The One to Sing the Blues " issued on 24 December 1990 (7" and CD) and 5 January 1991 (12"),
15450-479: The morning of the Notting Hill gig, they decided not to get another guitarist. By chance, the bass player did not show up and left his equipment in the van. He often said, "Their bass player was pretty much saying 'please steal my gig!' So I stole his gig." Lemmy quickly developed a distinctive style that was strongly shaped by his early experience as a rhythm guitarist, often using double stops and chords rather than
15600-434: The nearby towns of Newcastle-under-Lyme and Madeley , and later the Welsh village of Benllech , Anglesey . At a later point, Lemmy remembers living briefly at Gwrych Castle , Abergele . He was influenced by rock and roll and the early works of the Beatles , which led to him playing in several rock groups in the 1960s, such as The Rockin' Vickers . He worked as a roadie for Jimi Hendrix and The Nice before joining
15750-469: The news private until his eventual death, Lemmy strongly encouraged him to make the diagnosis public in early 2016, but he died before a press release could be drafted. Lemmy's memorial service took place at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills , on 9 January 2016. The service was streamed live over YouTube with more than 230,000 people logging on to watch, while others gathered at the Rainbow. His body
15900-420: The phrase "lemmy [lend me] a quid 'til Friday" because of his alleged habit of borrowing money from people to play slot machines , although Lemmy himself said that he did not know the origin of the name. He soon started to show an interest in rock and roll , girls, motorbikes and horses. At school, Lemmy noticed a pupil who had brought a guitar to school and had been "surrounded by chicks." His mother had
16050-446: The previously recorded Live at Brixton Academy album was released. Lemmy Kilmister Ian Fraser Kilmister (24 December 1945 – 28 December 2015), better known as Lemmy Kilmister or simply Lemmy , was a British musician. He was the founder, lead singer, bassist and primary songwriter of the rock band Motörhead , of which he was the only continuous member, and a member of Hawkwind from 1971 to 1975. A foundational force in
16200-461: The programme's end-credits were played) and the unbroadcast "Overkill", before going on to their next engagement that evening. From 19 November to 15 December the band toured America with Canadian speed metal band Exciter and Danish heavy metal band Mercyful Fate and from 26 to 30 December performed five shows in West Germany. On 5 April 1985, ITV broadcast four songs that were recorded after
16350-530: The recommendation of Mick Farren , based on Wallis' work with Steve Peregrin Took 's band Shagrat , and Lucas Fox on drums. According to Lemmy, the band's first practice was at the now defunct Sound Management rehearsal studios, in Kings Road, Chelsea in 1975. Sound Management leased the basement area of furniture store The Furniture Cave, located in adjacent Lots Road. Kilmister has said they used to steal equipment, as
16500-457: The releases St. Valentine's Day Massacre EP, their collaboration with Girlschool which reached No. 5 on the UK Singles Chart in February; the live version of " Motorhead ", which reached No. 6 on the UK Singles Chart in July; and the album it was taken from, No Sleep 'til Hammersmith , which reached No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart in June. During March 1981, the band had been touring Europe, and in
16650-464: The sessions throughout February. On 3 April the single " Iron Fist " was released, reaching No. 29 on the UK Singles Chart, followed by the parent album Iron Fist , released on 17 April and peaking at No. 6 on the UK Albums Chart. They were the last releases to feature the Lemmy, Clarke, Taylor line-up, though the line-up continued to perform in the Iron Fist UK tour between 17 March and 12 April, and
16800-505: The single " Deaf Forever " was released on 5 July as a taster for the Orgasmatron album, which was released on 9 August. On the same day as the release of the album, Lemmy and Würzel were interviewed by Andy Kershaw on the BBC Radio 1 Saturday Live show and "Orgasmatron" and "Deaf Forever" were played. The single reached No. 67 and the album reached No. 21 in the UK charts. On 16 August,
16950-404: The single note lines preferred by most bassists. His bass work was a distinctive part of the Hawkwind sound during his tenure, perhaps best documented on the double live album Space Ritual . He also provided the lead vocals on several songs, including the band's biggest UK chart single, " Silver Machine ", which reached #3 in 1972. In May 1975, during a North American tour, Lemmy was arrested at
17100-536: The single reaching number 39 on the UK Singles Chart. These releases were followed by the "Overkill" UK tour which began on 23 March. A subsequent single was released in June, coupling the album track " No Class " as the A-side with the previously unreleased song "Like a Nightmare" on the B-side. It fared worse than both the album and previous single but reached number 61 on the UK singles chart. During July and August, except for
17250-534: The studio to record an album, this time with producer Jimmy Miller at Roundhouse Studios . A hint of what the band had recorded for the album came on 9 March 1979 when the band played " Overkill " on Top of the Pops to support the release of the single ahead of the Overkill album, which was released on 24 March. It became Motörhead's first album to break into the top 40 of the UK Albums chart, reaching number 24, with
