MOTRHEAD's LEMMY: 'I Don't Want Any More Stardom Than We've Got Right Now'

November 9, 2011

Thomas H Green of The Telegraph recently conducted an interview with MOTRHEAD mainman Ian Fraser Kilmister, known to all simply as Lemmy. A few excerpts from the chat follow below.

On whether he finds it frustrating that MOTRHEAD is defined in the public eye by Lemmy's image rather than their music:

Lemmy: "That's about it, isn't it?! Still, you can't have it all ways. My persona has given me a certain notoriety, if not international celebrity. I don't want any more stardom than we've got right now, I couldn't stand it, it'd be too much."

On how the hedonistic revelry of his lyrics on MOTRHEAD's latest album is tempered with a dour fatalism:

Lemmy: "Yeah, well, I'm not as young as I used to be, and the younger you are, the more immortal you are, which is sad, but there you go. Also, you become more cynical as time goes by. The more you learn about everything, the more you learn that everything's fixed not in your favor."

On MOTRHEAD being credited for inventing speed metal:

Lemmy: "Metal is kind of the bastard son of rock 'n' roll. If Eddie Cochran was alive now, or Buddy Holly, they'd be doing it. Or punk rock."

On celebrity culture, especially TV talent shows such as "The X Factor":

Lemmy: "It's a joke. You can't win fame, you have to earn it. If you're given fame without working for it, then you're not going to be ready for it. Fame's quite a thing to digest, you know."

On his Los Angeles home as seen in the film "Lemmy" which appears to be a bit of a mess:

Lemmy: "That's how it is, I'm afraid. It's a very small place, you see. If a chick lived in it, she'd probably throw half my [memorabilia] collection away, which would destroy my pension scheme."

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).