Rest in Noise, Lemmy!

Photo: FRED TANNEAU

Motörhead's Lemmy's dead.

Initially i guessed this to be some Internet-hoax, a practical joke about this guy meant to be immortal. So it wasn't, and was for real. Real as Lemmy and the real ones do die. But Lemmy was also a myth and these stay around. One of the absolute rock’n’roll, of the attitude.

A cancer was discovered last Saturday and in a few days the he was gone. Might as well call it a Motörhead type of a cancer, the fast kind. Lemmy lived long and fast for 70 ain’t too little. Born on Christmas Day, by the way. Back in 1945.

The health was failing lately. Likeliest, the myth was taking its interests. Like the talk of him unable to take a step without amphetamine in him. They say that after a heart defibrillator was installed last year he cut down smoking and drinking but not to zero.

So it was a switch to one pack a week and no longer whisky with Coca-Cola but vodka and orange juice. Makes no difference they told him, 40 % of alcohol plus some sugar. He claimed to like orange juice better and be indestructible.

But why did I kick off with intoxication and not with music. The latter being the main thing. But who knows, he thought the music and the lifestyle would walk hand in hand.

But when it comes to playing instruments, the start as Jimi Hendrix transportation guy convinced him he’d be no guitar man. So he grabbed the bass.  And first rose to fame with space-rock-unit Hawkwind. And was kicked out for possessing speed in 1975.

The next was Motörhead ants its opening lyrics of «sunrise, wrong side of another day.» 

Who wouldn’t know the untold covers of «Ace Of Spades» and for Lenny, Ozzy Osborne’s 1991 hit «Mama, I’m Coming Home» earned more than entire Motörhead career put together.

There was the issue of his interest towards Nazi memorabilia. Ws he a Nazi? No, he just liked to collect nice uniforms.

He never married, allegedly overwhelmed by the heroine death of a one-time girlfriend aged 19. Repeatedly, Lemmy found fault with governments for failure to curbs the substance’s use. In 2005, a conservative British MP made an attempt to involve him in an anti-heroine campaign.

The rocker’s response was legalise it.

Regarding marriage, he said he never saw a happy one.

Rest in Noise, Lemmy!