O Little Town of Burslem

December 24, 2010 7:52 PM

It was sixty-five years ago tonight that a child was born in the little town of Burslem

Ian Fraser "Lemmy" Kilmister came into this world on Christmas eve. Who knew sixty - five years later he would be singing Christmas carols? Most people are familiar with Lemmy as the lead singer of Motörhead. Others are familiar with him from the days and nights he spent playing bass for the spacerock band Hawkwind (previously). Lemmy got his start playing in The Rockin' Vickers who were reportedly the first British band to visit Yugoslavia. In 1967 Lemmy moved to London and shared a flat with Noel Redding and Neville Chesters. He spent six months working as a rodie for the Jimi Hendrix Experience. In 1969 he met Simon King and the two would go on to join Hawkwind and of course ride a Silver Machine all the way to 1975.

In 1975 Lemmy was fired from Hawkwind after he was arrested at Canadian customs on drug possession charges; he spent five days in jail. But with a gamblers luck, Lemmy was released without charge as the Canadian police arrested him for possession of cocaine and after testing the evidence it turned out to be speed. So according to current Canadian law, he couldn't be charged for anything and was released with no charge or conviction.

Wasting no time at all, Lemmy hooked up with guitarist "Fast" Eddie Clarke and drummer Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor and formed the band Motörhead, the title of the last song he wrote for Hawkwind.

Lemmy 49% Motherfucker 51% Son of a Bitch is a documentary directed by Wes Orshoski and Greg Olliver. The film, already screened in the UK, will be release in January of 2011 to select cities across North America.

Extras
Rockin Vickers - Dandy

Motörhead on The Young Ones

Stories about the infamous Hyatt House where Lemmy wrote the song Motorhead.

Match yourself with Lemmy

Happy Birthday Lemmy birthday Ace ♠

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posted by Sailormom (27 comments total)

jesus mom
posted by clavdivs at 7:58 PM on December 24, 2010 [2 favorites]

That Hawkwind site looks like it's from the mid-90s.
posted by mike3k at 8:04 PM on December 24, 2010 [1 favorite]

Awesome. Thanks. I have to add one of my favs:

America

America, hot as hell, hysterical, cast your spell
The endless road, another night to bend your mind
White line fever, I think that state patrol car's still behind
America, cold as death, up to Canada, Crystal Meth
Another West Coast turnaround and back to start
Yakima Reservation, just another broken heart

America, liked it fine, Sinsemilla, Ripple Wine
Another Schoolgirl with her daddy's Pontiac
Another killer from the wrong side of the tracks

America, fast cars
America, the girls, the bars
America, don't make no fuss
America, get on the bus
posted by zerobyproxy at 8:14 PM on December 24, 2010 [1 favorite]

Lemmy is a Boslem clayhead? This comes as something of a shock. Still, like JC and Wellington, being born in a stable doesn't make you a horse I suppose.
Great post about a great man, cheers!
posted by Abiezer at 8:24 PM on December 24, 2010 [1 favorite]

Happy birthday to Lemmy! Motorhead, Black Flag, and Discharge sent me on a 20 year path of destruction which I wouldn't change if I could.

Well maybe the Surfers and Venom too, throw in a little Crass, Feederz, and Flipper.

Oh I can't forget AC/DC but I've seen Motorhead more times than I can shake a stick. Saw 'em open, OPEN WTF, for Slayer once and hated Slayer for years just because of that.
posted by Max Power at 8:26 PM on December 24, 2010 [1 favorite]

Whooo! Happy birthday Sir Kilmister!!

Here's another Lemmy post I made roughly 2 years ago.
posted by mannequito at 8:54 PM on December 24, 2010 [1 favorite]

One of Lemmy's lesser known claims to fame is a cameo as "Bum in a Park" in the porno adaptation of the story of John Wayne Bobbit (sfw)
posted by protorp at 12:21 AM on December 25, 2010 [1 favorite]

Wow. That post is a mess. Sorry all.
posted by Sailormom at 10:36 AM on December 25, 2010

Happy new year.
posted by Sailormom at 4:58 AM on January 2, 2011

Motörhead for life.
posted by Sailormom at 5:07 AM on January 3, 2011

Papertoy Lemmy.
posted by Sailormom at 4:25 AM on January 4, 2011

Headgirl was a collaboration between Motörhead and Girlschool in 1980, the result being the St. Valentine's Day Massacre EP, though the groups were credited as MotörheadGirlschool on the EP.
posted by Sailormom at 8:00 AM on January 5, 2011

"I don't eat vegetables. I eat potatoes and green beans and that's it. I don't care if you eat 200 artichokes, you still won't last through a tour. Mushy peas, I like. brussels sprouts, foul. I won't eat anything with onions in whatsoever, I hate them – me and Ringo Starr have that in common."

