The rock world was saddened last night upon hearing of the death of legendary Motörhead frontman and founder, Lemmy Kilmister.
Lemmy’s beginnings in the rock n’ roll world took place as a roadie for Jimi Hendrix, followed by performing with bands such as Opal Butterfly, Hawkwind and finally forming his own group, Bastard, who soon after changed their name to Motörhead. Motörhead went on to record 22 studio albums, most recently, Bad Magic, released on August 28, 2015, exactly four month before Lemmy’s death.
Lemmy’s passing took place four days after his 70th birthday and two days after being diagnosed with an ‘extremely aggressive cancer’. This passing falls shy of just two months since the death of Motörhead’s original drummer, Phil Taylor.
UPDATE:
Details of Lemmy’s funeral have been announced, and everybody is invited to watch the proceedings live on YouTube. According to a Facebook statement the ceremony will take place at Forest Lawn Memorial Cemetery in Hollywodd, Los Angeles, but the band have asked fans to refrain from visiting – instead they’ll be streaming the whole thing on YouTube. The stream will run from 3pm PST to 4:30pm PST.
Several heavy hitters of the rock community have paid tribute and expressed their feelings of loss via social media:
Lost one of my best friends, Lemmy, today. He will be sadly missed. He was a warrior and a legend. I will see you on the other side.
— Ozzy Osbourne (@OzzyOsbourne) December 29, 2015
Lemmy, you are one of the primary reasons this band exists. We’re forever grateful for all of your inspiration. RIP pic.twitter.com/WC1csn5F5x
— Metallica (@Metallica) December 29, 2015
Rest In Peace Lemmy. A hell of a man who suffered no fools. U shall be missed brother, and, THANK u 4 the years of unwavering kick ass R&R. — Duff McKagan (@DuffMcKagan) December 29, 2015
Lemmy: Rest In Peace. Shake the heavens, my friend. — Gene Simmons (@genesimmons) December 29, 2015
Lemmy was a true rock icon, singular in voice and spirit. Metal flags fly at half mast tonight as we salute the incomparable Ace Of Spades.
— Tom Morello (@tmorello) December 29, 2015
While this loss is a certainly hard one for the rock n’ roll world, please take advice from Lemmy’s former band mates via Motörhead’s official Facbook page:
“…please…play Motörhead loud, play Hawkwind loud, play Lemmy’s music LOUD.
Have a drink or few…HE WOULD WANT EXACTLY THAT.”
