Lemmy’s Last Great ‘WTF’ Interview

The passing of Motörhead frontman Ian “Lemmy” Kilmister at age 70 is the sort of thing metal fans both half expected and also believed would never happen.

While musically most popularly known for the song “Ace of Spades,” Lemmy himself served as a godfather to the hard-rocking world, a patron saint of excess who recently admitted, in his in-depth interview on Marc Maron’s WTF podcast, that he’d switched from whiskey to vodka in an effort to “stay healthy.”

The interview with Maron is just one of many Lemmy gave this past fall in the press circuit for Motörhead’s 22nd studio recording, Bad Magic, but it’s also his best, a no-holds-barred ramble through the singer’s life and times, from working as a roadie for Hendrix to being kicked out of a band for taking the wrong kind of drugs and his allegedly massive collection of Nazi memorabilia. Listen to it here, starting at the 54-minute mark.

As news of his death made its way around the world last night, friends and family took to social media to pay respects, with names that show just how far his influence reached.

The infamous rocker died just days after learning of a cancer diagnosis, in his home, reportedly playing video games with his family. With a plethora of health issues and an unapologetic approach to substances of all kinds, even Lemmy himself seemed shocked at his ongoing vitality, telling a reporter “apparently I am still indestructible” earlier this year. And while physically he may have at last succumbed, his legend will remain just that.

“Lemmy was one of a kind, a true original, an innovator, and a real-deal rock warrior. He lived it,” Maron told The Daily Beast on Tuesday afternoon. “I was honored to talk to him.”