Lemmy: In His Own Words

In one word, sum up heavy metal for us.

Noise.

MUSIC: The Ace Of Spades by Motorhead

# I see it in your eyes

# Take one look and die

# The only thing you see

# You know it's gonna be

# The ace of spades

# The ace of spades. #

Ace Of Spades.

A number written by a man called Lemmy of Motorhead.

Can we please call Lemmy of Motorhead?

ROCK GUITAR PLAYS

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

And now, Mr Lemmy, with the book.

I can't do it with that, you see. Cos, er...

-it's not got any dots on it. I'm a professional.

-Right.

Yes, exhibit A.

# It flies

# Out of a dream

# It's antiseptically clean

# You're gonna know where I've been

# Do you wanna ride... #

I went to audition for Hawkwind on guitar, right,

and they decided that morning not to get a guitarist

and their bass player didn't show up and, like a dickhead,

he left his bass in the van, you know?

That's... Steal my gig, so I stole his gig, you know?

# I

# I just took a ride

# In a silver machine

# And I'm still feeling mean... #

I'd found my instrument.

I wasn't supposed to play guitar, I'm supposed to play the bass,

I'm good at it. I make it howl, man, you know? I make it roar.

About halfway through that, I got a bit flash but it didn't last,

cos I knew it was like posing, really.

Just went back to me.

# I've got a silver machine

# I've got a silver machine

# I've got a silver machine

-# I've got a silver machine

-Silver machine

-# I've got a silver machine

-Silver machine

-# I've got a silver machine

-Silver machine

-# I've got a silver machine

-Silver machine

# I've got a silver machine. #

The first time I ever took acid, we was like blind for 18 hours.

It was American stuff, you know. It was, like, lethal.

1967.

I couldn't see anything but like - buzz-zuzz! - you know.

I can't describe it to you, anyway.

And then we came down off it

and we went to see The Nice at the Speakeasy.

It was the first light show I'd ever seen,

with Keith hurling knives into the keyboard.

That was an eye-opener, I don't mind telling you.

You have to be careful about what's offered.

You know, you can't do it all, because it'll kill you.

You know, simple.

You have to know who you are before you start doing anything like that.

And, in the '60s, we did a lot of that stuff, you know?

I mean, acid like dolly mixtures, you know I mean? It was silly.

# Ain't a hope in Hell

# Nothing's gonna bring us down

# The way we fly five miles off the ground

# Because

# We shoot to kill

# And you know we always will

# It's a bomber It's a bomber

# Scream a thousand miles

# Hear the black death, the rising moan

# Firestorm coming closer

# Napalm to the bone

# Because

# You know we do it right

# A mission every night...

# It's a bomber It's a bomber

# It's a bomber... #

Plans are anathema to real life.

Never had a plan. We just, like...

You know, when you stay at a hotel and the lights go

and you're just blundering into the furniture - that's like...

That's our plan.

Trying to find the door, you know?

The emergency light's out there.

That's us.

# No night fighter gonna stop us getting through

# The sirens make you shiver

# You bet my aim is true

# Because

# You know, we aim to please

# We bring you to your knees

# It's a bomber It's a bomber

# It's a bomber. #

Heavy metal music - you once described it

as music that your mother shouldn't like. Is it really that nasty?

Well, she pretends to like it. You know, they come to gigs

and they always leave before the gig actually starts.

"Got to get the last bus home," you know?

What does she think of you being involved in it all?

Oh, she was quite relieved to see me with a job, you know.

HE LAUGHS

You've been around for quite a time now, if you don't mind me saying.

I mean, one thinks of Hawkwind and things.

What else am I qualified for?

THEY LAUGH

-One-armed bandits?

-Guttersnipe?

-That'll do.

It's a very loud kind of music. What's it done to your health?

I mean, what's it done to your ears, for instance?

Eh?

# Only way to feel the noise

# Is when it's good and loud

# So good I can't believe it

# Screaming with the crowd

# Don't sweat it

# Give it back to you... #

Most people have to do a job they hate all their life. You know?

Every day. Can you imagine?

