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The legend of Lemmy can't be killed by death

 
Tampa Bay Times
Published Aug. 2, 2016

In the 2005 documentary Live Fast, Die Old, Lemmy mentioned that he drank a bottle of Jack Daniels every day since 1975. When he died during the Christmas holidays last year, Lemmy was mourned as a rock 'n' roll legend. Today we remember his rock 'n' roll life with Killed By Death.

While everyone seems to know who Lemmy is, most are unfamiliar with the Motorhead catalog and most seem to gravitate to their best known song Ace Of Spades. Standing apart from the crowd with his mutton chop sideburns and rough voice, Lemmy (born Ian Kilmister) was renowned for his hard drinking, drug popping ways. While definitely not a singles act, Motorhead hit the U.K. Top 40 five times in their career and the live version of the song Motorhead was actually a Top 10 hit in 1981, charting higher than the iconic Ace of Spades, that hit No. 15.

Most Motorhead videos were very simple with straight performance footage, but in 1984 Motorhead mixed it up with the concept video for Killed By Death. The video starts off with an awkward parental moment when an underdressed daughter disobeys her parents orders to hang out with Motorhead. However, it's Motorhead that comes to her, with Lemmy driving through the living room wall on his motorcycle (at least he didn't just honk the horn like most impolite boys). After being tracked and shot by the police and then electrocuted, Lemmy has a surprise waiting for the mourners at his burial in a video moment that made Motorhead a favorite of headbangers all over the world. Killed By Death would hit the U.K. charts, but only peaked at No. 51.

Though the video purports the Lemmy can't be killed, he did die at the age of 70, lasting only a few days after he was diagnosed with cancer. After his death, the Ace of Spades was reissued as a single and bested its chart performance in 1980 by hitting No. 13 on the U.K. and making an appearance on the U.S. Rock Charts.

[AP photo]