Lemmy Kilmister

Ian Fraser Kilmister (24 December 1945 – 28 December 2015), better known as Lemmy or Lemmy Kilmister, was an English musician best known for being the founder, lead vocalist, bassist and primary songwriter of Motörhead, of which he was the only continuous member from 1975 to his death. He had been a member of Hawkwind from 1971 to 1975.

A foundational force in the genre following the advent of the new wave of British heavy metal, Lemmy was known for his appearance, which included his signature sideburns, his military-influenced fashion sense and his gravelly, raspy voice that was once declared "one of the most recognisable voices in rock". He was also 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". He was also known for his bass playing style, using his Rickenbacker bass to create an "overpowered, distorted rhythmic rumble". A notable aspect of his bass sound was his guitar-like riffing, often playing power chords using heavily overdriven tube stacks by Marshall.

Lemmy was born in Stoke-on-Trent and grew up there, in the nearby towns of Newcastle-under-Lyme and Madeley, and later in the village of Benllech, Anglesey, Wales and briefly at Gwrych Castle, Abergele. He 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. He worked as a member of the road crew for Jimi Hendrix and the Nice before joining the space rock band Hawkwind in 1971, where he sang lead vocals on their hit "Silver Machine". In 1975, he was fired from Hawkwind after an arrest for drug possession. That same year, he founded Motörhead. The band's success peaked with the hit single "Ace of Spades" (1980) and the live album No Sleep 'til Hammersmith (1981), which reached number one on the UK Albums Chart.

Lemmy continued to record and tour regularly with Motörhead until his death on 28 December 2015 in Los Angeles, where he had lived since 1990. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer two days before his death. Alongside his music career, he had minor roles and cameos in film and television. He was known for his hard-living, road-driven lifestyle, which included chain-smoking and daily consumption of large amounts of alcohol until 2013 as well as amphetamines.

Lemmy was born Ian Fraser Kilmister in the Burslem area of Stoke-on-Trent on 24 December 1945. When he was three months old, his father, an ex-Royal Air Force chaplain and concert pianist, left his mother. Lemmy was their only child. He moved with his mother and grandmother to nearby Newcastle-under-Lyme, then to Madeley. When Lemmy was 10, in 1956, his mother married former rugby player George L. Willis, who already had two older children from a previous marriage, Patricia and Tony, whom Ian disliked. They later moved to a farm in the village of Benllech on Anglesey in Wales, with Lemmy commenting that "funnily enough, being the only English kid among 700 Welsh ones didn't make for the happiest time, but it was interesting from an anthropological point of view". He attended Ysgol Syr Thomas Jones, a comprehensive school in Amlwch, where he was nicknamed "Lemmy." It was later suggested by some that the name originated from the phrase "lemmy a quid 'til Friday" because of his alleged habit of borrowing money from people to play slot machines, although Lemmy himself said that he did not know the origin of the name. He soon started to show an interest in rock and roll, girls, motorbikes and horses.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.