Not me, man.

I grew my hair so they fired me.

I was making parts for washing machines for Hotpoint.

# Overkill... #

People said, "Why don't you get your hair cut short?

"You'll appeal to a much wider audience."

I said, "I don't... want to cut it short."

"Oh." And they went away again, you know?

# Shake your head You must be dead

# If it don't make you fly

# Don't sweat it

# Give it back to you

# Don't sweat it

# Give it back to you... #

All the best stuff that lasts

shocks people when it shows up at first, you know?

Like, look at Elvis.

He was denounced as the spawn of the devil

right across the United States, you know.

Now he's a cross between Joan of Arc and bloody Billy Graham, you know.

-That's not going to happen to you, though.

-No, it's not, no.

The hat doesn't fit through the church door, you see.

# You know your body's made to move

# You feel it in your guts

# Rock 'n' roll ain't worth the name

# If it don't make you strut

# Don't sweat it

# Give it back to you

# Don't sweat it

# Give it back to you

# Overkill

# Overkill

# Overkill! #

The weird thing about being in a band is, like I said before,

running around the world,

seeing places that make you go, "Wow!"

and having all the locals turn up and steal their girlfriends,

you know, basically.

Well, we give them back. It's not like we keep them.

# Love of a woman is a wonderful thing

# But the way you treat 'em is a crying shame

# One day, one day, and it won't be long

# Until all them crying chicks will be gone

# I'm leaving here

# Leaving here

# I'm leaving here

# Leaving here

# Two by two

# Yeah, four by four

# Oh, yeah

# Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah

# I'm leaving... #

Oh!

Chicks!

All right.

We were too obnoxious, you know.

And we liked being obnoxious, you see.

I always wanted to be obnoxious,

cos all the bands I liked were obnoxious, you know. MC5.

And we came out the same time as the punks

and I thought they were splendid, you know. The Damned.

Great fun.

To the station!

Music.

MUSIC: The Ace Of Spades

# If you like to gamble, I tell you I'm your man

# You win some, lose some - it's all the same to me

# The pleasure is to play, makes no difference what you say

# I don't share your greed

# The only card I need

# The ace of spades The ace of spades

# Going for the high one

# Dancing with the devil

# Going with the flow

# It's all a game to me... #

LAUGHTER

# Seven or eleven

# Snake eyes watching you

# Double up or quit

# Double stake or split

# The ace of spades The ace of spades... #

LAUGHTER

# You know I'm born to lose

# And gambling is for fools

# But that's the way I like it, baby

# I don't wanna live forever

# And don't forget the joker! #

LAUGHTER

# Pushing up the ante, I know you've gotta see me

# Read 'em and weep - the dead man's hand again... #

LAUGHTER

# I see it in your eyes

# Take one look and die

# The only thing you see

# You know it's gonna be

# The ace of spades The ace of spades. #

I was inspired by people like Buddy Holly and the Everly Brothers.

Best songs you'll ever hear, no question.

And then, of course, you've got The Shadows, you know.

Cos they were the first thing over here that really was any good.

And Cliff Richards, believe it or not, he was good then.

I mean we all know he's crap now, you know.

He was good then.

He was our answer to Elvis - he was mean and moody.

Big sideburns and things, you know.

# Well, I don't know why she's got her claws in me

# Cos I ain't fighting, baby can't you see?

# Sneaking up the stairway, running like a thief

# Spend the night, just shaking like a leaf

# I remember the first time

# I took you to a cheap motel

# Don't you touch me, baby, cos I'm shakin' so much

# I woke up drunk

# You know I felt like Eskimo Nell

# Don't you touch me, baby, cos I'm shakin' so much

# Please don't touch

# I shake so much

# Please don't touch

# I shake so much

# Don't you touch me, baby, cos I'm shakin' so much

# Don't you touch me, baby, cos I'm shakin' so much

# Don't you touch me, baby, cos I'm shakin' so much... #

It was fairly simple and it was very loud and it was very fast.

And it's great driving music

if you like driving into the side of bridges.

Don't try and make love in time to it, though.

