Lemmy Kilmister

Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister (born Ian Fraiser Kilminster, December 24 1945, also known as Ian Fraiser Willis) is an English bass player and singer. He is known primarily as the founding member and leader of the heavy metal band Motörhead. His unmistakable appearance, with his facial totem moles, sideburn to moustache connection, and gravelly voice have made him a cult figure known well beyond the world of rock music.

Lemmy was born in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire and raised in Anglesey, Wales. His father, a clergyman, left the family when Lemmy was three months old; the experience helped to imbue a deep hatred of religion in Lemmy and this is reflected in a number of his songs.

Although the nickname 'Lemmy' is supposed to come from his days as a roadie when he would ask people to 'Lemmy (lend me) a fiver', Kilmister's autobiography maintains that he has been known as Lemmy since he was around 10.

Career

Lemmy spent the sixties in a number of small-time bands including Opal Butterfly, Sam Gopal's Dream, and The Rockin' Vicars as well as working as a roadie for Jimi Hendrix in 1967 for about six months, and as a roadie for The Nice. In 1971 he joined archetypal space rock UK Underground outfit Hawkwind who were centred around the very in Ladbroke Grove. His distinctive style of bass playing, involving the use of chords rather than the single notes preferred by most players, was a fundamental part of the Hawkwind sound during his tenure. He also provided lead vocals on a number of songs including the band's biggest UK chart single, Silver Machine, which reached No.3 in 1972.

By 1975 Lemmy's forceful personality and propensity for ingesting copious quantities of amphetamines were leading to conflict with other members, and this culminated with his sacking after being arrested for drug possession while on tour with the band in Canada. Lemmy went on to form a new band with guitarist Larry Wallis and drummer Lucas Fox. Wallis's former bands included the Pink Fairies, Steve Took's Shagrat and UFO. Lemmy's connection with Took (formerly of T Rex) was not limited to Wallis, as they were personal friends and Took was the step-father to Lemmy's son Paul. This new band was originally called Bastard. However, after the band's manager pointed out this name would lose them TV and radio exposure, it was changed to Motörhead - the last song Lemmy wrote for Hawkwind.

After a short period both Wallis and Fox were replaced with guitarist "Fast" Eddie Clarke and drummer Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor, and with this line-up the band began to achieve success. The uncompromisingly intense nature of their sound appealed to both Lemmy's original metal/rock constituency as well as the new punk fans — intrigued, perhaps, by Lemmy's brief stint in The Damned — and Lemmy's guttural vocals were unique in the world of rock at that time. The band's success peaked between 1980 and 1981 with a number of UK chart hits, including the classic single Ace of Spades (still a crowd favourite today) and the No. 1 Live Album No Sleep 'til Hammersmith . Motörhead have since gone on to become one of the most influential bands on the heavy metal scene and, although Lemmy is the only constant in a changing line-up, are still performing and releasing records to this day. Despite Motorhead's many member changes over their 30 year history the current lineup of Lemmy, Phil Campbell and Mikkey Dee has remained constant since 1995.

Lemmy has also worked with a number of other musicians over his career, and occasionally guests with Hawkwind. He was brought in as a songwriter for Ozzy Osbourne's 1991 No More Tears album, providing lyrics for the tracks "Hellraiser," (which Motorhead later released) "Desire," "I Don't Want To Change The World," and the massive hit "Mama I'm Coming Home." Lemmy has noted in several magazine and television interviews that he made more money off of the royalties from that one song than he had in his entire time with Motorhead.

He has made a number of appearances in film and television, including the 1990 science fiction film Hardware and the 1987 comedy Eat the Rich, for which Motörhead also recorded the soundtracks. In the 1994 comedy Airheads (in which he is credited as "Lemmy von Motorhead"), he shouts (truthfully) about being the editor of his high school newspaper. He has also appeared in several movies from the Troma studio. Having a predilection for self-deprecating parody, he once appeared in an advertisement for Kit Kat chocolate bars, miming a piece of chamber music on the violin, in an upper-class tea-room. Motörhead performed the entrance theme song "The Game" for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)'s Paul Michael Levesque, a/k/a Triple H, as well as "Line in the Sand" for his now defunct wrestling stable, Evolution. In 2006, they once again provided theme music for the WWE as they recorded the song King of Kings for Triple H on the Wreckless Intent CD.

Lemmy collects Nazi memorabilia, and has an Iron Cross encrusted on his bass, which has led to accusations of right-wing extremist tendencies. However Lemmy considers himself to be an anarchist. According to Keith Emerson as written in his autobiography, two of Lemmy's Hitlerjugend knives were gifted to Keith Emerson himself during Lemmy's time spent as a roadie for The Nice. Emerson used these knives many times as "keyholders" during his famous wrestling sessions with the Hammond Organ during the shows with The Nice and Emerson, Lake & Palmer.

He published his autobiography, White Line Fever in November 2002.

