RIP Lemmy

On 28th March 1981 I paid my second and final visit to the Queen's Hall in Leeds: both visits had been memorable, for different reasons. My first, some time in 1978, was to see The Stranglers, and on the way to catch the coach to the gig (trip organised by the Sixth Form society at school) I was knocked off my moped and sustained a sprained ankle - so no pogo-ing, sadly. My second was to see Motörhead, on the tour that was to form the basis of their Number 1 live album, 'No Sleep 'til Hammersmith'.

The venue was an acoustically poor barn of a place, but for Motörhead that didn't really matter. They were all about energy, speed and volume, and as we spent most of the evening trying to get our heads as close as possible to the bass bins sound quality didn't really matter (for at least a week afterwards too!)

What I remember was the band's sheer love of the music and of life itself, and Lemmy, as front-man and singer, epitomised this. He lived the true rock 'n' roll lifestyle: he allegedly drank a bottle of Jack Daniels a day for the best part of 30 years, and it was his drug habits that led to his departure from Hawkwind in 1975. Intelligent, witty and devil-may-care, he will be remembered as one of rock music's true icons.

The next life will be a much louder place from now on!