17400-689: The three-piece line-up was performing excellently and it was high time they made another live record. The band did eventually, but made another studio album first, Snake Bite Love , recorded in various studios and released on 3 March 1998. The band joined with Judas Priest at the Los Angeles Universal Amphitheatre on 3 April, to begin their "Snake Bite Love" tour. On 21 May, Motörhead were recorded at The Docks in Hamburg. The tracks from this performance were later released as Everything Louder Than Everyone Else . The band were invited to join
17550-479: The time when punk rock became popular. The band's sound appealed to Lemmy's original fans and, eventually, to fans of punk. Lemmy asserted that he generally felt more kinship with punks than with metalheads ; he even played with the Damned for a handful of gigs when they had no regular bassist. Motörhead's success peaked in 1980 and 1981 with several UK chart hits, including the single " Ace of Spades ," which remained
17700-581: The time who would beat the piss out of you if you so much as winked at them. ... The Rolling Stones were the mummy's boys—they were all college students from the outskirts of London. ... The Stones made great records, but they were always shit on stage, whereas the Beatles were the gear." In Stockport , Lemmy joined local bands the Rainmakers and then the Motown Sect who played northern clubs for three years. In 1965, he joined The Rockin' Vickers who signed
17850-669: The title Flying Tonight , in reference to the "Bomber" lighting rig. On 20 August, the band had a 40-minute filmed slot, along with Girlschool 's 20 minutes performing live at the Nottingham Theatre Royal for the Rockstage programme, broadcast on UK television by the ATV on 4 April 1981. During August and September 1980, the band were at Jackson's Studios in Rickmansworth, recording with producer Vic Maile . The " Ace of Spades " single
18000-409: The trio decided to call him to see if he would like to visit London. The try-outs went well and Gill was hired. Bronze Records thought the new line-up would not make the grade and decided to "nail down the lid" on the group with a compilation album. When Lemmy found out, he took over the project, selecting tracks, providing sleeve notes and insisted that Motörhead record four brand new tracks to go at
18150-405: The venue was closed for an extensive refurbishment which was carried out by architect Foster Wilson. The venue reopened as the Eventim Apollo on 7 September 2013, with a concert performance by Selena Gomez . The original 1932 Compton pipe organ remains installed at the Apollo and was fully restored to playing condition in 2007. It has a four-manual console which rises through the stage on
18300-535: The venue. Kate Bush released a video and record EP of her concerts at the Odeon from her first tour in 1979. Duran Duran recorded at the Hammersmith Odeon on 16 November 1982 and released Live at Hammersmith '82! . Depeche Mode made one of its first concert videos for a Danish television at the Hammersmith on 25 October 1982. Dire Straits played the final two concerts of their eight-month long Love Over Gold Tour at
18450-546: The way it looked, and he considered himself an anarchist . He spoke against racism many times. Lemmy said he was against religion, government, and established authority. In 2011, he identified as agnostic, saying: "I can find out when I die. I can wait. I'm not in a hurry." Jeff Hanneman , the founder of the thrash metal band Slayer , befriended Lemmy due to their shared fondness for collecting Nazi memorabilia. According to Keith Emerson 's autobiography, Lemmy gave him two of his Hitler Youth knives during his time as
18600-460: Was a utilitarian drug and kept you awake when you needed to be awake when otherwise you'd just be flat out on your back. If you drive to Glasgow for nine hours in the back of a sweaty truck you don't really feel like going onstage feeling all bright and breezy. [...] It's the only drug I've found that I can get on with, and I've tried them all – except smack [heroin] and morphine : I've never "fixed" [injected] anything. In November 2005, he
18750-431: Was a way of avoiding seeing that we only had ten people and a dog." Inspired by Jimi Hendrix, Lemmy recorded his vocals in the studio in total privacy, meaning he would sing in an enclosed recording booth where no one can see him, not even the producer. As a member of Hawkwind, Lemmy first used a Rickenbacker belonging to Dave Anderson. When Anderson failed to show up for a charity gig, Lemmy took his place. Following
18900-409: Was again renamed, this time to Carling Apollo after Carling brewery struck a deal with the owners, US-based Clear Channel Entertainment, now IHeartMedia . The event was marked by rock band AC/DC playing a one-off concert. All 5,000 tickets sold out in 4 minutes. In 2003, the stalls seats were made removable and now some concerts have full seating whilst others have standing-only in the stalls. In
19050-515: Was available and met the band to try out. Playing the song "Hellraiser" first, Lemmy thought "he was very good immediately. It was obvious that it was going to work." After recording "Hellraiser" and "Hell on Earth" in the studio, Dee's first engagement with Motörhead was on 30 August at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center . The new line-up then went on tour, playing dates with Ozzy Osbourne, Skew Siskin and Exodus . On 27 September,
