There was one band nearly all music fans, from metalheads to hip hop lifers, could collectively agree rocked, hard: Motörhead.
And the living, breathing embodiment of that British hard rock band’s careening, speed metal sound was frontman Lemmy Kilmister, who passed away Monday night at 70 years old. “There is no easy way to say this,” the remaining band members wrote on Facebook, “our mighty, noble friend Lemmy
passed away today after a short battle with an extremely aggressive
cancer… We cannot begin to express our shock and sadness, there aren’t words.”
“Play Lemmy’s music LOUD. Have a drink or few. Share stories. Celebrate the LIFE this lovely, wonderful man celebrated so vibrantly himself. HE WOULD WANT EXACTLY THAT.”
In response, musicians and friends of all stripes paid their respects to the fallen rock hero. “Lost one of my best friends, Lemmy, today,” tweeted Ozzy Osbourne, who recruited Lemmy to co-write tracks on his 1991 album No More Tears. “He will be sadly missed. He was a warrior and a legend. I will see you
on the other side.”
Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl, one of Motörhead’s most vocal fans, wrote, “We’ve lost a friend & legend. My heart is broken. RIP Lemmy. Born To Lose, Lived To Win.”
Kiss’ Paul Stanley chimed in, too: “Lemmy has passed away. Truly one of a kind. Much more to him than many knew. RIP.” Mark Langean recalled seeing Lemmy live in action as a kid. “Seeing Motörhead at the Yakima Speedway on ace of spades tour changed my life,” he wrote. “So sad.”
Even hip hop maestro DJ Premiere wrote, “R.I.P. Lemmy Kilmister of Mötorhead…
Legend…Loved your music since the 70’s…
I will keep playin’ your music LOUD.”
The word “loud” is an omnipresent one as the tributes for Lemmy pour in—his music and his lifestyle was always turned up to 11. He started as a roadie for the Jimi Hendrix Experience and even shared an apartment with the band’s bassist, Noel Redding, before joining psychedelic rock band
Hawkwind on bass. Three years later he was fired when police discovered speed stashed in his trousers at a Canadian border crossing. And then Motörhead was born.
Over 40 years the band released 22 studio albums, including 1980′s Ace of Spades. Its title track would come to define the band. With its careening, downright frightening bass slaps, shrapnel-sharp guitar stabs, and Lemmy’s gravelly vocals, the song transcended genre and fan groups. It you liked rock, you liked “Ace of Spades.” Its sound was the musical equivalent of letting go, hitting the gas, and flying fast and furious into the dangerous unknown.
It wasn’t just his music, either. Lemmy became an accidental icon—a speed metal Keith Richards immortalized by his legendary partying, womanizing, and personal style. Just picture it: the bushy muttonchops, the pair of facial moles, a Civil War cavalry top hat, an omnipresent Jack Daniel’s and Coke in his right hand, and the smell of tobacco from the one-after-the-other cigarette smoking. He was swaggering, but, as his close friends note, always a consummate gentlemen. The spirit of rock and roll was a man who turned 70 on December 24, just wrapped up a European tour and was planning another, and dropped dead just days after his diagnosis. If something had to be done, Lemmy wanted to get on with it.
Lemmy’s close friend Alice Cooper said it best: “When we say ‘one of a kind’ in rock and roll, Lemmy was the epitome of
that—one of the most beloved characters in rock and roll. I can’t think
of anyone who didn’t adore Lemmy…”
Lemmy Kilmister lived rock and roll; it was his life’s work. “That’s the way I like it, baby,” he sang in “Ace of Spades,” “I don’t wanna live for ever!” Yet he will.
Listen to Ace of Spades.