Lemmy’s powerful last words to Ozzy Osbourne
Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne was especially close to Lemmy Kilmister. The Prince of Darkness and the revered Motörhead founder were the embodiment of rock ‘n’ roll carnage in their day and were good friends for many years. Here, Osbourne opens up about their friendship and recalls the last conversation he had with the iconic bassist, frontman and all-around rock god.
One of the things that Osbourne treasured about Lemmy was his honesty. In a world dictated by fake smiles, crossed-fingers and dodgy deals, it was probably reassuring to have someone with a no-bullshit attitude around. Speaking to Metal Hammer following Lwemmy’s death, Osbourne confessed: “I think about Lemmy all the fucking time. He was a great guy. He’d go, ‘That record you just made was fucking shit’, or ‘I really like that one’. His favourite [line] was, ‘Your best record was No More Tears’. Yeah, because you wrote on it, you cunt!”
By the winter of 2000, Lemmy’s health was becoming a real cause for concern. After being hospitalised with flu, exhaustion and an infected lung in Italy, he was forced to cancel his world tour and slow down. Over the next decade, he put the reins on his consumption of drugs, alcohol and cigarettes. Sadly, much of the damage had already been done. Towards the end, he was using a walking stick and was clearly in a lot of discomfort. Still, he continued to tour.
Recalling his last meeting with Lemmy, Osbourne said: “I went down to South America and he was there on tour. But he was so fucked he couldn’t speak to anyone. He was sitting at the front, skinny as a rake. He was riddled with cancer at the end. But mind you, he turned round to me and said ‘I’m probably going to die, I suppose. Never thought I’d make 70, so I did good’. His exact words were, ‘I could have lived a lot longer and taken care of myself, but I lived my life the way I want to live and I ain’t got no regrets’. Fair enough!” Osbourne concluded
After returning home from the tour, Lemmy’s manager organised a 70th birthday party for the rocker at Whiskey a Go-Go in Los Angeles. Many of his friends came and played sets, but four days afterwards, Lemmy’s health worsened. He was taken to hospital where he was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. The doctor had given him up to six months to live, but he passed away in his Los Angeles apartment two days after the diagnosis. Today, he is survived by a towering musical legacy.
