In Celebration of Lemmy Kilmister
Lemmy will always be remembered for the “Ace of Spades”
Ian Fraser Kilmister, or Lemmy as most of us know him, was one of the most important faces in the history of rock and roll. Frontman for Motörhead right up until his passing in 2015, Lemmy was known for his inimitable growl and his love of partying hard. Although it’s been seven years since he passed, the rock world still misses him. So, what better way to remember his legacy than with a celebration of the wild, crazy, loud life of Lemmy Kilmister?
Joining Hawkwind
Lemmy had been in a handful of bands before Motörhead began, but the most successful was certainly Hawkwind. The band were already touring some big enough venues before Lemmy joined, but when their bassist dropped out at literally the last second, it was Lemmy’s chance to shine. He hopped on stage and stood in for the bassist, despite having never played the instrument before. How he managed it we may never know, but he went down a treat with the crowd and kept the position. He stayed with the band for four years and they toured extensively, but Lemmy was a little too difficult to tame for the other members of the band, so they said their goodbyes. Motörhead was what came next.
The Ace of Spades
Without a doubt, the most famous song that Motörhead ever released was “Ace of Spades”. Whilst Lemmy was known for his habit of winging things, something that many people might not know was just how far he took it. The lyrics for their hit song were actually written as Lemmy sat in the back of a transit van hurtling down the motorway. Despite preferring slot machines, or one-armed bandits as he called them, to card games, he realized there was a little more romance in poker prose. His goal for the lyrics to “Ace of Spades” was to squeeze in as many references to poker as possible and it would be fair to say he managed it. An updated version for the 21st century would be a fascinating prospect considering how far the game has moved on. He’d need to include all about the new poker pros, and television shows, include something about snagging an online poker bonus, and give a mention to the online tournament dwellers. Finding a lyricist that could drum all of that up in the back of a transit might be tricky though!
Lemmy’s Biggest Fan?
Plenty of musical heroes will state that Lemmy was one of their biggest inspirations, but Max Cavalera of Soulfly takes it a step further. His band were on tour back in 1989 and had made their way to London. They were hanging out at a bar ahead of their show when Max spotted Lemmy out of the corner of his eye. As one would expect, he was playing at the slot machine and squinting out of the corner of his eye to concentrate. Getting a wave of fan boy emotion, Max went over to try to talk to Lemmy. He exclaimed that Lemmy was his hero and that he’d come all the way from Brazil, but Lemmy continued concentrating on the fruit machine. Seeing Max get more and more frantic at his presence, Lemmy calmly picked up his glass of whiskey and poured it right over Max’s head.