Lemmy Kilmister isn’t your typical 60-something rock star.
Though many predicted Motorhead’s singer and bass guitarist would have burned out decades ago, Lemmy – known to most by simply his first name – survived.
And he isn’t going anywhere.
“It’s quite easy,” said Lemmy, 63, who leads his Motorhead cohorts, guitarist Phil Campbell and drummer Mikkey Dee, into the House of Blues on Sunday. “All you have to do is not give up. If you’ve got a worthwhile thing to fight for, then you’ve got to fight for it.”
Speaking from his Hollywood home, the mutton-chopped metal icon said he keeps up his arduous, almost maniacal pace because, “I’m not qualified to do anything else.”
Born Ian Fraser Kilmister in Stoke-on-Kent, England, Lemmy knows how fortunate he is to have his rockstar lifestyle.
“It’s great compared to what I could be,” he said. “I worked in a factory when I was 17. I could still be there because some of the guys I worked with are still there. That would be awful.”
With his thick accent and gravelly voice, Lemmy is nearly as hard to understand as Ozzy Osbourne. And like the godfather of heavy metal, Lemmy likes to make noise.
“We just like it loud,” he said of Motorhead’s fondness for extreme volume. “I didn’t set out to be the loudest. That got seized on by the media. It’s not the most noticeable thing about us.”
While Lemmy remains true to Motorhead after nearly 35 years, he’s also working on a solo album that will feature appearances by the Damned, Reverend Horton Heat, Joan Jett, and ex-Nirvana drummer and Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl. He and Grohl collaborated once before, on 2004’s “Shake Your Blood” from Grohl’s metal side project, Probot.
There’s also a documentary in the works on Lemmy, who has become a cult figure thanks to cameos in movies, TV shows, videos and video games, including “Guitar Hero” and the new action game “Brutal Legend.” Directed and produced by Greg Olliver and Wes Orshoski, the film, titled simply “Lemmy,” is set for release later this year.
Unlike Ozzy, the Motorhead frontman wasn’t totally cool with being filmed around the clock.
“They just filmed every (expletive) thing,” he said. “They went on three tours. The cameras just popped out all the time.”
Lemmy formed Motorhead in 1975 after getting the boot from space rockers Hawkwind following a drug bust at the Canadian border. Motorhead had its biggest success in the ’80s with singles “Eat the Rich” and “Ace of Spades,” but it wasn’t until 2005 that the band won a Grammy (for its cover of Metallica’s “Whiplash”).
“I think we’re the best we’ve ever been,” Lemmy said. “I think we’re on a roll at the moment. When we finally go, there will be a big hole there that no one can fill and I’m happy about that. There’s no one else like us.”
Motorhead, with the Reverend Horton Heat, at the House of Blues, Sunday. Tickets: $29.50-$35; 888-693-2583.).
