Lemmy

Ian Fraser "Lemmy" Kilmister (24 December 1945 – 28 December 2015), commonly known by Lemmy, was a British musician, singer-songwriter and actor. He was best known as the bassist of the heavy metal band Motörhead.

Lemmy
Lemmy in 2005
Background information
Birth name	Ian Fraser Kilmister
Also known as	Lemmy
Born	(1945-12-24)24 December 1945 Burslem, Staffordshire, England, UK
Died	28 December 2015(2015-12-28) (aged 70) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres	hard rock, heavy metal
Occupation(s)	Musician, songwriter, actor
Instruments	Bass, Guitar, Harmonica
Years active	1959–2015
Associated acts	Motörhead Hawkwind

Early years

Lemmy was born in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. He went to school at Ysgol Syr Thomas Jones in Amlwch, Wales. At age 16 he attended a concert by The Beatles in the Cavern Club. Lemmy liked the sarcastic attitude of the Beatles, especially John Lennon. Around that time he began playing guitar in small local bands like The Sundowners.

In mid-1960, he played guitar in bands like The Rainmakers, then The Motown Sect, playing clubs in the north. In 1965, he joined the band The Rockin 'Vickers, and signed a contract with CBS. The band released three single albums and toured Europe. In 1967, he moved to London and got a job as a roadie on The Jimi Hendrix Experience. In 1968, he recorded an album titled Escalator with the band Sam Gopal. After that, Lemmy met Simon King in a shopping center in Chelsea and then joined the band Opal Butterfly for a short period.

Lemmy joined the Ladbroke Grove rock band Hawkwind as a bassist and vocalist. He gained experience as a bassist, because until then he had only worked as a guitarist. Lemmy was also lead vocals on several songs for the band.

Motörhead

In 1975, Lemmy founded a new band called Bastard with guitarist Larry Wallis and Lucas Fox on drums. Later, Lemmy changed the name of the band to Motörhead. Wallis and Fox left the band and were replaced by the guitarist Eddie Clarke and drummer Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor. This new formation would begin Motörhead's success in live performances. In 1977, the band recorded their first album, Motörhead, released 24 September 1977. The second album, titled Overkill, contained two songs that would become Motörhead classics: "Louie Louie" and "Overkill". The peak of the band was 1980 and 1981 with a series of chart hits in the UK, including the classic single "Ace of Spades", one of the biggest hits of the band.

Motörhead's members changed throughout the band's career, but Lemmy remained on bass and vocals from their start 1975 until his death in December 2015.

Acting career

Lemmy's career as an actor began by playing small roles in low-budget UK films Eat the Rich (1988) and Hardware (1990). His credits include Terror Firmer (1998), Frezno Smooth (1999), and Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV (2000).

Death

On 28 December 2015, Lemmy died of prostate cancer, cardiac arrhythmia and congestive heart failure at his home in Los Angeles, California at the age of 70.

Lemmy Media

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  Lemmy playing bass and singing, with his trademark high microphone position

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  Lemmy in 1974 in St. Louis, USA Hawkwind Hall of the Mountain Grill tour (his last with the band)

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  Lemmy with Motörhead in 1982

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  Motörhead - Rock am Ring 2015

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  Lemmy's grave at Forest Lawn Memorial Park

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  Lemmy in his trademark singing stance, 2005

Other websites

• Motörhead official website
• Lemmy: The Movie Official website Archived 2008-09-13 at the Wayback Machine
• Lemmy on IMDb
• Interview with Lemmy Kilmister in REVOLUTIONART Magazine 22
• The Rockin' Vickers Archived 2007-02-03 at the Wayback Machine
• Myspace profile for Lemmy's new band The Head Cat
• Lemmy interview with BIZARRE magazine Archived 2011-04-24 at the Wayback Machine
• Gallery of Lemmy with Motorhead Archived 2007-10-24 at the Wayback Machine
• Lemmy Interview Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine in SPIN
• Lemmy Interview Archived 2016-04-09 at the Wayback Machine on the Jekyll and Hyde Show, 106FM Jerusalem