Mikkey Dee / Motörhead is over, of course

Lemmy

Mikkey Dee: Motörhead is over, 

of course

‘Lemmy was Motörhead. We won’t be doing any more tours or anything,’ says the late rock star’s bandmate

Thursday 31 December 2015 12.01 GMT

Motörhead drummer Mikkey Dee has confirmed that without Lemmy, the band will no longer continue.

“Motörhead is over, of course,” he told Sweden’s Expressen newspaper. “Lemmy was Motörhead. We won’t be doing any more tours or anything. And there won’t be any more records. But the brand survives, and Lemmy lives on in the hearts of everyone.”

Lemmy, who died on 28 December, two days after being diagnosed with an extremely aggressive cancer, formed Motörhead in 1975 and was its only constant member, as singer and bassist.

While the end of the group seemed inevitable, Dee, who joined the group in 1992, has now eliminated any possibility of them performing with a replacement singer. In the same interview, he also admitted he had been worried about Lemmy’s health.

“He was terribly gaunt, he spent all his energy on stage and afterwards he was very, very tired. It’s incredible that he could even play, that he could finish the European tour. It was only 20 days ago. Unbelievable.”

“It feels fantastic that we were able to complete the tour with him. It’s heartening that we didn’t cancel because of Lemmy. I’m incredibly grateful for the years we had, and that we had such a good time together.”

Recalling the day he heard Lemmy had cancer, Dee said: “It came as a shock, but when [Lemmy] went home he said, ‘I had a good run, fuck it.’”

Among the many artists who paid tribute to Lemmy were Megadeth founder Dave Mustaine, Gene Simmons, Slipknot’s Corey Taylor, Mötley Crüe’s Vince Neil and Nikki Sixx, and rapper Ice T.

THE GUARDIAN

Lemmy, lead singer of Motörhead, dies at 70

Lemmy / 10 of the best

Lemmy / Apparently I am Indestructible

Obituaries / Lemmy

Mikkey Dee / Motörhead is over, of course

Obituaries / Lemmy

Ian 'Lemmy' Kilmister obituary

The Motörhead frontman’s reputation as one of rock’s most infamous hell-raisers belied his keen intelligence and interest in social and political issues

Joel McIver
Tuesday 29 December

Few musicians have walked the rebel’s walk with as much conviction as the Motörhead frontman Lemmy, who has died aged 70 after a short battle with cancer. Despite his high-profile image as a hell-raiser, Lemmy’s influence as a musician and songwriter should not be underestimated.

His bass guitar style was unique, combining a heavily distorted tone with chords for a sound that more resembled rhythm guitar. The amphetamine-fuelled tempo of Motörhead’s songs in the 1970s made the band – in any of its many lineups – stand out from the more leisurely heavy-metal sound of the day, inspiring younger admirers such as Metallica. Despite the rawness of his music, Lemmy’s melodies were indebted to classic 1950s rock’n’rollers such as Little Richard, giving Motörhead a recognisable and popular sound.

Lemmy

Lemmy: ‘Apparently I am still indestructible’

The Motörhead frontman has changed his lifestyle – he has switched from whiskey to vodka – in the battle for health. As the band release their 22nd studio album, Bad Magic, he explains how 50 years of hard rocking have taken their toll

Lemmy, lead singer of Motörhead, dies at 70

Michael Hann
Thursday 13 August 2015 15.38 BST

Lemmy is as much a collection of myths and legends as a man. In the popular imagination, he’s made up of equal parts Jack Daniel’s, amphetamine sulphate, Nazi memorabilia and extreme-velocity noise. The myths and legends cloak him as surely as the black shirt, the black jeans, the custom-made boots, the cowboy hat with its “Death or Glory” insignia and the Iron Cross around his neck.

Lemmy: 10 of the best

In tribute to Motörhead’s leader, here is his musical life, told through 10 songs


Michael Hann
Wednesday 22 April 2015 10.27 BST

1 The Rockin’ Vickers – It’s Alright

First things first: no one is claiming this is one of the 10 best songs ever recorded by Lemmy. The only thing that’s certain about this pick is that each song could be replaced by a dozen others. So why’s It’s Alright here? Because Lemmy wasn’t just about Motörhead. Or even just Motörhead and Hawkwind. Lemmy was a product of the the 1950s and the 60s, of rock’n’roll and the British beat boom. Starting a top 10 with the release of the first Motörhead album just wouldn’t be truthful, because he’d been making music for 15 years or so before then. Lemmy’s first recordings were made with the Rockin’ Vickers (originally billed as Rev Black and the Rockin’ Vickers), who were Blackpool’s premier mid-60s exponents of playing R&B while dressed as vicars. (It was, admittedly, a small field.) No one would know who they were now if it not for the fact that Lemmy, then still called Ian Willis, was their lead guitarist, largely because their slim recorded legacy isn’t really up to that much. The standout is this version of a Pete Townshend song – which either prefigured or was adapted from the Who’s The Kids Are Alright – where we get the first glimpses of Lemmy’s unhinged approach to making his instrument a conduit of noise: the scrunches of guitar at the beginning are reminiscent of the Creation, while Lemmy’s solo sounds as if 999 monkeys had been handed guitars and locked in a room until one of them came up with something approaching free jazz.

Lemmy, lead singer of Motörhead, dies at 70

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Lemmy, lead singer of Motörhead, 

dies at 70

Band pays tribute to ‘noble friend’ Ian ‘Lemmy’ Kilmister, who died after learning of cancer diagnosis on Boxing Day

Adam Brereton
Tuesday 29 December

The band announced on their Facebook page that Lemmy learned of the disease on 26 December, and was at home when he died.

Lemmy, born Ian Fraser Kilmister, formed Motörhead in 1975 and was its only constant member, as singer and bassist. The band released 23 studio albums and are best known for their 1980 single Ace of Spades.