Lemmy Kilmister: Getting' Down With The Head Of Motorhead

Nina C. Alice, Contributor

U.K. Scribe Nina C. Alice (From Skew Siskin) Sits Down With Motorhead Mastermind Lemmy Kilmister For Tea, Crumpets And Rock!

NINA: Hi Lemmy, how are you today, and what are your plans for tonight?

LEMMY: I am fine today, with no rare tropical diseases or Rangoon Crutch.

NINA: How was the tour with Dio and Manowar in Scandinavia? Did Manowar fear the Motorhead competition?

LEMMY: The tour was OK, but I think Manowar over do it a bit - Valhalla! We had a good laugh with Ronnie James and his boys.

NINA: What are you usually doing when you come home from a long tour? What's the first thing? Do you call people, go out, hear some music, sleep or just crush on the couch and watch TV? Or is everything in a different running order?

LEMMY: Different tours - different games!

NINA: How come modern bands don't play bass like a guitar, like you do? Did you learn that style or are you a self-educated person? Is this style coming from the '70s? John Entwistle (The Who) or Gene Simmons (Kiss) played different too, compared to bass players of today. Why?

LEMMY: I never played a bass in my life before I played with Hawkwind - and I learned onstage! I play it, you know. John Entwistle is probably the best rock bass player in the world!

NINA: And what do you think about Corey Parks (bass player of Nashville Pussy). What is her style? I read she's into Motorhead and AC/DC. What do you think about Sean (Ex-White Zombie bassist.)?

LEMMY: Corey is great. We get along really well. Sean is great too, they're both friends of mine/ours and they rock like shit!

NINA: Why do you think baggy pants are so hip? I mean, me as a female rocker, I believe in tight-ass pants!! First of all, I can see what a guy has in his pants, if it's a gun or if he's happy to see me.

LEMMY: In this country (U.S.), it's a gun and he's happy to see you!! Well anyway, you know how I feel about it - I like to see what I'm getting too! Baggy pants are so overweight people can be hip too!

NINA: About your book: Will your book be translated to German language or others? Is it out now?

LEMMY: I don't know - it comes out this year, sometime. Simon and Schuster.

NINA: Why are people like Marilyn Manson and some others, writing books in their second year of fame, yet w had to wait years and years to read some historical Lemmy Kilmister stories? Is writing a book part of being a rock musician today?

LEMMY: Seems like Manson is ito get rich quick, and I don't blame him too much, 'cos the book is about his early horrible life. Later we can get a book about his subsequent horrible life! The reason you had to wait so long for my book is that I am incredibly lazy!

NINA: Since you live in America, has your sex life changed? Are the women different?

LEMMY: Women are the same all over the world - God bless them!

NINA: Lyrics: Some of your lyrics give advices to bad people's behaviour of let's say, stupid people who seem to know better what and how you have to live your life. "Overnight Sensation," for example. The person you say this to, does she exist?

LEMMY: Yes.

NINA: You wrote "No Class" for late, great Wendy O' Williams (R.I.P.) from the Plasmatics. Why does Wendy had no class? You sing, "Shut up, you talk too loud/I can't believe you exist," but still, she was worth enough to sing about! What kinda "class" do you mean?

LEMMY: I didn't write the song "No Class" for Wendy O', I wrote it a long time before I met her - the reason I dedicated it to her was that she recorded it on the B-side of "Stand By Your Man" and when we toured together she would come out and sing it with me onstage.

NINA: "Eat The Gun" is the best anti-war-message I have heard over the last years! The part where it goes, "Your gun is so big, oh wow," is really cool. Why is war fascinating to so many people?

LEMMY: Thank you. People like war because it (a) gets them away from the wife. (b) They get to exercise their frustrations on people with a gun. (c) People love parades.

NINA: Your song, "Lost In The Ozone": The island of the Damned. Is that a place where you find yourself often? I mean, so many people believe that you are always with someone, but those lyrics tell me that you too go through days where you have no bloody soul at your side to be with you. True?

LEMMY: Yes.

NINA: "I'm Your Man." Wow, what a compliment to a girl that is. Can I meet her, so I could learn some new tricks for my love life??! Address? Shops she buys her clothes from?

LEMMY: Another nonsense song. Sorry. Lingerie from Fredericks of Hollywood, P.O. 2949, Phoenix, AZ. 85062-2949, OK?!

NINA: "Burner": Those lyrics are so heavy, you have to weigh 'em. On one hand the words are serious in a great way, but then I read, "Throw me to the lions, baby, wear me like a wig," and I have to smile. If I want to or not. Next time I see you, you're my wig! I wanna see how that is! What is it? Am I a silly German and didn't get the joke!?

LEMMY: Just a line to lighten it up a bit.

NINA: "See You On The Other Side" (From the album Ozzy album Ozzmosis): When you and Ozzy wrote those lyrics, I am sure that you meant someone else from the "other side" than Ozzy? Isn't it strange sometimes, how many people you could see in a song, but still sing "you?" Is it a situation where two people have to really click together and have to have the same attitude to write on one lyric sheet? So, how is it to write with Ozzy? Is he writing and writing and writing and then plays the pinball machine or a videogame (like us) or is he writing and then sings? Is he a good friend of yours? When you work with other musicians, let's say Ozzy, are your managers around you or do they leave you alone? Did Ozzy call you cause he needed your advice, or have you been around by accident?

LEMMY: Ozzy sends me a tape with wordless noises where he wants the vocals, and I do 'em. Sometimes he gives me a story line, sometimes not. "See You On The Other Side," is about Randy (Rhoads). He was my friend too.

NINA: People like you, singers, are always in the eye of the press. More than drummers or Bass players. Do you have to sacrifice more for this "job?" Is this because the word is powerful and your personality has to stand behind it? D'you think you gotta be born to be a singer, or could anyone become one?

LEMMY: Anyone can be a singer - look at me! I have talked a lot of rubbish to the press in my time!

NINA: What book are you reading right now?

LEMMY: Stalingrad by Beevor. Very good.

NINA: What's the last CD you have bought?

LEMMY: Skunk Anansie Post Orgasmic Chill

NINA: Last concert you have been to?

LEMMY: Ours at the Astoria!!

NINA: What dinner you order in a restaurant? Can you cook?

LEMMY: I don't usually eat in restaurants, so yes, I can cook.

NINA: How come, that your death was announced three times already?

LEMMY: Three-time loser!

NINA: Are you very ambitious or more restless?

LEMMY: Yes.

NINA: Do you take situations the way they come or do you try to change fate?

LEMMY: Bow and Arrow.

NINA: Are you a complicated person?

LEMMY: That depends.

NINA: Will you record a solo album one day?

LEMMY: Yes.

NINA: What did you dream last night?

LEMMY: That I was on a slow boat to China with you.

NINA: When did you have sex the last time?

LEMMY: About 20 hours ago.

NINA: Your own words to the audience (beside that you're Motorhead and kick our ass!):

LEMMY: Don't forget us.