After dealing with some serious health issues for the past 2 years and suffering from an extremely aggressive form of cancer, the legendary, highy influential frontman of heavy metal / hard rock’n’roll band has died from cancer on Decmeber 28th, 2015. Memorial services for Ian have been scheduled for January 9th at the Rainbow Bar And Grill in West Hollywood, CA. Collected below are some of the tributes and memories of the icon shared by various artists. Rest in peace, Lemmy! You surely lived the rock lifestyle to the fullest.
MOTÖRHEAD’s final live gig took place on December 11 in Berlin, Germany. Their final, 22nd studio album called “Bad Magic” was released on August 28th, 2015.
Photo by Dave J. Hogan.
Drummer Mikkey Dee commented the end of MOTÖRHEAD by posting the following:
“Motörhead is over, of course. Lemmy was Motörhead. But the band will live on in the memories of many.
We will not be doing any more tours or anything. And there will not be any more records. But the fire survives, and Lemmy lives on in the hearts of everyone.”
HENRY ROLLINS for LA Weekly:
“I became a Lemmy fan when I heard MOTÖRHEAD’s album ‘Ace Of Spades’. In the small punk-rock scene I was in, they were a true crossover band. It wasn’t uncommon then or now to see a punk rocker in a MOTÖRHEAD T-shirt.
I would like to think that this was due to at least two reasons. First, the music was badass and uncompromising. It packed as much or more wallop than anything your punk heroes could ever come up with. Second, and more importantly, you knew that Lemmy was the 100 percent genuine article. I think this was the biggest selling point of the band. The man was so straight-shooting, you could either handle it, or you couldn’t.MOTÖRHEAD were well known in the rock world not only for playing hard as hell but for being loud to the point of giving their audiences brain damage. Even from the side of the stage, from where I last witnessed them, it was a battering experience. Lemmy’s lyrics, often witty, packed with sarcasm and scorn, told a lot of unflinching truth. With Lem, it wasn’t always what he saw but how he saw it that made the lyrics bite.”
KILLSWITCH ENGAGE at their December 28 performance at Lupo’s in Providence, RI, calling Lemmy “one of the godfathers of heavy metal”:
BLACK SABBATH‘s Tony Iommi on Lemmy:
“I think Lemmy is the epitome of rock and roll. He’s always lived a wild lifestyle. It’s the whole thing: sex, drugs and rock and roll. And he really lived that life, and he loved it.”
METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich:
“I was down at his 70th party, and I got a chance to sit with him for about ten minutes, just him and me. I told him that his obligation to the rock and roll community was to live forever because his birthday party was like a hard-rock class reunion. Everybody was there because Lemmy’s one of the few people we can all agree on who is just the coolest guy ever. We would all show up. I told him it was his obligation to live forever, because he was the reason we could all get together and celebrate hard rock and celebrate MOTÖRHEAD and see familiar faces because we’re all so scattered now. Obviously I could tell that he was in deteriorating health but we had a close bond, one that didn’t necessarily need to be reaffirmed or articulated. The less we said the more we knew the connection was there.”
ANTHRAX guitarist Scott Ian for RollingStone.com:
“MOTÖRHEAD were arguably one of the most important bands in the history of rock music. They were an amazingly hard-working band. They were out there touring every single year. There’s nobody else like that out there.
It’s hard to think about a world without Lemmy. It’s been a constant in my life since 1980. It leaves a giant hole that will never be filled.Even with Lemmy and his lifestyle — and he was 70 years old — there was an air of invincibility about the guy. He truly was a modern-day pirate. As much of a bummer as it is, I’m celebrating his life and the fact that he really did go out on top. He finished a tour two weeks ago playing headline shows at venues in Europe that were some of the biggest shows MOTÖRHEAD had ever done.”
Scott Ian with members of The Paul Green Rock Academy live at BSP in Kingston, New York:
Ozzy Osbourne for RollingStone.com:
“All I’ve done since I heard the news was reflect on the times we had together. He was a good guy, a very good friend of mine. I’m still in some shock. I phoned him up two days ago, and I couldn’t make out one word he was saying. Yesterday, I got a text from his manager saying, ‘Lemmy’s on the way, and he wants to see some of his friends.’ So my wife and I were just about leaving the door and the text came saying he’d gone. It shook me up bad. We were like, ‘Wow.’ He must have been suffering for a while. You know, he’s 70. He lived the rock and roll lifestyle to the max, but still it’s sad when you lose a friend like that.
He was a character. There ain’t many characters in music today. I mean, you’ve got Miley Cyrus, okay, but there’s not many characters in the game anymore. But he was definitely a character. An original. He lived the lifestyle. Sex, drugs and rock and roll, that was Lemmy.You know what? There goes a hero for me. He was my hero. He was fucking great, a good friend. I’m missing him already. I’ll never forget him. I don’t think a lot of people will forget Lemmy. He’ll be so missed in my camp. He was a good guy, a good man, a good friend of mine. He was just a fucking great dude, man. Not enough time for him.”
“WWE Raw” wrestling tv show’s tribute to Lemmy:
IRON MAIDEN guitarist Dave Murray and Alice Cooper‘s band live at Shep Gordon‘s New Year’s Eve benefit bash in Maui, Hawaii, December 31st:
METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammett for RollingStone.com:
“Lemmy was the finest of gentlemen. Back in 1979, when I was 16 years old, I heard ‘Overkill’ for the first time. I thought it was the fastest thing I’d ever heard, and I declared to all my friends that MOTÖRHEAD were the fastest band in the land.
When I had first seen pictures of what these guys looked like, I noticed a certain authenticity about them. I imagined they lived the way they looked and looked the way they lived.And I remember very distinctly having a realization that moment — I realized that it was okay to be an outsider, and that it was okay to not feel like I had to conform to anything that I objected to in my teenage life, because, clearly, the MOTÖRHEAD guys in this picture looked like they didn’t conform to anything at all, and boy, it sure looked and sounded like they were enjoying themselves as a result. So I got a lot from that pic and that massive sound and that attitude.
And I have to thank Lemmy, Fast Eddie and also the recently departed Philthy Animal for the inspiration, spark and fire that I felt so strongly from that night in 1979. That inspiration will always be there with me and may the music of MOTÖRHEAD live on!”
SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR frontman Corey Taylor for The Guardian:
“A lot of people are going to talk about what a tragedy it is that our friend Lemmy died, and lament how sad it is. But I am going to talk about this: the man lived. He lived his life on his terms right up until the day he died. He played the music he loved. He never compromised, on style or volume. If there was ever a man who took no shit, prisoners or safe routes, it was Lemmy Kilmister. He was everything you wanted him to be: raw, loud, rude, funny and ready to play for his fans — which he did even when he had trouble getting on stage.
He will never be forgotten, because there is so much to remember: his music, his friendship and most importantly, his life.His name was Ian ‘Lemmy’ Kilmister … and he played rock ‘n’ roll. Rest hard and loud, my friend.”
HELLYEAH live at the Bomb Factory in Dallas, Texas:
SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS on December 31st, performing “Ace Of Spades” live at the House Of Blues in Las Vegas, Nevada.
