Dave Grohl Performs ‘Ace of Spades’, Pays Tribute To The Late Lemmy Kilmister Of Motorhead

In 1980, Lemmy Kilmister and the guys from Motorhead recorded a track that would be iconic to heavy metal. “Ace of Spades” proceeded to influence musicians of all kinds and launched Lemmy into the realm of near immortality. The world, however, was shocked to receive news of his passing on December 28 of 2015. Dave Grohl is one of the lucky few who were able to form such a close bond with his hero, and after some choice words at the funeral for Lemmy, paid tribute in an even better way.

A few modern greats used an occasion on Friday dedicated to Pantera guitarist, Dimebag Darrell, to also pay tribute to our sorely missed Lemmy Kilmister. Rolling Stone reports that Phil Anselmo of Pantera, Robert Trujillo of Metallica, Dave Lombardo of Slayer, and Dave Grohl of Foo fighters got together onstage to perform that one iconic hit that undoubtedly changed all their lives, “Ace of Spades.”

The remaining members of heavy metal band Pantera host Dimebash every year following the death of guitarist Dimebag Darrell, who was gunned down on stage by a crazed fan back in 2004.

And joining them onstage as a surprise guest for just one song was Dave Grohl, frontman for the Foo Fighters. The tribute comes two weeks after Grohl paid tribute to the Motorhead lead singer with a eulogy at his memorial service. The death of Lemmy was followed by several other celebrities in the following weeks, such as David Bowie, Alan Rickman, and Celine Dion’s husband, Rene Angelil. In all, January has been a tough month for music fans.

“He’s the one true rock ‘n’ roller that bridged my love of AC/DC and Sabbath and Zeppelin with my love of GBH, the Ramones and Black Flag, So I walked up and said, ‘Excuse me, Lemmy, I don’t want to bother you, but you’ve influenced me so much. You’re my musical hero. I’m a musician, I play in the Foo Fighters, and I was in Nirvana…’ I think what everybody has always known or at least learned today is that Lemmy was not only that kind of… whiskey-drinking rock and roll star, but he had the biggest heart and set such a great example because he was so kind to everyone,” said Dave Grohl at the memorial service According to Music Times.

Rocked 'Ace of Spades' with Phil Anselmo, @TheDaveLombardo and Dave Grohl! #Dimebash2016 pic.twitter.com/OTj5iRUsJ1

— Robert Trujillo (@RobertTrujillo) January 23, 2016

Grohl’s performance was exciting to fans for obvious reasons: it’s not every day such talent comes together to perform in honor of a hero, and many of these musicians have suffered loss themselves. Dave Grohl was the drummer for Nirvana prior to Kurt Cobain’s suicide, Metallica lost bassist Cliff Burton in a bus accident, Slayer lost its guitarist Jeff Hanneman to an alcohol related death, and Pantera never quite recovered after the murder of Dimebag.

Motorhead announced the death of Lemmy on Facebook, December 28:

“There is no easy way to say this…our mighty, noble friend Lemmy passed away today after a short battle with an extremely aggressive cancer. He had learnt of the disease on December 26th, and was at home, sitting in front of his favorite video game from The Rainbow which had recently made its way down the street, with his family.

We 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.

Ian ‘Lemmy’ Kilmister

1945 -2015

Born to lose, lived to win.

Please feel free to post your condolences, well wishes and memories on our official tribute page”

The proceeds for Dimebash go to the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout cancer foundation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLXQ6v8WxME&feature=youtu.be

[Photo by Kevin Winter / Getty Images]