Equipment

Lemmy has used Rickenbacker 4001 and 4003 bass guitars almost exclusively since the Hawkwind days, though some of these instruments were modified with the installation of Gibson Thunderbird pickups in the neck position. Rickenbacker recently produced a 50-bass run of Lemmy Kilmister signature basses, the 4004LK, which is fitted with three pickups, gold hardware, and elaborate wood carving in the shape of oak leaves. Recently, he has been using a customised 4004.

For amplification he uses Marshall amplifiers, specifically hot-rodded Marshall JMP Superbass IIs from the later 1960s/early 1970s. Each amp, with a nominal output of 100 watts, is used with a 4x12 speaker cab and a custom-made 4x15 cab. Lemmy uses two such stacks, one on each side of the drum riser. For many years the amps were nicknamed "No Remorse" and "Murder One" with appropriate nameplates. No Remorse was subsequently replaced by Marshall when, as Lemmy observed in an October 2004 interview, No Remorse "blew up."

The phrase "everything louder than everything else" sums up Lemmy's sonic approach, as he plays at an absolutely earsplitting volume. He uses the bridge pickup exclusively and turns everything on the bass up full. On the amplifiers, he turns the bass and treble off, and the midrange up all the way, with the volume and presence up to 3:00. The result is a biting midrange sound which is distorted but not fuzzed out and blurry, a formula well-suited to Lemmy's use of open-string drones and power chords, all of which is played at hell-for-leather tempos.

Lemmy has occasionally played acoustic guitar, notably on the acoustic song "Whorehouse Blues" off of Motörhead's Inferno album.

Lemmy the Public Speaker

In November 2005 Lemmy, who grew up in Wales, was invited to the Welsh Assembly as a guest speaker by Tory Welsh assembly member William Graham. He was asked to express his views on the detrimental effects of drugs. However he shocked the Assembly Members and Welsh public when he called for the legalization of Heroin.

"I have never had heroin but since I moved to London from north Wales in '67 I have mixed with junkies on a casual and almost daily basis," he said. "I also lived with a young woman who tried heroin just to see what it was like. It killed her three years later. I hate the idea even as I say it, but I do believe the only way to treat heroin is to legalize it."

He stated that legalization would eradicate the drug dealer from society: Blabbermouth Article.

Sexuality

In an article for BraveWords.com, Lemmy claimed to have engaged in bisexual behaviour. This was proven to be a hoax. Lemmy is said to have called up the journalist who claimed he was bi, and informed him "it would be difficult for him to kneel down and get his floppy disk with a screwdriver through both knees." link The article was entirely removed from the website shortly after its appearance. Online music news site Blabbermouth.net credit themselves with being the informants of the article's inauthenticity: Blabbermouth article.

Appearing in a Channel 4 documentary called "Motorhead: Live Fast, Die Old" broadcast on August 22, 2005, it was claimed that Lemmy "had bedded" in excess of 2,000 women. In the documentary Lemmy also explained that while in school (at the end of term) he noticed a lad who had brought a guitar to school and had been "surrounded by chicks", Lemmy's mother had a guitar, which he then took to school, even though he could not play, and was himself surrounded by girls, "in those days just having a guitar was enough" and from then on "that was it".

