Lemmy

For many, heavy metal is personified by a single person -- unforgettable Motörhead bassist/shouter Lemmy. Born Ian Fraiser Kilmister on December 24, 1945, in Stoke-On-Trent, Staffordshire, England, not much is known about Kilmister's early years, just that he was the son of a vicar. With the British Invasion of the early '60s, the young Kilmister became interested in music, playing in such long-forgotten bluesy rock outfits as the Rainmakers, the Rockin' Vickers, and Opal Butterfly. After serving as Jimi Hendrix's guitar roadie on an early U.K. tour by the legendary American guitarist, Kilmister joined the psychedelic space rock band Hawkwind in 1971, playing bass and occasionally singing (the best known Kilmister-sung track being the U.K. hit "Silver Machine" in 1972). But come early 1975, Kilmister (now known as simply "Lemmy"), was handed his walking papers from Hawkwind after being busted at the Canadian border for drug possession.



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