INTERVIEW: Lemmy from Motorhead

Written by Temple Stark
Published February 10, 2005
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TS: ..... You must hate that, not having control of a lot of your songs.

LK: It's another 10 years at least.

TS: Hmmmm. I Didn't know that.

LK: It's a pretty bad deal you know for musicians really. The musician's union is no fucking good at all, you know?

TS: Did that start early for you guys?

LK: Yeah, you obviously get robbed when you're beginning because you don't take advice cause you're an arrogant little shit, you know. And you know better than anyone else that it's not going to happen to you and then of, course, it happens to you immediately, you know?

TS: I have no music talent myself. It's always been writing.

LK: There you go. I was going to try writing but it was always just songs. It never quite worked, but I have got a book out.

TS: I know, I was going to ask you about that later but I can ask you about it now if you like. Why did you write the book? "White Line Fever," right?

LK: Yeah. Well, they offered me money you see. [laughs] I'm sure you know what an incentive that is.

TS: Well I imagine people have offered you money for a lot of things, but you chose to write a book.

LK: You don't get offered a lot of money when you're a band like Motorhead. That's for people like David Lee Roth, you know?

TS: That's to pay for the hair transplants?

LK: Aerosmith must get offered a fortune. We never had a hit in America, you see. Never been in the top 100. So to the people who are the moguls, the marketing people, we don't mean shit.

TS: I lived in England about 10 years. In the 80s ...

LK: Oh right, ...

TS: ... It's a little weird to realize you weren't a big thing over here. You were a pretty big thing over there.

LK: No, well we never did it here, though I'm not really sure why. Well, we we've been nominated for a Grammy now again. So maybe third time lucky.

TS: With "Whiplash" right? Does it mean anything if you get it?

LK: Well you know it will improve our standing with all those people who think they're important. See what I mean?

TS: Is that a little Eminem thing going?

LK: Just that the money is good. It might help us sell more.

TS: I've got two weird, quick questions. Two-word questions

LK: OK.

TS: Hollywood. Why?

LK: Well, cause you know, when you're an English kid growing up you see all them TV shows and it's the palm trees, you know. [laughs]

TS: They are a wonderful thing.

LK: Yeah they are. When you first come down here you drive down Hollywood Boulevard passing palm trees and you think, Jesus, wow this is great. If you're an American no doubt you see the Tower of London, you know, whatever it is and have the same reaction. It's the only other place that speaks English. I'm not going to live in the Bahamas, you know. Not much of a rock scene there. And Australia is too far away. You won't see me there.

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INTERVIEW: Lemmy from Motorhead
Published: February 10, 2005
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Section: Music
Filed Under: Interviews
Writer: Temple Stark
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#1 — February 10, 2005 @ 21:15PM — Aaron, Duke De Mondo [URL]

i wanna join mohicans for jesus. I used to have a mohican, so maybe i could get a retrospective membership or somesuch. Seriosuly, though, great interview Temple. I love the whole as-is transcript, too. Unedited. Warts and all, as is fitting for sir L. I find it hard to believe, though, that Motorhead aren't big in the states. i just assumed they were one of the ROCK GIANTS like, i dunno, Motley Crue or Marky Mark And The Funky Bunch.

Interestingly, motorhead were one of the few metal bands it was ok for punks to like. Probably the shared love of amphetamine (which is where the name comes from, i belive)

Whatever. Great stuff.

#2 — February 12, 2005 @ 13:30PM — Eric Olsen

super job Temple, thanks, a real sense of who Lemmy is and how he thinks. I think Motorhead's greatness and relative lack of popularity is probably because they don't easily fit any given category, sort of like speed-grunge or just maximum rock 'n' roll or something: much more organic
than most of what gets called "metal," but too roaring and wired to be "punk" - much harder to market that way.

#3 — February 12, 2005 @ 15:19PM — HW Saxton

Waaay back in time around the early 80's
Motorhead was the only "ROCK" band that
it was cool for the punk rock types to
admit to liking.

Of course,the punks were still listening
to their Sabbath,Van Halen,Kiss etc but,
if you admitted it,your friends would be
giving you grief about how "Un-Cool" you
were to be listening to stuff like that
instead of worshipping at the altar of
The Germs,Black Flag,X,et al.exclusively

I saw Motorhead open for Ozzy many years
back and the crowd was pretty well split
between Punks and Headbangers.Majority
of the punks left after Motorheads set.



#4 — February 12, 2005 @ 15:45PM — Eric Olsen

and the favor is returned, remember the Motorhead song "Ramones" from the 1916 album?

#5 — February 13, 2005 @ 11:36AM — Douglas Mays [URL]

"come on baby, eat the rich...." Good interview, TS....

#6 — February 13, 2005 @ 13:21PM — Temple Stark [URL]

Thanks Doug. For some reason - perhaps because of the expected shorter answers - I felt the need to inject a bit more of myself in this inerview and keep the conversation flowing. That would be at least one of he main differences so far between most of the interviews I conduct and the one's with people in te arts, musicians.

I wish I had been able to get the sound quality good enough for an audio take. But it was not happening.

#7 — February 13, 2005 @ 13:33PM — Eric Berlin [URL]

Great interview, Temple -- you get a real sense for who Lemmy is and what he's about. The phenomena of wearing Motorhead tee-shirts as some kind of cultural/personal statement makes a lot more sense to me now.

#8 — February 14, 2005 @ 03:43AM — Temple Stark [URL]

PS Motorhead won their Best Metal Performance Grammy. Wooo-hoooh.

That's awesome.

#9 — October 8, 2005 @ 09:43AM — gmacgrl

Great interview. I heard somewhere that Lemmy is having health problems, possible liver (not that it would be suprising!) damage. Sounds like he is not slowing down, so maybe a rumor is all that it is.

Good interview.

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