Page 29 - atoday
P. 29
PEOPLE & ARTS A29
Wednesday 30 December
Motorhead
frontman, rock icon
‘Lemmy’ Kilmister
dead at 70
SANDY COHEN for the 1980 anthem “Ace This June, 2015 photo shows Motorhead bassist Lemmy Kilmister performing on the Pyramid
Associated PRess of Spades.” The band won stage during Glastonbury Music Festival at Worthy Farm, Glastonbury, England. Ian “Lemmy”
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lanky a Grammy for 2004’s best Kilmister, the Motorhead frontman whose outsized persona made him a hero for generations of
and long-haired, with mut- metal performance. hard-rockers and metal-heads, has died on Monday, Dec. 28, 2015. (Joel Ryan/Invision/AP)
ton chops and moles, Ian Ozzy Osbourne called him
“Lemmy” Kilmister looked “one of my best friends.”
and lived like a hard-rock “He will be sadly missed,”
hero. He founded Motor- Osbourne wrote on Twitter
head in 1975, and contin- late Monday. “He was a
ued recording and tour- warrior and a legend. I will
ing with the band until his see you on the other side.”
death. Metallica tweeted: “Lem-
He began every legend- my, you are one of the pri-
ary live show with the an- mary reasons this band ex-
nouncement, “We are Mo- ists. We’re forever grateful
torhead, and we play rock for all of your inspiration.”
and roll!” And numerous other rock
The singer and bassist died musicians took to social
Monday at age 70 after a media to pay tribute, in-
brief battle with aggressive cluding Queen guitar-
cancer, said his agent An- ist Brian May, Black Sab-
drew Goodfriend. Kilmister bath’s Geezer Butler, Nikki
had learned of the diag- Sixx of Motley Crue and
nosis just two days earlier, Aerosmith drummer Joey
according to a statement Kramer, who tweeted, “RIP
from the band, and he #Lemmy heaven is Rock-
had also suffered several in tonight.” In a Tuesday
other health issues in re- statement, Alice Cooper
cent months. said Kilmister was “one of
“We cannot begin to ex- the most beloved charac-
press our shock and sad- ters in rock’n roll. I can’t
ness, there aren’t words,” think of anyone who didn’t
the band said in announc- adore Lemmy; you can’t
ing the death on its Face- say ‘heavy metal’ without
book page. “Play Motor- mentioning Lemmy.”
head loud, play Hawkwind The Recording Academy
loud, play Lemmy’s music also noted the loss to the
LOUD. Have a drink or few. music industry, calling Kilm-
Share stories. Celebrate ister “a remarkable front-
the LIFE this lovely, wonder- man and bona fide heavy
ful man celebrated so vi- metal icon.”
brantly himself. HE WOULD “His magnetic stage pres-
WANT EXACTLY THAT.” ence and willingness to
Born on Christmas Eve, break barriers propelled
1945, in Staffordshire, Eng- the metal genre to new
land, Kilmister was deeply heights, influencing count-
respected and revered as less fellow musicians in the
a rock master and innova- process,” Recording Acad-
tor, from his time with the emy President Neil Portnow
seminal psychedelic band said in a statement. “We
Hawkwind in the early have lost a truly dynam-
1970s to his four decades ic member of the music
in Motorhead, best known community.”q
