65 Facts About Lemmy

Ian Fraser Kilmister, better known as Lemmy Kilmister or simply Lemmy, was a British musician.

Lemmy was the founder, lead vocalist, bassist and primary songwriter of the rock band Motorhead, of which he was the only continuous member, and a member of Hawkwind from 1971 to 1975.

Lemmy was noted for his unique posture when singing, which was once described as "looking up towards a towering microphone tilted down into his weather-beaten face".

Lemmy was known for his bass playing style, using his Rickenbacker bass to create an "overpowered, distorted rhythmic rumble".

Lemmy was born in Stoke-on-Trent and grew up between there, the nearby towns of Newcastle-under-Lyme and Madeley, and later the Welsh village of Benllech, Anglesey.

At a later point, Lemmy remembers living briefly at Gwrych Castle, Abergele.

Lemmy was influenced by rock and roll and the early works of the Beatles, which led to him playing in several rock groups in the 1960s, such as the Rockin' Vickers.

Lemmy worked as a roadie for Jimi Hendrix and the Nice before joining the space rock band Hawkwind in 1971, singing lead vocals on their hit "Silver Machine".

Lemmy continued to record and tour regularly with Motorhead until his death on 28 December 2015 in Los Angeles, where he had lived since 1990.

Lemmy was diagnosed with prostate cancer two days before his death.

Lemmy was known for his hard-living, road-driven lifestyle, which included chain-smoking and daily consumption of large amounts of alcohol and amphetamine.

Lemmy was born Ian Fraser Kilmister in the Burslem area of Stoke-on-Trent on 24 December 1945.

Lemmy moved with his mother and grandmother to nearby Newcastle-under-Lyme, then to Madeley.

Lemmy soon started to show an interest in rock and roll, girls, motorbikes and horses.

Lemmy went on to work several odd jobs, including one at the local Hotpoint electric appliance factory, while playing guitar for local bands such as the Sundowners and spending time at a horse-riding school.

Lemmy saw the Beatles perform at The Cavern Club in Liverpool when he was 16, and then learned to play along on guitar to their debut studio album Please Please Me.

In Stockport, Lemmy joined local bands the Rainmakers and then the Motown Sect who played northern clubs for three years.

Lemmy shared a flat with Noel Redding, bassist of the Jimi Hendrix Experience, and with Neville Chesters, their road manager.

Lemmy had no previous experience as a bass guitarist, and was cajoled into joining immediately before a benefit gig in Notting Hill by bandmate Michael "Dik Mik" Davies, to have two members who enjoyed amphetamine.

Lemmy's bass work was a distinctive part of the Hawkwind sound during his tenure, perhaps best documented on the double live album Space Ritual.

In May 1975, during a North American tour, Lemmy was arrested at the Canadian border in Windsor, Ontario, on drug possession charges.

Lemmy and Took were friends, and Took was the stepfather to Lemmy's son Paul.

Lemmy asserted that he generally felt more kinship with punks than with metalheads; he played with the Damned for a handful of gigs when they had no regular bassist.

At the age of 17, Lemmy met a holidaying girl named Cathy.

Lemmy followed her to Stockport, where she gave birth to his son Sean, who was put up for adoption.

Lemmy lived in Los Angeles from 1990 until his death in 2015, his last residence being a two-room apartment two blocks away from his favourite hangout, the Rainbow Bar and Grill.

Lemmy was asked to express his views on the detrimental effects of drugs and called for the legalisation of heroin.

Lemmy stated that legalisation would eradicate the drug dealer from society and generate money from its taxation, however hard this would be to accept.

Lemmy collected German military regalia; he had an Iron Cross emblazoned on his bass, which led to accusations of Nazi sympathies.

Lemmy stated that he collected Nazi memorabilia because he liked the way it looked, and he considered himself an anarchist.

Lemmy said he was against religion, government, and established authority.

Lemmy defended his collection by saying that if his then-girlfriend had no problem with it, nobody else should.

In December 2000, Lemmy's tour was cancelled when he was hospitalised in Italy with the flu, exhaustion, and a lung infection.

