Plans Approved For Statue Of MOTÖRHEAD Frontman LEMMY In His U.K. Birthplace

According to BBC News, plans to erect a statue of MOTÖRHEAD frontman Lemmy in the town where he was born have been approved.

Lemmy was born Ian Kilmister in Burslem, one of the towns that is part of the city of Stoke-On-Trent in Staffordshire, before he and his family moved to Newcastle-under-Lyme.

As approved by Stoke-on-Trent City Council, the statue, which is estimated to cost about £50,000 (approximately $63,000),will be erected within Burslem's Market Place. The statue will be sculpted in Staffordshire clay by internationally renowned local sculptor Andy Edwards. It will be installed on a 10-foot (3 meter) plinth, designed to resemble an overhanging stage. The plinth will be made from sandstone and will include the MOTÖRHEAD logo as well as personal and career details about Lemmy.

Edwards agreed to increase the height of the plinth from 2.5 meters to 3 meters after concern was expressed by police that the statue would attract "good-natured but potentially incident-generating attention". The proposed material for the plinth was also changed from polished black granite to sandstone, to match the nearby Queens Theatre and the former town hall.

A mock-up submitted with the planning application for the proposed Lemmy statue as it will look in Burslem's Market Place can be seen below.

A total of £4,852 has so far been contributed to a GoFundMe campaign which hopes to pay for the statue.

The GoFundMe description reads: "Mark Curran, commercial developer and owner of the Hard Days Night and Zimmerman's bars in Stoke-on-Trent, began a search for a sculptor worthy of immortalising his hero Lemmy during the lockdown of 2020. He found internationally renowned artist Andy Edwards, sculptor of the world famous Liverpool Waterfront BEATLES statue fame on his doorstep also in Stoke-on-Trent. With their combined focus in one direction, a prime site has been agreed in the centre of Lemmy's home town Burslem directly in front of the iconic and historic Town Hall and its famed Gold Angel and enthusiastic cross party support from Stoke-on-Trent city Council given to the planning application."

This won't be the only statue of Lemmy to exist. In June 2022, a colossal Lemmy statue was unveiled at Hellfest in France. That statue replaced the previous sculpture of the MÖTÖRHEAD mainman which was erected six years earlier but was reportedly falling apart due to the fact that the plaster, of which it was partly composed, was seriously crumbling. Another statue of Lemmy was unveiled at Rainbow Bar & Grill in Los Angeles — his favorite drinking haunt — in August 2016.

Lemmy died on December 28, 2015 at the age of 70 shortly after learning he had been diagnosed with cancer.

MOTÖRHEAD had to cancel a number of shows in 2015 because of Lemmy's poor health, although the band did manage to complete the aforementioned European tour a couple of weeks before his death.

In June 2020, it was announced that Lemmy would get the biopic treatment. The upcoming film, "Lemmy", will be directed by Greg Olliver, who previously helmed the 2010 documentary of the same name, "Lemmy".

A custom-made urn containing Lemmy's ashes is on permanent display in a columbarium at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Hollywood, California.