Lemmy Kilmister Bio - Biography

Name Lemmy Kilmister
Height
Naionality English
Date of Birth 24-December-1945
Place of Birth Burslem
Famous for Singing
Ian Fraser "Lemmy" Kilmister is an English rock musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist, bassist, principal songwriter and the founding and sole constant member of the rock band Motorhead as well as a former member of Hawkwind. His appearance, including his friendly mutton chops, prominent facial moles, and gravelly voice, has made him a cult icon.

In 1975 Lemmy was fired from Hawkwind after he was arrested at the Canadian border in Windsor, Ontario, across the river from Detroit, Michigan on drug possession charges; he spent five days in jail. Lemmy was released without charge as Windsor Police arrested him for possession of cocaine and after testing the evidence it turned out to be speed. So according to Canadian law at the time, he couldn't be charged with anything and was released with no charge or conviction.

He went on to form a new band called "Bastard" with guitarist Larry Wallis (former member of the Pink Fairies, Steve Took's Shagrat and UFO) and drummer Lucas Fox. Lemmy's connection with Took (formerly of T. Rex) was not limited to Wallis, as they were personal friends and Took was the stepfather to Lemmy's son, Paul. When his manager informed him that a band by the name of "Bastard" would never get a slot on "Top of the Pops", Lemmy changed the band's name to "Motorhead" – the title of the last song he had written for Hawkwind.
Soon after, both Wallis and Fox were replaced with guitarist "Fast" Eddie Clarke and drummer Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor and with this line-up the band began to achieve success. The band's sound appealed to both Lemmy's original fans and, eventually, to fans of the punk rock scene. In fact, he asserts that he generally feels more kinship with punks than with heavy metal; he even played with The Damned for a handful of gigs when they had no regular bassist and Lemmy's guttural vocals were unique in the world of rock at that time, as they would not be copied until the rise in popularity in punk. The band's success peaked between 1980 and 1981 with a number of UK chart hits, including the classic single "Ace of Spades", which is still a crowd favourite today and the #1 on the live album No Sleep 'til Hammersmith. Motorhead have since gone on to become one of the most influential bands in the heavy metal music genre and although Lemmy is the only constant member, are still performing and releasing records to this day. Despite Motorhead's many member changes over their 37-year history, the current lineup of Lemmy, Phil Campbell and Mikkey Dee has remained constant since 1995.

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