AP PHOTOS: Statue of late Motörhead frontman Lemmy unveiled in English hometown
LONDON (AP) — A decade after his death, Lemmy, the frontman of the legendary British heavy metal band Motörhead, will stand tall and proud in his hometown in the north of England.
Well, his statue will.
Inside the statue though will be some of Lemmy’s ashes, so it will no doubt become a shrine for Motörhead’s legion of fans around the world.
And indeed it was on Friday, as the statue to the hard-living Lemmy — real name Ian Kilmister — was unveiled in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent.
Black leather and denim jackets emblazoned with Lemmy’s image were the norm for the day on a bright and sunny day in the northern English town. No wonder, many fans opted for a thirst-quencher at the local pub. There were even some Lemmy lookalikes.
Lemmy was the only continuous member of Motörhead, which he co-founded in 1975 after he was fired from another legendary rock band, Hawkwind, following a drug possession arrest at the Canadian border.
So he decided to go his own way and Motörhead helped pioneer heavy metal music in Britain — and around the world — with a string of high-octane albums, perhaps most memorably with 1980’s “Ace Of Spades.”
The statue was crafted by acclaimed local sculptor and lifelong Motörhead fan Andy Edwards — who is best-known for his statue of the Beatles on Liverpool’s Pier Head. It captures Lemmy, who died from cancer in December 2015 at the age of 70, in his iconic pose with his bass guitar.
In December, following his will’s instructions, another batch of Lemmy’s ashes were installed in an urn shaped like his trademark cavalry hat at the Stringfellows gentlemen’s club in London where he was “a regular.”
That and Friday’s ceremony are part of the “Lemmy Forever!” movement, which sees the rocker enshrined in many of his favorite spots around the world.
Lemmy’s legendary status was evident at his funeral, which saw rock heavyweights including The Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl, Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash and Metallica members Lars Ulrich and Robert Trujillo pay tribute.
