Lemmy Kilmister’s favourite punk bands
Motörhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister was an enigma. Standing out from the mass of rockstars that his generation produced, not only was he the creator of the speed-metal genre, but he was also a perenially outspoken character, larger than life, with many a tale to tell.
From being the roadie to Jimi Hendrix to being a collector of Nazi memorabilia, Lemmy lived an extraordinary life. Impossible to categorise apart from mentioning his name, he continued to surprise right until the end and commented on various matters ranging from music to politics.
While he was better informed than most of his peers on the history of the Second World War, naturally, the area he was most proficient at commenting on was music. His accounts might not have always been the most agreeable, but delivered in his gruff Staffordshire pronunciation, often sipping on a glass of his favourite whiskey, they never failed to be fascinating.
Whether it be trashing Radiohead and Coldplay to calling 1990s metal “fucking hopeless”, Lemmy wasn’t afraid to provide his opinions when asked to. One area that he also delved into numerous times was punk. Although he might be ostensibly classed as a metal legend, Motörhead always existed in the nexus between the two genres and displayed that they had more in common than people would have thought in their most rudimentary guises.
He was even kind enough to name his favourite four punk bands of all time across his career. Find the list below.
Lemmy’s favourite punk bands:
Ramones
With their bowl cuts, leather jackets and Johnny’s chainsaw guitar, the Ramones took over the world quickly after releasing their self-titled debut in 1976. From debut single ‘Blitzkrieg Bop’ to later cuts such as ‘Pet Sematary’, it’s not hard to comprehend why the quartet are such a staple of popular culture. Lemmy was one of their many fans and even wrote the song ‘R.A.M.O.N.E.S’ as a tribute to them on 1916. Joey Ramone was also a big fan of Motörhead.
Speaking to SPIN, Lemmy was asked about the birth of the punk movement and explained why he loved Ramones but not other bands such as The Clash. He said: “Like the punks, we just swept all that tedious ’70s Rick Wakeman, artsy-fartsy, yellow bell-bottoms, caftans-and-sandals shit aside.”
The Motörhead leader continued: “If you hadn’t seen what we looked like, you would have thought we were a punk band. I remember going down to the [London club] Roxy one night just to see what the punk thing was all about. I was standing at the bar. 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.”
“I remembered him. He used to have long hair with pockets full of drugs,” he added. “It’s funny, though. I never liked The Clash. They sounded like old music, dressed up as punk. The Ramones were geniuses, though. Joey especially had a nose for rock’n’roll. We were friends, although we weren’t close when he died. I hate to see people on the way out. I prefer to remember him as he was”.
Sex Pistols
It makes a lot of sense that Lemmy should like the Sex Pistols, as musically, they harked back to the rock ‘n’ roll of the 1950s that he grew up on and loved so dearly. They were also more furious than most punk bands, an aspect that, when it was authentic, the Motörhead leader was a big fan of in music. Notably, Lemmy also lived with the punk group’s infamous second bassist, Sid Vicious, for a time and even tried to teach him the instrument but called him “hopeless”.
When speaking to Stay Thirsty Media in 2010, the metal icon was asked if he liked the movies about Sex Pistols and claimed he was a big fan. He said: “Yeah, the one of the first tour. That’s quite funny. There’s not a lot of music in it, mind you. But it’s funny to see all them old faces. Sue Catwoman and all them. I used to like a lot of them cause they were great. And then some of them died, you know. Smack again.”
The Damned
This one makes much sense. Although The Damned started as one of the vanguard of the British punk movement, they took off down a more artistic route than most of their peers, delving into a refined gothic area that remains one of the most distinctive of the era. Famously, Lemmy also featured in the supergroup Les Punks with The Damned members Dave Vanian and Captain Sensible.
Chatting to Paul Du Noyer, Lemmy discussed Motörhead being loved by punks and admitted that he always thought his band had more in common with the likes of The Damned than metal stars such as Judas Priest. 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. So they thought we were a punk band.”
He added: “Whatever. I always thought we had a lot more in common with The Damned than we did with Judas Priest. I used to love The Damned. The Captain!”
The Professionals
Lemmy made it clear that he was a fan of the Sex Pistols, but he wasn’t impressed with Sid Vicious. When speaking to Classic Rock in 2014, he outlined how the band’s guitarist, Steve Jones, had a hard time when Vicious was in the group, as he had to record all the bass parts because the new member couldn’t even play one note right. However, Lemmy did express his love for the Sex Pistols spin-off, The Professionals, which featured Jones and drummer Paul Cook, as well as Andy Allan and Ray McVeigh.
He told the publication: “That was a good band. What were they called? With Ronnie Biggs. That was the start of it, and then they came back, and they became The Professionals. That was a good band, The Professionals. I liked them. I went to see them a few times. They were fucking good. Ray McVeigh on guitar. I saw him the other day actually, he lives in LA now,” Lemmy Kilmister said.
