Rock Stars Pay Tribute to Lemmy At Funeral


On Saturday, friends and family gathered to pay tribute to Lemmy Kilmister, the late frontman of the metal band Motörhead, at a funeral service in Los Angeles, according to Vulture. In late December, Kilmister died from an aggressive form of cancer at the age of 70.

The private service, as reported by The Guardian, was held at Los Angeles’ Forest Lawn Memorial Center, where tributes to the British musician were led by Kilmister’s 48-year-old son Paul Inder, who stood alongside dozens of flowers and a table decorated with the musician’s top hat, a pair of cowboy boots, and bottles of Jack Daniels, one part of his favorite beverage, bourbon and Coke.

“He wasn’t a religious man and praying for a miracle was something he would have viewed as a delusional act, but he was profoundly spiritual,” said Inder, who spoke about his father’s determination to perform, even when he was gravely ill.

Inder finished, “Travel well, my dear father. You are back out on the road for a longest tour to the great gig in the sky, we will never, never forget you. I love you.”

Rock stars including Slash, Rob Halford of Judas Priest, Scott Ian of Anthrax, and Dave Grohl, of Foo Fighters all spoke at the service. When Grohl first met Kilmister, he called him a hero and someone “who bridged my love of AC/DC, Sabbath, and Zeppelin, with my love of GBH and the Ramones and Black Flag.”

GettyImages-484725857 edit
Lemmy seen here at the 2014 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival with musicians Phil Campbell and Slash, who spoke at the funeral. [Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images]
“When I was in the presence of Lord Lemmy, I was a bit overwhelmed,” said Rob Halford. “Here was a man who lived life on his own terms, a rock and roll maverick.”

“He was just true to school and had more integrity in one finger than most rock and rollers,” said Slash, who noted that Kilmister was disappointed when he became sober and no longer carried his flask.

On January 6, Motörhead made an announcement on Facebook that there would be a livestream of the funeral on YouTube and asked fans to be a part of the service by watching the stream, rather than attend the service in person.

“So wherever you are, PLEASE get together and watch with fellow Motörheadbangers and friends,” the band wrote. “GO to your favorite bar, or your favorite club, make sure they have access to an internet connection and toast along with us. Or simply invite your pals around and celebrate Lemm’s life at home.”

GettyImages-1176298 edit
The Rainbow Bar & Grill in Los Angeles, where fans gathered to pay tribute to Lemmy. [Photo by Mel Bouzad/Getty Images]
Fans gathered at the Rainbow Bar & Grill on Sunset Blvd. to pay tribute to Lemmy, and many who attended the funeral also joined them at the bar where the tributes lasted late into the night, according to Loudwire. Earlier at the bar, which was Kilmister’s favorite, fans signed their names and thank you messages on a huge picture of Lemmy. They also left flowers, cigarettes, and bottles of Jack Daniels on what the BBC described as a “makeshift shrine.”

Journalists, fans, and fellow musicians like Ozzy Osbourne, also paid tribute to Lemmy on social media platforms.

More peculiar tributes came from the WWE and a Finnish dairy company called Valio. The tribute was made up of footage that Kilmister shot for a milk commercial last year, that went unaired until now.

“It might seem a little crass to slather a tribute to a dead man in corporate dairy logos,” said William Hughes, of The A.V. Club. “We guess the ad potential of the spot is largely academic, leaving only a nice little moment that honors a true rock legend.”

Up until his death, Lemmy continued to tour and record with Motörhead, even putting out an album titled “Bad Magic” in 2015. He said that despite living a life of extremes, he still soldiered on. Out of all tributes to Lemmy, this quote from him could be considered the greatest tribute of all, “Apparently I am still indestructible.”

[Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images]

Share this article: Rock Stars Pay Tribute to Lemmy At Funeral
More from Inquisitr