19200-566: Was brought in as a songwriter for Ozzy Osbourne 's 1991 No More Tears album, providing lyrics for the tracks " Hellraiser ," (which Motörhead later recorded themselves and released as a single), "Desire," "I Don't Want to Change the World" and the single " Mama I'm Coming Home ". Lemmy noted in several magazine and television interviews that he made more money from the royalties of that one song than he had in his entire time with Motörhead. After being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in 2000, for which he
19350-497: Was continuing to tour with a reformed Pink Fairies, quit immediately after the auditions and Clarke remained as the sole guitarist. This trio of Lemmy/Clarke/Taylor is today regarded as the "classic" Motörhead line-up. In December, the band recorded the Holland–Dozier–Holland composition " Leaving Here " for early punk rock and pub rock label, Stiff Records , but United Artists intervened to prevent its general release as
19500-516: Was cremated following the funeral. His remains were placed in a 3D-printed urn shaped like his trademark cavalry hat and emblazoned with the slogan "Born to lose, lived to win". The piece was on display during his funeral and was later interred at Forest Lawn. In March 2021, it was revealed that some of Lemmy's ashes were, by his own request, put into bullets and sent to his closest friends, including Whitfield Crane , Rob Halford , Michael Monroe , Doro Pesch and Riki Rachtman . In August 2023, it
19650-464: Was diagnosed with prostate cancer two days before his death. Alongside his music career, he had minor roles and cameos in film and television. He was known for his hard-living, road-driven lifestyle, which included chain-smoking and daily consumption of large amounts of alcohol and amphetamine . Lemmy was born Ian Fraser Kilmister in the Burslem area of Stoke-on-Trent on 24 December 1945. When he
19800-510: Was directed and produced by Greg Olliver and Wes Orshoski. It consists of a combination of 16 mm film and HD video footage, produced over three years. It features interviews with friends, peers, and admirers such as Dave Grohl , Slash , Ozzy Osbourne , James Hetfield , Lars Ulrich , Kirk Hammett , and Robert Trujillo of Metallica , David Ellefson of Megadeth , Scott Ian of Anthrax , Alice Cooper , Peter Hook of Joy Division / New Order , Dee Snider , Nikki Sixx , Mick Jones of
19950-682: Was dismissed from Hawkwind in May 1975 after being arrested in Canada for drug possession; he said "the band dismissed me for doing the wrong drugs". Now on his own, Lemmy decided to form a new band called Motörhead, the name was inspired by the final song he had written for Hawkwind. Lemmy wanted the music to be "fast and vicious, just like the MC5 ". His stated aim was to "concentrate on very basic music: loud, fast, city, raucous, arrogant, paranoid, speedfreak rock n roll ... it will be so loud that if we move in next door to you, your lawn will die". He recruited guitarist Larry Wallis (formerly of Pink Fairies ) on
20100-503: Was followed by the album 1916 on 21 January. The single, which was issued in 7", cassette, shaped picture disc , 12" and CD single, reached No. 45 in the UK Singles Chart, the album reached No. 24 in the UK Album Charts. The band conducted their "It Serves You Right" tour of Britain in February, the "Lights Out Over Europe" tour followed, lasting until early April, when the band returned to Britain to play another six venues. In June
20250-516: Was fun onstage, not so much offstage. They didn't want to mesh with me. Musically, I loved the drummer, the guitar player. It was a great band.” After Hawkwind, Lemmy formed a new band called "Bastard" with guitarist Larry Wallis (former member of the Pink Fairies , Steve Peregrin Took 's band Shagrat and UFO ) and drummer Lucas Fox . Lemmy and Took were friends, and Took was the stepfather to Lemmy's son Paul. When his manager informed him that
20400-708: Was guest musician for "Killed By Death". Between June and August, Motörhead played at a number of rock festivals in Europe; including as the Graspop Metal Meeting in Belgium, the Quart Festival in Norway, and the Wacken Open Air on 4 August, where four songs were recorded for the 25 & Alive Boneshaker DVD. The band returned to the States for a seven show tour between late September and early October. In April 2002,
20550-495: Was hospitalised briefly, Lemmy again appeared with Motörhead at WrestleMania X-Seven playing WWE wrestler Triple H to the ring. Lemmy published his autobiography, White Line Fever , in November 2002. In 2005, Motörhead won their first Grammy in the Best Metal Performance category with their cover of Metallica 's " Whiplash ". In the same year he began recording an unreleased solo album titled Lemmy & Friends , which
20700-499: Was inducted into the Hall of Heavy Metal History for being the creator of thrash metal . In 2017, the extinct crocodile relative Lemmysuchus was named after Lemmy. On 14 November 2016, asteroid 243002 was officially named 243002 Lemmy, complementing asteroid 250840 Motorhead, named after the band in 2014. In 2018, Hawkwind recorded a new acoustic version of Lemmy's "The Watcher" (originally recorded on Doremi Fasil Latido , 1972) on
