Lemmy once named the band “too scared” to tour with him
Lemmy was never an artist to back down from any kind of challenge. From his start in the band Hawkwind to every performance he ever laid down with Motörhead, the hard rock legend was known for doing everything on his terms no matter what kind of hardship stood in his way. While Lemmy may have personified everything dark and gritty about rock and roll, he admitted that one of his touring partners was too scared to go on tour with him at first.
Before Lemmy had even started writing his classic tunes, though, he had already turned in a resumé that any artist would have dreamed of. After becoming friendly with various drug dealers on the scene, Lemmy got the gig being a roadie for Jimi Hendrix for a few months, helping the guitar legend get his classic sound live and indulging in various psychedelics with him along the way.
Wanting to make a similar sound with Hawkwind, many of Lemmy’s collaborations with the group involved him delving into the land of space rock. Picking up a Rickenbacker bass for the first time, Lemmy would become one of the foundational pieces of the band’s sound on tracks like ‘Silver Machine’, only to be sacked from the group after getting busted for drugs by authorities and missing a gig.
What was considered a loss for Hawkwind became one of Lemmy’s greatest opportunities when putting together Motörhead. Finding himself on the verge of the punk movement, Lemmy wanted to make the same kind of raucous rock and roll that he had loved growing up, taking cues from artists like Little Richard and Eddie Cochran while getting the same amount of noise he heard in bands like The MC5 and The Stooges.
While the band’s first album, On Parole, was greeted with indifference and/or scorn depending on which critic heard it, Lemmy was determined to soldier ahead, bringing in Phil Taylor behind the drumkit and “Fast” Eddie Clarke on guitar. Throughout the making of the band’s following albums, Overkill and Ace of Spades, they would inadvertently form the basis for heavy metal, with Lemmy’s gravelly vocals becoming the archetype for artists like James Hetfield.
When the band took to the road, though, another hard rock mainstay was striking fear into the hearts of fans worldwide. Arriving a few years before Motörhead, Black Sabbath would be the first to marry dark music with rock and roll, featuring Tony Iommi’s fantastic guitar riffs alongside Ozzy Osbourne’s trademark wail.
Although the idea for both bands to tour together seemed like a perfect fit, Lemmy recalled that the Ronnie James Dio-fronted Sabbath were too hesitant to take on their brand of rock and roll chaos, saying, “Well, look at it… we have an album that went straight to No.1 [No Sleep ’Til Hammersmith], and all they have left is a name. Obviously, they’re afraid of us blowing them offstage – I’d feel the same in their position”.
Even though Lemmy may have had some harsh words for Sabbath at the time, he did remain on good terms with Osbourne up until his death, even penning a handful of Osbourne solo tunes like ‘Hellraiser’ and the ballad ‘Mama I’m Coming Home’. Lemmy may have been kind to anyone who shared the stage with him, but anyone thinking of joining a Motörhead tour needed to know what they were getting themselves into.
