MOTÖRHEAD's LEMMY KILMISTER On Life As JIMI HENDRIX's Roadie

March 25, 2010

Steve Appleford of RollingStone.com reports: Before he became the legendary singer/bassist of MOTÖRHEAD, Lemmy Kilmister logged time as a roadie for Jimi Hendrix in the late Sixties, prepping his guitars for his explosive performances — and picking up the bits of his destroyed stomp-boxes post-show. In honor of our latest issue chronicling Hendrix's last days and lost recordings, we caught up with Kilmister at SXSW, where he was promoting the documentary "Lemmy", for a look back at his time with the guitar legend. Plus, watch his interview — smokes and drinks included — above.

"I was sleeping on [Jimi Hendrix's roadie] Neville Chester's floor — he was sharing a flat with Noel Redding, so whenever they needed an extra pair of hands I was right there. I didn't get the job for any talent or anything. But I did see Jimi play a lot. Twice a night for about three months. I'd seen him play backstage too. He had this old Epiphone guitar — it was a 12-string, strung as a six string — and he used to stand up on a chair backstage and play it. Why he stood up on the chair, I don't know."

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