Lemmy was born on Christmas Eve 1945
in Burslem, Stoke on Trent
and christened
Ian Fraser Kilmister
He was a vicar's son, though his dad didn't stay around long, and raised by his librarian Mother and Grandma moving to Newcastle under Lyme then nearby Madeley and later the Welsh village of Benllech on Anglesey. He attended Ysgol Syr Thomas Jones in Amlwch where he was first nicknamed...
At school, Lemmy started to take a great interest in rock and roll, girls, motorcycles and horses, noticing that a pupil who took a guitar to school was surrounded by’ chicks’. Lemmy’s mum happened to have a guitar which he took to school and now he had the girls’ attention, even though he couldn’t play the guitar.
By the time he le was asked to leave school for objecting to being hit by a teacher with a cane on his previously injured hand, Lemmy was playing with local bands, one being The Sundowners and at the age of 16, Lemmy went to watch The Beatles at The Cavern Club. He admired their humour and sarcastic attitude as well as their music, especially John Lennon. Back home he played along to their debut album Please Please Me and became a big lifelong fan, later referring to The Beatles as ‘the gear’.
In 1965 Lemmy played with The Rainmakers and went on to join The Rocking Vickers who signed a record deal, released three singles and toured the UK and Europe. Lemmy left the ‘Vickers in 1967 to move to London where he found work as a roadie for the Jimi Hendrix Experience and joined the band Opal Butterfly then Sam Gopal. In 1971 when he successfully auditioned for Hawkwind as a guitarist and eventually a vocalist and bassist.
In 1975 Lemmy was fired from Hawkwind just after achieving their first chart success, appearing as lead vocalist on the single, Silver Machine. He went on that year to form his new band Bastard. Lemmy’s manager at the time informed them that with that name they would never get a slot on Top Of The Pops so with that Lemmy changed the name of his new band to the last song title that he had written for Hawkwind, his old band and the worldwide phenomena Motörhead was born.
In 2025 we celebrate 50 years of the legendary Motörhead since their first gig at The Roundhouse, Chalk Farm, London and later that year made their first appearance at the Hammersmith Odeon. By 1981 after years of relentless touring and building a huge loyal following, the fan base were crying out for a live recording that captured the power of the band. London music venue the Hammersmith Odeon (now The Eventim Apollo) was often the last stop on the band's UK tours, so the new release was titled No Sleep 'til Hammersmith and went straight to the top of the charts entering at #1 and is still the fastest selling live album of all time. The Daily Telegraph rated it the best live album of all time.
In that same monumental year, the classic line up of Lemmy, Philthy Animal Taylor and Fast Eddie Clarke topped the bill at the Heavy Metal Holocaust festival hosted at Port Vale FC in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, backed by Ozzy Osbourne’s Blizzard of Ozz, after the last minute cancellation of original headliners Black Sabbath, then fronted by Ronnie James Dio. Motörhead were also backed by the largest and loudest PA ever assembled in Europe and the famous Bomber lighting rig.
The events promoters, Mike Lloyd and John Curd still had another problem to get over. A group of irate locals took out an injunction, attempting to get the show banned on noise pollution grounds. The promoters had the magnificent idea, offering them all a free day trip to the seaside town of Blackpool should all objections be rescinded.
It worked and the legendary event marked a peak.
The next year following the release of Iron Fist, Eddie Clarke left and for the rest of the tour he was replaced temporarily by Brian Robertson, formerly with Thin Lizzy who left after the band’s concert in Berlin November 1983. The group returned to greatness with the dual lead guitars of Würzel and Phil Campbell and in February 1984, the Lemmy, Campbell, Würzel, and Taylor line-up recorded "Ace of Spades" for an episode in the British television series, The Young Ones, a broadcast that introduced for many the band to a huge new American audience of fervent devotees.
In 1992, the band acquired two new additions, both of whom would go on to be the longest serving in their roles: manager Todd Singerman and Mikkey Dee, who Lemmy described as the greatest drummer in the world. After Würzel left in 1995, the band reverted again to a three piece, the final line-up, most enduring, recording another 11 studio albums together and another 16 tours. Lemmy passed on 28th December 2015, the only continuous member of Motörhead, their founder, lead singer, bassist and primary songwriter. This tribute below come from Official Motörhead and represents feelings surely shared by the millions whose lives he has and continues to affect:
“It is our honour, duty, and pleasure to ensure that the life, work, and legacy of Ian ‘Lemmy’ Kilmister remains on the forefront of culture for generations to come. Lemmy instilled the sort of independent all-inclusive values which are as vital as ever today, and he also created the sort of timeless, loud, and supremely-written music which can never not be heard. Lemmy also stood for a free, independent lifestyle, and he loved nothing more than good people enjoying good times.
This is why Lemmy’s spirit and soul must be shared with dedicated followers and newcomers alike worldwide, at places where people can congregate and celebrate his remarkable life as well as continue his ethos. He was and will always be a man of the people.”