Lemmy was hospitalised with extreme dehydration and exhaustion in Germany in July 2005.

Lemmy's tour was cancelled in July 2013 due to a severe haematoma.

Lemmy referred to his continuing drug use as "dogged insolence in the face of mounting opposition to the contrary".

Lemmy was hospitalised with a lung infection in September 2015, after having breathing problems when performing onstage.

On 28 December 2015, four days after his 70th birthday, Lemmy died at his Los Angeles apartment from prostate cancer, cardiac arrhythmia, and congestive heart failure.

Lemmy [Lemmy] gets home [from tour], we have a big birthday party for him at the Whisky a Go Go.

Lemmy's doctor had given him between two and six months to live.

Mikael Maglieri, owner of his nearby hangout Rainbow Bar and Grill, subsequently had a video game machine that Lemmy was fond of playing taken from the establishment and put in Lemmy's apartment so he could continue playing it from his bedside.

Lemmy's remains were placed in a 3D-printed urn shaped like his trademark cavalry hat and emblazoned with the slogan "Born to lose, lived to win".

In March 2021, it was revealed that some of Lemmy's ashes were, by his own request, put into bullets and sent to his closest friends, including Whitfield Crane of Ugly Kid Joe, Rob Halford of Judas Priest, Michael Monroe of Hanoi Rocks, Doro Pesch of Warlock, and Riki Rachtman.

On 18 January 2017, Lemmy was inducted into the Hall of Heavy Metal History for being the creator of thrash metal.

On 14 November 2016, asteroid 243002 was officially named 243002 Lemmy, complementing asteroid 250840 Motorhead, named after the band in 2014.

Lemmy worked with several musicians, apart from his Motorhead bandmates, over the course of his career.

Lemmy noted in several magazine and television interviews that he made more money from the royalties of that one song than he had in his entire time with Motorhead.

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

Lemmy made appearances in film and television, including 1990 science fiction film Hardware and the 1987 comedy Eat the Rich, for which Motorhead recorded the soundtracks including the title song.

Lemmy appeared as himself in the 1986 The Comic Strip Presents.

Lemmy has a cameo in Ron Jeremy's 1994 pornographic film John Wayne Bobbitt Uncut as the discoverer of Bobbitt's severed penis.

Lemmy has appeared in several movies from Troma Entertainment, including the narrator in 1996's Tromeo and Juliet and as himself in both Terror Firmer and Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV.

Lemmy has a cameo role in the film Down and Out with the Dolls.

Lemmy appeared on Down and Dirty with Jim Norton as the series DJ, and wrote the theme music.

Lemmy appeared in a 2001 advertisement for Kit Kat, playing violin as part of a string quartet in a genteel tearoom.

In 2015, Lemmy appeared as a central figure in the Bjorn Tagemose-directed silent film Gutterdammerung opposite Grace Jones, Henry Rollins, Iggy Pop, Tom Araya of Slayer and Eagles of Death Metal's Jesse Hughes.

The 2010 rockumentary film Lemmy was directed and produced by Greg Olliver and Wes Orshoski.

Lemmy was the main character in the 16-bit video game Motorhead, released for the Commodore Amiga and Atari ST in 1992.

Lemmy appeared as an unlockable character in the 2009 game Guitar Hero: Metallica.

Lemmy provided his voice for the 2009 video game Brutal Legend, voicing the Kill Master, a character designed and based on his surname and likeness.

Lemmy was the inspiration for the Mario character Lemmy Koopa, who made his first appearance in Super Mario Bros.

Lemmy positioned his microphone in an uncommonly high position, angled so that he appeared to be looking up at the sky rather than at the audience.

From 1996 onward, Lemmy's main bass was a Rickenbacker 4001LK, from a limited edition run of 50 instruments, featuring hand carved body wings, featuring oak leaves, three HB1 humbucker pick-ups and all gold plated hardware.

Lemmy had commented that at last Rickenbacker had made decent pick-ups.

Lemmy's unconventional playing style changed the dynamics of the group's rhythm section.