Discography

1965 The Rockin' Vicars - Zing! Went The Strings Of My Heart/ Stella (7")
1965 The Rockin' Vicars - It's Alright / Stay By Me(7")
1966 The Rockin' Vicars - Dandy/ I Don't Need Your Kind (7")
1969 Sam Gopal - Escalator
1970 Opal Butterfly - Groupie Girl (7")
1972 Hawkwind - Silver Machine/ Seven By Seven (7")
1972 Various artists: Revelation triple album (one side of Hawkwind)
1972 Various artists: Greasy Trucker's Party (one side of Hawkwind)
1972 Hawkwind - Doremi Fasol Latido
1973 Hawkwind - Lord Of Light (7")
1973 Hawkwind - Urban Guerilla (7")
1973 Hawkwind - Space Ritual
1974 Hawkwind - Hall Of The Mountain Grill
1974 Hawkwind - Psychedelic Warlords (7")
1974 Robert Calvert Ejection/ Catch A Falling Starfighter (7")
1974 Robert Calvert - Captain Lockheed And The Starfighters
1975 Hawkwind - Kings Of Speed (7")
1975 Hawkwind - Warrior On The Edge Of Time
1977 Hawkwind - Masters Of The Universe (compilation)
1977 Motörhead - Motörhead
1979 Motörhead - Overkill
1979 Motörhead - On Parole (recorded in 1975)
1979 The Damned - I Just Can't Be Happy Today/ Ballroom Blitz (with Lemmy on bass) / Turkey Song(7")
1979 The Damned - Machine Gun Etiquette
1979 Motörhead - Bomber
1980 Motörhead - Ace of Spades
1980 The Young & Moody Band - Don't Do That (7" & 12")
1981 Motörhead - No Sleep Til Hammersmith
1981 Headgirl (Motörhead & Girlschool) - The St. Valentine's Day Massacre
1982 Motörhead - Iron Fist
1982 Lemmy & Wendy O. Williams - Stand By Your Man
1983 Motörhead - Another Perfect Day
1984 Motörhead - No Remorse
1984 Robert Calvert - Freq
1984 Various artists - Hear'n'Aid
1985 Hawkwind - Space Ritual Vol. 2 (compilation live)
1985 Hawkwind - In the Beginning (live)
1986 Motörhead - Orgasmatron
1986 Hawkwind - Approved History Of Hawkwind 1967-1982
1987 Motörhead - Rock'N'Roll
1988 Motörhead - No Sleep At All
1988 Albert Jarvinen Band - Countdown
1989 Nina Hagen - Nina Hagen
1990 Lemmy & The Upsetters - Blue Suede Shoes
1990 Various artists - The Last Temptation Of Elvis: Blue Suede Shoes
1990 Hardware - Original Soundtrack
1991 Motörhead - 1916
1992 Motörhead - March ör Die
1993 Motörhead - Bastards
1993 The Damned - Tales From The Damned
1994 Fast Eddie Clarke - It Ain't Over Till It's Over
1994 Shonen Knife - Tomato Head (promo single)
1994 Shonen Knife - Rock Animals
1995 Motörhead - Sacrifice
1996 Motörhead - Overnight Sensation
1996 Skew Siskin - Electric Chair Music
1996 Ugly Kid Joe - Motel California
1996 Various artists - Straight Edge as Fuck, Vol. 1-2
1996 Myth Dreams of World - Stories of the Greek & Roman Gods & Goddesses
1996 Skew Siskin - Voices From The War
1997 Various artists - Dragon Attack: A Tribute To Queen
1997 The Ramones - We're Outta Here!
1998 Motörhead - Snake Bite Love
1998 Various artists - Thunderbolt: A Tribute To AC/DC
1999 Motörhead - Everything Louder Than Everyone Else
1999 Jetboy - Lost & Found
1999 Skew Siskin - What The Hell
1999 Hawkwind - Epoch Eclipse: 30 Year Anthology (compilation box)
1999 A.N.I.M.A.L. - Usa Toda Tu Fuerza
2000 Lemmy - Slim Jim & Danny B - Lemmy - Slim Jim & Danny B
2000 Motörhead - We Are Motörhead
2000 Motörhead - The Best of Motörhead
2000 Motörhead - The Chase Is Better Than The Catch (compilation)
2000 Motörhead - Over The Top - The Rarities (compilation)
2000 Swing Cats - A Special Tribute To Elvis
2000 The Rockin' Vicars - The Complete - It's Alright
2000 Various artists - Bat Head Soup - Tribute to Ozzy Osbourne
2000 Doro - Calling The Wild
2001 Motörhead - All The Aces (compilation)
2001 The Pirates - Rock Bottom
2001 Various artists - Metallic Assault - A Tribute To Metallica
2002 Motörhead - Hammered
2002 Various artists - Guitar Greats
2002 Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Mike Batt and guests - Philharmania
2002 Various artists - Metal Brigade
2002 Various artists - Rise Above: 24 Black Flag Songs to Benefit the West Memphis Three
2003 Motörhead - Stone Deaf Forever (box set 5 CD)
2003 Motörhead - Live At Brixton Academy - The Complete Concert
2003 Various artists - Ash Wednesday (Original Soundtrack)
2003 Ace Sounds - Still Hungry
2003 Skew Siskin - Album Of The Year
2004 Motörhead - Inferno
2004 Probot - Probot
2004 Various Artists - Spongebob Squarepants Movie Soundtrack (with Motorhead, contributed "You'd Better Swim")
2004/5 Various - Numbers From The Beast: An All Star Salute To Iron Maiden - Trooper
2006 Lemmy - Damage Case (Compilation)
2006 Motörhead - Kiss of Death

Videography

VHS

1982 Live In Toronto - Castle Hendering
1984 Another Perfect Day EP
1985 Birthday Party
1986 Deaf Not Blind
1988 EP
1991 Everything louder Than Everything Else

DVD

1997 Tromeo and Juliet - Troma pictures
2000 Cannibal! The Musical - Troma pictures
2001 25 & Alive Boneshaker - Steamhammer - SPV
2002 Motörhead EP
2002 The Best of Motörhead
2003 The Special Edition EP
2004 Everything Louder Than Everything Else
2005 Stage Fright

Books

2002 White Line Fever - Authors: Lemmy Kilmister and Janiss Garza, published by Simon & Schuster, ISBN 0684858681
2002 Lemmy: In His Own Words - Author: Harry Shaw, published by Omnibus Press, ISBN 071199109X
2004 La fièvre de la ligne blanche - Authors: Lemmy Kilmister and Janiss Garza, published by Camion Blanc, ISBN 2910196348 (French version of White Line Fever)

Trivia

Lemmy Koopa, one of the Koopa Kids in the Super Mario gaming series, is speculated to be named after him. .
Lemmy made a cameo appearance as a villain in the Boys Don't Cry music video I Wanna Be a Cowboy.

References

External links

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