20850-463: Was intended to include a collaboration with Janet Jackson . In 2014, he established his own recording label, Motorhead Music, to promote and develop new talent. Acts he signed to the label and helped develop include Barb Wire Dolls , Budderside , Others, and Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons . Lemmy made appearances in film and television, including 1990 science fiction film Hardware and
21000-635: Was invited to the National Assembly for Wales as a guest speaker by Conservative member William Graham . He was asked to express his views on the detrimental effects of drugs and called for the legalisation of heroin. He stated that legalisation would eradicate the drug dealer from society and generate money from its taxation, however hard this would be to accept. Lemmy collected German military regalia ; he had an Iron Cross emblazoned on his bass, which led to accusations of Nazi sympathies. He stated that he collected Nazi memorabilia because he liked
21150-663: Was made throughout December that year. In February and March 1994, Motörhead toured the United States with Black Sabbath and Morbid Angel . In April the band resumed their tour of the States until early May, playing an engagement with the Ramones on 14 May at the Estadio Velez in Buenos Aires, attracting a crowd of 50,000 people. The band toured Japan in late May and Europe in June, August and December. The band's 1995 touring schedule began in Europe in late April. In June, they went on
21300-583: Was put up for adoption. In the 2010 documentary film Lemmy , he mentioned having a son whose mother had only recently reconnected with him and "hadn't got the heart to tell him who his father was." Later, during his time with The Rockin' Vickers , he slept with a woman in Manchester named Tracy; she had a son, Paul Inder, whom Lemmy met six years later. As an adult, Inder became a guitarist and occasionally joined Lemmy on stage. Lemmy lived in Los Angeles from 1990 until his death in 2015, his last residence being
21450-530: Was quite brutal, involving two 18-hour drives back-to-back and little time off, at the Warsaw venue the band did not arrive until 11 o'clock and the crew were still loading into the venue at one in the morning, while the fans waited. After taking a month off, the band began working on a new album at Chuck Reid's house in the Hollywood Hills . This album, Hammered , was released the following year. On 1 April 2001,
21600-618: Was released as Stone Deaf Forever! . On 1 September 2003, the band returned to Hollywood's Whisky A Go-Go club for the Hollywood Rock Walk of Fame Induction. During October, the band performed a tour of Great Britain with the Wildhearts and Young Heart Attack. The band performed seven shows across Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain between 21 and 28 October and from late November until early December they were in Germany and Switzerland, touring with Skew Siskin and Mustasch . On 9 December,
21750-483: Was released in May the following year. During the time the album sessions took place, the band played at venues around Europe, the first of which was at Fila Forum in Assago , near Milan , where Metallica's James Hetfield joined the band on-stage to play "Overkill". In October and early November, the band toured the states with Nashville Pussy . Throughout the rest of November, the band conducted their European "Monsters of
21900-523: Was released on 27 October 1980 as a preview of the Ace of Spades album, which followed on 8 November. The single reached No. 15 and the album reached No. 4 on the UK charts, the latter being the highest position in the band's history. Bronze celebrated its gold record status by pressing a limited edition of the album in gold vinyl. Motörhead made an appearance on Top of the Pops in November that year with "Ace of Spades", and between 22 October and 29 November
22050-506: Was released two years after that. Lemmy states the reason for the DVD as wanting "to record it for the posterity or whatever it is. I nodded off through the 10th anniversary, we never did anything on the 20th, so the 25th made sense." A tour of West and East Europe followed the anniversary concert, taking the band through October, November and December. The schedule for the Eastern European tour
22200-435: Was replaced by drummer Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor , a casual acquaintance of Lemmy's. Their record label was dissatisfied with the material and refused to release it, although it was subsequently issued as On Parole in 1979 after the band had established some success. In March 1976, deciding that two guitarists were required, the band auditioned an acquaintance of drummer Taylor's named "Fast" Eddie Clarke . Wallis, who
22350-462: Was reported that some of Lemmy's ashes were also scattered into the mud at Wacken Open Air music festival. In April 2024, it was reported James Hetfield got an Ace of Spades tattoo with some of Lemmy’s ashes in it. In various media, additional tributes appeared from fellow rock stars such as Rob Halford , Dave Grohl , Ozzy Osbourne , Alice Cooper , Metallica , Scott Ian of Anthrax , and Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi . In 2005,
22500-403: Was three months old, his father, an ex- Royal Air Force chaplain and concert pianist, separated from his mother. He moved with his mother and grandmother to nearby Newcastle-under-Lyme , then to Madeley . When Ian was 10, his mother married former rugby player George L. Willis, who already had two older children from a previous marriage, Patricia and Tony, whom Ian disliked. They later moved to
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