LEMMY: 'People Can't Believe I'm Still Alive'

February 7, 2011

Dave Hoekstra of the Chicago Sun-Times recently conducted an interview with MOTÖRHEAD frontman and rock icon Ian Fraser "Lemmy" Kilmister. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

On the "Lemmy" documentary, in which every major metal rocker pays homage to Lemmy, often eulogizing the MOTÖRHEAD legend:

Lemmy: "People can't believe I'm still alive. They imagine it's not going to be long, anyway. I hope to prove them wrong."

"['Lemmy' directors/producers] Wes [Orshoski] and Greg [Olliver] just showed up. They seemed keen, so we told them to come on for a week and we did a pilot. It was fucking good, so we said go ahead. Little did I know they would follow me around for almost three years. It was fucking murder. Every time I came around a corner, there would be a camera. But they had to put up with us, too. They were fans. They knew what they were doing. If it was just two television people, I wouldn't have bothered."

On country music:

Lemmy: "Carrie Underwood is good. And so is Kelly Clarkson. When women sing country, it's the best song you've heard in your life. They're the best singers, and Nashville has great musicians."

On heavy metal:

Lemmy: "None of the pundits admit metal is even music. Its always frowned upon, which is fuckng stupid. Some of the best musicians in the world are playing heavy metal. I call it heavy rock. The guitars are made of wood. That's not metal, is it?"

On being a keen student of World War II:

Lemmy: "I was born the year World War II ended. It's close to my psyche. The Nazis? They knew how to put on a parade, I'll give them that. It was the last pompous-marching, cartwheels, whistles-and-bells regime. They were the last to wear daggers and swords in social gatherings. It must have been amazing to wear those uniforms. They were made out of wool. They were great-looking uniforms for the wrong reasons. But that's not my fault. Like I said in the movie, if the Israeli army made the best uniforms, I would collect them."

On war:

Lemmy: "War is fucking stupid. Even if you win, the people you beat still think the same. I learned that fighting in school. Just because you knock the guy down doesn't mean he thinks you're right. He just has a black eye."

On his son Paul:

Lemmy: "My son produces and manages a band called THE JANKS. We've been in touch since he was 6 when I first got to know him. He's a good kid. We've swapped girlfriends twice. The reason I haven't gotten in touch with my other son is because I don't know if he knows I'm his father. He might think his stepparents are his father and mother. I don't want to screw his life up and I don't have the right to do that."

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