A few more food and other fun facts about Lemmy here.
posted by Sailormom at 6:29 AM on January 6, 2011

Lemmy: In His Own Words
posted by Sailormom at 11:12 AM on January 7, 2011

damn it, were are my smokes.
posted by clavdivs at 8:20 PM on January 7, 2011

http://tsofa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=219
posted by clavdivs at 10:14 PM on January 7, 2011 [1 favorite]

Lemmy positions his microphone in an uncommonly high position, angled so that he appears to be looking up at the sky but we know there are no voices in the sky rather than at the audience. He said that it was for "personal comfort, that's all. It's also one way of avoiding seeing the audience. In the days when we only had ten people and a dog, it was a way of avoiding seeing that we only had ten people and a dog"
posted by Sailormom at 8:34 AM on January 8, 2011

Mosh Potatoes: Recipes, Anecdotes, and Mayhem from the Heavyweights of Heavy Metal includes Lemmy's own recipe for Krakatoa Surprise! There's even a contest.
posted by Sailormom at 6:12 PM on January 9, 2011

A Rickenbacker devotee for decades, the Motörhead frontman's patronage was rewarded in 2001 with a limited edition, hand-carved signature model, the 4004LK.
posted by Sailormom at 9:40 AM on January 11, 2011

Joe Petagno is the artist responsible for the majority of the artwork on Motörhead's albums.

Interview with the artist pt.1 pt.2
posted by Sailormom at 9:13 PM on January 12, 2011

One of the many things Lemmy is famous for is of course his Mutton Chops. Not everybody can pull off that look but if you are thinking of trying be sure to consult AskMeFi first then maybe watch this instructional video.
posted by Sailormom at 7:58 AM on January 13, 2011

No Hershey's.
posted by Sailormom at 10:44 PM on January 19, 2011

"Politics is crap. All politicians are assholes. Imagine wanting to be a politician. What kind of fuckin' mindset must that be?"
posted by Sailormom at 12:06 PM on January 20, 2011

Googling around to find out how tall Marc Bolan was I came across this.

Bolan died on 16 September 1977, two weeks before his 30th birthday. He was a passenger in a purple Mini 1275GT driven by Gloria Jones as they headed home from Mortons drinking club and restaurant in Berkeley Square. Jones lost control of the car and it struck a sycamore tree after failing to negotiate a small humpback bridge near Gipsy Lane on Queens Ride, Barnes, southwest London. Bolan died instantly, while Jones suffered a broken arm and broken jaw and spent time in hospital; she did not learn of Bolan's death until the day of his funeral. Fans quickly turned the site of the crash into a shrine and in 2007 the site was officially recognised as Bolan's Rock Shrine. Bolan's home, which was less than a mile away at 142 Upper Richmond Road West in East Sheen, was quickly looted.

Bolan never learned to drive, fearing a premature death. Despite this fear, cars or automotive components are at least mentioned in, if not the subject of, many of his songs. He also owned a number of vehicles, including a famed white Rolls-Royce, which had been lent by his management to Hawkwind on the night of his death.
posted by Sailormom at 6:11 AM on January 23, 2011

Well this thread will be closed tomorrow. When I posted it way back on christmas eve, my first intention was just to give some attention to the documentary that was being shown in limited release. I tried to make it more interesting than a press release or promo. I spent some time chasing down what I thought were some fun links rather that the standard wiki or IMDB but it turn into sort of a mess.

I hoped to make up for that by adding some more fun links throughout this past month.

A couple of days ago I found out that much to my surprise, the movie would be screened in my area. I thought great, I'll be able to see the film then give an honest review to end this thread. But I gambled and came out on the losing end.

I hoped to see it on friday night but instead I took my daughter and her friend roller skating thinking I would still have time to catch the saturday matinée and post a review before this thread was closed. Did I mention that it's been fifteen years or so since I last roller skated? Within a minute of putting on my skates and standing up, I fell. Hard. Hard enough that I went to the emergency room to get x-rayed. The good news is I didn't break anything and I got a prescription for vicoden and some crutches. Bad news is I didn't get to see the movie in time to post a review. Oh well.

You know I'm born to lose, and gambling's for fools,
But that's the way I like it baby,
I don't wanna live forever,
And don't forget the joker!
posted by Sailormom at 6:16 PM on January 23, 2011

Ah crap. Who knew vicoden would affect my typing like that ^. Goodnight MetaFilter.
posted by Sailormom at 6:55 PM on January 23, 2011

What brought me here in the first place.
posted by Sailormom at 5:58 PM on January 24, 2011