‘Slow Down’: Lemmy’s favourite song by The Beatles
Lemmy is the embodiment of rock music. His attitude towards life and music, unrelenting desire to be on the road gigging, his look, voice, and energy make for the perfect rock star. The music he made with Motörhead would form the foundation for hard rock and metal, with his influence still being cited as a driving factor to this day.
He certainly had a bad-boy look about him, something that many music fans adored and believed separated him from some of the more commercial-looking acts that came before him. However, even though many people separated him from the likes of The Beatles, Lemmy was never happy when people referred to them as “safe” just because of their looks.
“The Beatles were the hard guys, you know, they’re from Liverpool, man… give me a break,” he said, “If you want bad boys, talk to Ringo Starr, he comes from The Dingle in Liverpool which at the time was like a no-go area, you know what I mean? It’s not a case of safe, they was wearing suits, they weren’t safe.”
Lemmy had a lot of admiration for The Beatles, as did most musicians trying to make it big around that time. His favourite song by the band was a cover of ‘Slow Down’, one of the more unconventional tunes of the time due to its elongated intro and the fact it was by a relatively unknown artist.
Once Little Richard had decided to step away from music and focus on his religion, his label brought in Larry Williams, an R&B singer from New Orleans. Williams was supposed to fill Richard’s shoes, but he never really managed to take off in America. He managed to get some traction in the UK but not as much as the label would have liked; however, one song that did resonate with people was ‘Slow Down’.
It was interesting for a song like this to chart at the time, given people were into fast and sharp hits, whereas ‘Slow Down’ came equipped with a 30-second introduction that was against convention. It appealed to The Beatles, though, who decided to cover the track early on, which in turn inspired Lemmy.
There is a lot of energy within the song, and the lengthy introduction helps that energy build in a natural way. The same qualities can be applied to a lot of Motörhead tracks, as there is no denying they are piled with energy and shaken around until they fizz. However, it’s done so in a way that doesn’t sound too engineered, and The Beatles cover of ‘Slow Down’ may well have played a part in them perfecting that style.
The hard man image that Lemmy portrayed undoubtedly resonates in the music he likes, even if the image doesn’t carry. The Beatles may have looked prim and proper, but their sound was undeniable, and Lemmy considered them a massive influence.
Listen to a remastered version of ‘Slow Down’ by The Beatles below.
