{"id":661,"date":"2016-06-21T19:32:06","date_gmt":"2016-06-21T19:32:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/?p=661"},"modified":"2016-06-21T19:33:57","modified_gmt":"2016-06-21T19:33:57","slug":"ftv-lemmy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/?p=661","title":{"rendered":"FTV: Lemmy!"},"content":{"rendered":"

R.I.P. Ian Fraser \u201cLemmy\u201d Kilmister. \u00a0\u00a0I can only listen to Motorhead for so long and then I \u00a0have to hear something else, but that does not mean I don\u2019t appreciate the house that Lemmy built. \u00a0Lemmy had just celebrated his 70th birthday in December of 2015 and it was well known that he was having trouble summoning the stamina to finish some shows on their last tour. \u00a0\u00a0It was still a shock to everyone who knew him that he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer, given a prognosis of six months to live, and only a couple of days later died peacefully at home playing his favorite video game. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Kilmister saw the Beatles at the Cavern Club when he was 16 and his future was cast. \u00a0He played guitar in numerous bands and as a roomie of Noel Redding, ended up doing a stint as a roadie for the Jimi Hendrix Experience. \u00a0Those skills and the ability to tune guitars lead to a similar engagement with the band Hawkwind. \u00a0He eventually became their bassist but was fired after four years for \u2018chemical problems\u2019. \u00a0His revenge was to start his own band (with a less than press friendly name which can not be printed here) that eventually would be called Motorhead. \u00a0Perhaps I relate to Lemmy more today because he kept Motorhead going through 40 years of ups and downs which matches my current career in Ontonagon. \u00a0Lemmy was the only constant in the whole Motorhead story.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The March 2016 <\/span>Classic Rock Magazine<\/span><\/i> collected a lot of stories and quotes from those who knew Lemmy best so I am going to let them tell the story in their own words. \u00a0I would truly like to include more from Lemmy himself, but the plain speaking, take-no-prisoners Lemmy was also fond of certain words that would not be appropriate for this column. \u00a0Suffice to say, with Lemmy and Motorhead, what you saw and heard was direct and to the point. \u00a0Why else would they open every show with Lemmy\u2019s simple introduction: \u00a0\u201cWe are Motorhead – we play rock and roll.\u201d \u00a0The quotes given here will not necessarily be in any chronological order, but they will give you a good idea of what the people in the music business thought of Lemmy.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0First, let\u2019s hear from some of his heavy weight peers: \u00a0<\/span>Ozzy Osbourne<\/b>: \u00a0\u201cLost one of my best friends, Lemmy, today. \u00a0He will be sadly missed. \u00a0He was a warrior and a legend. \u00a0I will see you on the other side.\u201d \u00a0<\/span>Alice Cooper:<\/b> \u00a0\u201cI can\u2019t think of anyone who didn\u2019t adore Lemmy. \u00a0We did many shows together, and looked forward to it every time. \u00a0Rock \u2018n\u2019 roll heaven just got heavier.\u201d \u00a0<\/span>Tommi Iommi:<\/b> \u00a0\u201cThe legend will never die. \u00a0His life was all about the music, being on stage and giving pleasure to others.\u201d \u00a0<\/span>Glenn Hughes:<\/b> \u00a0\u201cIn the 1980s I failed miserably to keep up with him at the bar. \u00a0He set the bar. \u00a0He was the bar.\u201d \u00a0<\/span>Judas Priest<\/b>: \u00a0\u201cThe shows, the tours we did and the laughs and stories we shared – all of these and more will be cherished.\u201d \u00a0<\/span>Iron Maiden<\/b>: \u00a0\u201cRest In Peace . . . loudly! \u00a0The world has lost a unique character. \u00a0They don\u2019t build them like you any more. \u00a0But you played a great set.\u201d \u00a0<\/span>Brian May: <\/b>Sitting here, re-tweeting, distracted, and wondering what I can possibly say about our utterly unique friend Lemmy\u2019s passing. \u00a0Ouch.\u201d \u00a0<\/span>Gene Simmons: \u00a0<\/b>Rest in peace. \u00a0Shake the heavens, my friend.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The following comments come from his old band and tour mates and tell the tale from their vantage point: \u00a0<\/span>Mikkey Dee <\/b>(drummer in the final Motorhead lineup – about Lemmy asking him to join the band): \u00a0\u201cLem kept in contact with me, sending postcards from all over the world and calling me once and awhile. \u00a0And in the end, in \u201892, I joined the band. \u00a0It was the best decision I ever made.\u201d \u00a0<\/span>Enid Williams <\/b>(of the band Girlschool): \u00a0\u201cHe certainly championed women. \u00a0He stood up for Girlschool and said, \u201cLook, if the girls can do it, then they\u2019re in there. \u00a0And they\u2019re as good as the guys.\u201d \u00a0Not many people were saying that at that time.\u201d \u00a0<\/span>Danny B.Harvey<\/b> (from the band Headcat): \u00a0\u201cBackstage at Headcat shows, we\u2019d be talking and listening to records – he told us stories and did impressions of comedians, \u00a0\u00a0He\u2019d do Derek and Clive and the Peter Sellers stuff… all word for word, \u00a0It was a lot of fun.\u201d \u00a0<\/span>Ade Edmonsdson <\/b>(from the band Bad News): \u00a0\u201cLemmy had an aura of being a hard-nosed rock god, but he could talk very cogently about anything in the news in a very thoughtful and un-rock-like way. \u00a0He could see things from a different perspective and it made the world much more interesting.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Lemmy indeed had some interesting perspectives on the music business. \u00a0\u00a0Some was flat out hyperbole like his promise about the ferocity of Motorhead\u2019s music: \u00a0\u201cIf we move in next door to you, your lawn will die.\u201d \u00a0He also kept the music business at an arm\u2019s length: \u00a0\u201cThe so-called business demonstrates year in, year out that it knows nothing about rock \u2018n\u2019 roll. \u00a0It\u2019s not even interested in finding out. \u00a0But I didn\u2019t join the business, I joined the band.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0He recognized early on that he was going to be the connecting thread in the life of Motorhead as he commented after the departure of guitarist Brian Robertson: \u00a0\u201cAt one point,just for one day, Motorhead was myself and Phil Taylor. \u00a0And then Phil left and it was just me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Lemmy kept Motorhead going straight ahead while musical fads came and went for 40 years. \u00a0After deciding to not open for the band Slipknot, he commented: \u00a0\u201cThey\u2019re not a rock band; \u00a0they\u2019ve got no tunes, no chords, or choruses, \u00a0I just don\u2019t see any redeeming features. \u00a0Well, maybe one – they\u2019re pretty good at disguises. \u00a0\u00a0I came from The Beatles and Little Richard, they come from the circus. \u00a0Maybe I\u2019m just too old to get it.\u201d \u00a0As for the state of rock in the early 2000s, Lemmy pointedly said, \u201cToday\u2019s rock stars are boring. \u00a0Most of today\u2019s bands would\u2019ve had rocks thrown at them in the 1970s; \u00a0They\u2019d have been booed off.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0As his health began to fail him, he told a writer from Classic Rock Magazine, \u201cIt\u2019s when you get to sixty that things start to go pear-shaped.\u201d \u00a0Certainly the world is now a little quieter with Lemmy\u2019s passing, but we shall never forget that in the world of corporate rock, there has to be a Lemmy to balance things out. \u00a0R.I.P. Lemmy!<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Top Piece video – the classic Motorhead line up and their classice\u00a0Ace of Spades<\/em>