Legendary Motörhead frontman and living rock n’ roll mascot Lemmy Kilmister has died at the age of 70. Surviving Motörhead members have confirmed his death, saying their frontman passed “after a short battle with an extremely aggressive cancer.”
Ozzy Osbourne, a close friend of Lemmy’s, broke the news to fans on Twitter:
Lost one of my best friends, Lemmy, today. He will be sadly missed. He was a warrior and a legend. I will see you on the other side.
— Ozzy Osbourne (@OzzyOsbourne) December 29, 2015
The band added in a statement that they “cannot begin to express our shock and sadness; there aren’t words. We will say more in the coming days, but for now, please … play Motörhead loud, play Hawkwind loud, play Lemmy’s music LOUD. Have a drink or few. Share stories. Celebrate the LIFE this lovely, wonderful man celebrated so vibrantly himself. HE WOULD WANT EXACTLY THAT.”
Read the entire statement below:
There is no easy way to say this…our mighty, noble friend Lemmy passed away today after a short battle with an extremely...
Posted by Official Motörhead on Monday, December 28, 2015
The band were forced to cancel a series of shows recently due to Lemmy suffering gastric distress and dehydration. The illness expanded to a lung infection later in the year.
For hard rock and heavy metal fans everywhere, Motorhead were vital to the thrash metal movements of the ’80s, and Lemmy evolved into something along the lines of of metal’s elder statesmen. He was all over the pop culture map, whether hanging with Dave Grohl or kicking rock n’ roll wisdom on TV, all the way to writing lyrics for Ozzy Osbourne’s No More Tears LP. His rocky-road accomplishments were well-documented in 2010’s Lemmy: 49% Motherf**ker, 51% Son of a Bitch documentary.
Meanwhile, Motorhead locked in a Grammy in 2005 for Best Metal Performance, and maxed out at a grand total of 22 studio albums.
A life damn well lived, I’d say.