You'll get a hernia.

# Don't you touch me, baby, cos I'm shakin' so much

# Don't you touch me, baby, cos I'm shakin' so much

# Don't you touch me, baby, cos I'm shakin' so much. #

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

I do it cos I like it.

I don't know why. I just like it.

I like it. Is that so wrong?

# Motorhead, you can call me

# Motorhead, all right

# Ow-ow-ow-ow

# Ow-wow... #

Being on the road is one of the best workouts

you'll ever see in your life. That's when I'm all right.

It's when I get home I get in trouble.

On the road, I'm fine, you know.

That's where I'm supposed to live, you know.

# Fourth day, five-day marathon

# We're moving like a parallelogram

# Don't move

# I'll shut the door and kill the lights

# I guess I'll see you all on the ice

# I should be tired

# And all I am is wired

# Ain't felt this good for an hour

# Motorhead, remember me now

# Motorhead, all right

# Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

# Motorhead, remember me now

# Motorhead, remember me now

# Motorhead, you can call me

# Motorhead

# Yeah, yeah, yeah. #

Lemmy, we're always told that heavy metal's

meant to be progressing and developing. It seems to me that

they're all pretty much the same sort of subject matter.

Yeah, I agree with you. I think that actually heavy metal,

the great strength of heavy-metal is that it doesn't progress, actually.

-That's a strength, is it?

-Yeah.

Why is that a strength?

Because people keep enjoying it the way it is.

MUSIC: Iron Fist

# Black night, nothing to see

# Invisible hand in front of me

# Scared to death there's someone near

# Scared to move but you can't stay here

# You know me, evil eye

# You know me, prepare to die

# You know me, the snake might hiss

# Devil's grip, the Iron Fist... #

You have to be an egomaniac

to be up there in the first place, playing anything,

cos the stage fright at first is terrible, you know.

You can fake it up to a point, but if you fake it completely,

then they're going to know, you know.

Excuse me. Sorry.

PHONE RINGTONE: Theme from Halloween

Hello?

No, I'm halfway through an interview.

Where does it go back to? Where did you start?

What's the thing that first got you going?

-Little Richard.

-Yeah.

-Elvis, Jerry Lee.

-Jerry Lee? Love Jerry Lee.

-Yeah.

He is The Killer.

He was The Killer. I think he's The Killed now.

He's the man. I think...

-I bet you could sing a Jerry Lee song, couldn't you?

-I bet I could.

Shall we have Lemmy sing a Jerry Lee song?

CHEERING

No, shall we have Lemmy singing a Jerry Lee song?

LOUDER CHEERING

# You shake my nerves and you rattle my brain

# Too much love drives a man insane

# You broke my will but what a thrill

# Goodness, gracious, great balls of fire

# Laughed at love cos I thought it was funny

# You came along and moved me, honey

# You changed my mind, the girl is fine

# Goodness, gracious, great balls of fire

# Kiss me, baby

# Woo, feels good

# Hold me, baby

# Well, I want to love you like a lover should

# You're fine, so kind

# Want to tell this world that you're mine, mine, mine, mine

# I chew my nails and I twiddle my thumbs

# I'm real nervous, but it sure is fun

# Come on, baby, you drive me crazy

# Goodness, gracious, great balls of fire! #

CHEERING

Kind of like that.

Thank you.

'I did a lot of fooling around, you know.'

I've had a good time out of rock and roll

and it's had a good time out of me.

Oh, I love Jerry Lee.

-In C.

-In C, always?

-No, not always.

-No, not always?

It was in D when we done it in the dressing room.

-Was it?

-LAUGHTER

Do we go out like a little candle or do we reincarnate?

Do we go and live with Jesus?

-I don't think so.

-What do you think?

Oh, I think it's all wonderful

and we go and live in Snowdon.

At the top

By the bar.

I'm going to hell, anyway.

That's where the pool tables are, you know what I mean?

You can't imagine a pool table in heaven, can you?

# The only thing you see,

# You know it's gonna be

# The ace of spades The ace of spades. #

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Well, that was that one.