ANTHRAX's FRANK BELLO On LEMMY: 'He Made It Okay To Be Yourself'

January 29, 2016

ANTHRAX bassist Frank Bello has paid tribute to Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister, saying that the iconic MOTÖRHEAD frontman "made it okay to be yourself."

Speaking to Chicago Now, Bello said: "The legacy of Lemmy is he is an amazing icon as we all know. Lemmy was also just a really great dude, a really nice guy when you talk to him. He was just a really good guy. He'd talk about anything. For me, particularly, it was about bass and tones and rock and roll tones and stuff like that. Just a really good guy."

He continued: "You know what the great thing about Lemmy was, for me, even before I was friends with him? I thought that Lemmy always did it his way. He made it okay to be yourself. For me, that meant a lot growing up. Seeing him, he was himself no matter what and he didn't care what anybody else said. I think that carries a lot with people. A lot of people can relate to that. I certainly did. I still do to this day. I think that can really translate and go across to a lot of people."

Bello added: "There will never be another Lemmy. God rest his soul. I'm glad for his time on earth and the music he left us."

Lemmy, who celebrated his 70th birthday on Christmas Eve (December 24),learned two days later that he was afflicted with an aggressive form of cancer. He died two days later, on December 28, at his home in Los Angeles.

The MOTÖRHEAD frontman had dealt with several health issues over the past few years, including heart trouble, forcing him to cut back on his famous smoking and Jack Daniels habits.

The band was forced to cancel a number of shows last year, although they did manage to complete one final European tour on December 11.

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