Rock

Motörhead’s Lemmy Kilmister believed the Ramones were “geniuses”

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Lemmy Kilmister never minced words during his lifetime. Fans knew they would never receive any bullsh*t from Lemmy while he was onstage with Motörhead because he talked about the rock star lifestyle while playing classic rock and roll music. Motörhead’s brand of unrelenting violence may have been a little startling at the time, but after the punk movement began, it made more sense.

Lemmy Kilmister founded Motörhead in 1975 after touring for years with groups that played “Space Rock,” early Rock and Roll, and other genres. The band continued to make hard music for 40 years until he passed away in 2015 at the age of 70. The sound was frequently described as a hybrid of heavy metal and punk.

They were one of the few Metal bands that the Punk audience accepted in the late 1970s because of this, among other things. Lemmy consistently supported the musical genre, despite the fact that many musicians weren’t huge supporters of that movement.

Kilmister had the utmost respect for punk music as rock and roll became dirtier in the wake of groups like the Sex Pistols, and he even covered “God Save the Queen” later on in the album We Are Motörhead. In terms of favorites, though, Kilmister always returned home to the Ramones.

The Ramones gave teenybopper love songs an adrenaline boost while playing classic rock and roll at breakneck speed. Kilmister said that there was a risk that Motörhead might have been confused for punk when questioned about the movement. He told Spin, “If you hadn’t seen what we looked like, you would have thought we were a punk band. I remember going down to the Roxy one night just to see what the punk thing was all about. This bush behind me said, ‘I used to sell acid at Hawkwind’s all-night shows in King’s Cross.’ And I turned around, and it was Johnny Rotten.”

Lemmy could relate more to the Ramones‘ sound. He told, “the Ramones were geniuses, though. Joey especially had a nose for rock ‘n’ roll. I just fell in well with Joey and Dee Dee, you know. Johnny wasn’t so friendly, but then he never was. The other two I got on really well with.”

Even though Kilmister had a passing admiration for the Ramones, he was shocked to learn that Joey and Dee Dee Ramone had passed away. He remembered, “I mean, Johnny and Dee went within seven months of each other? Ridiculous. I think they kind of died when Dee Dee left, you know, in a way. I think that crippled Joey because he had no buddies in the band then.”

Despite the fact that Kilmister insisted Motörhead was a rock & roll group, he always enjoyed the unfiltered energy of punk. Kilmister never lost sight of his punk roots, despite becoming popular with the heavy metal crowd along the way. He said, “The punks loved us, The only reason we weren’t in that lot was because we had long hair. So obviously, we must be heavy metal. That was the thinking. But a lot of kids heard us without seeing a picture.”

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