I'm in A LEMMY MOOD TODAY :
so Lemme tell you about (my) Lemmy.
Ever since Lemmy's (1945-2015) legacy was materialized by a magnificent statue in his birth town of Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, I've wanted to share my humble experience with this man who became a legend. I've had the chance to meet the man on several occasions between 1982 and 1988/89.
1981
ACE OF SPADES TOUR
Brussels
These are the first photos I took of Motörhead (in March 1981) at Forest National in Brussels. Back then, I didn't know the band very well (just by name, but not their music, which was too extreme for me at that time). However, having my secret access to the venue, I went at the request of a group of friends who, knowing my amateur photography, had dragged me along.
I was a bit wary of the crowd; there were quite violent gangs of rockers in Brussels at that time, and fights were common at these kinds of events where many hard-rockers gathered. That's no longer the case today, but back then, it was intense. So I stayed quite far back for this concert. Hence these images taken from the mixing desk with a 100mm lens. This photo en the right was taken with my camera but by one of my older friends in the crowd in front of the stage, a place where I didn't dare venture at the time.
1982
READING ROCK
(UK)
The first off-stage photo I took of Lemmy is the one on the left, as he was playing a video game (one of his great pastimes). This was inside one of the backstage tents at the Reading Festival on Friday, August 27, 1982, in the evening. My brother and I had been invited by Steve Harris (whom we met in Brussels in June of the same year) to be backstage for the whole weekend.
Noticing he was being photographed (because of the flash), Lemmy suddenly turned to me just as I was photographing him again. I instinctively photographed him rather than flinching, which surprised him and made him laugh. The next day, Saturday, August 28, Lemmy (just like us) was again hanging out backstage at the festival... I first photographed him from a distance... with his fuel, orange juice, and vodka...
Lemmy making a face backstage at the Reading Festival in August 1982.
Then Lemmy noticed us, my brother and me. We chatted a bit; he asked us where we were from (given our accent) and we told him we were Belgian Iron Maiden fans who had come all the way to Reading specifically to see them. After learning we had gotten the passes from Steve Harris, he immediately became even friendlier with us.
On the right, the photo of shame (for me) until recently. I had asked Lemmy if he wouldn't mind "messing around a bit" for photos with him, my brother, and me. While Lemmy pretended to grab my brother Pierre, I got his index finger up my nose. Not very glorious, but at the same time, I was the one who asked him to be a smart aleck for the photo. Today I have to own this image.
The next day, Sunday, August 29, Eddie Clarke, Motörhead's recent ex-guitarist, was also there. As he and Lemmy were to jam with Twisted Sister during their concert, along with Pete Way (ex-UFO) who was forming Fastway with Eddie. I didn't miss the opportunity (now that I knew Lemmy a bit, three days in a row) to ask them to pose together.
1983
HEAVY SOUND FESTIVAL
Belgium
Lemmy was "hanging out" backstage at the first Heavy Sound festival in Bruges, Belgium. A festival where he was going to headline with Motörhead the following year along with his mates from Twisted Sister and... Metallica. Lemmy seemed to recognize us (my brother and I, always together at the time), which facilitated contact. Here with Lips from Anvil, who played that day at the Heavy Sound festival in Bruges in 1983.
1983
SUNRISE FESTIVAL
France
Lemmy with my brother Pierre in 1983 in Mulhouse, France, during the Sunrise festival which was cancelled due to a storm. Lemmy wasn't playing but still, he was there, faithful to his post at major festivals in Europe. It was at that moment that Lemmy recognized my brother Pierre and me as "the Belgian brothers."
We took the opportunity to ask him to fill out our "Rock Questionnaire" and to chat with him at the hotel bar for a good hour. Lemmy was truly a very accessible and genuinely open-minded man. He spoke to us passionately about the Beatles but also about his new album "Another Perfect Day."
1984
HEAVY SOUND FESTIVAL
Belgium
Lemmy backstage at the Heavy Sound Festival 1984 in Poperinge, Belgium. Always ready to pose for his "Belgian brothers". Lemmy on stage at the Heavy Sound Festival in Poperinge. Right : Lemmy carried by Phil Campbell & Wurzel at Heavy Sound Festival '84 (this was their first tour with Motörhead).
Quote:
"FUCK GOD AND FUCK THE DEVIL AND FUCK THE CHURCH TOO. I'M RESPONSIBLE FOR MY ACTIONS. I DON'T NEED TO HIDE BEHIND NOTHING. I DID IT... WHATEVER I DID!"
Lemmy Kilmister
1986
ORGASMATRON
Promo Tour
On a promotional tour for the album "Orgasmatron," Lemmy and Wurzel came through Brussels for interviews (at Indisc at the time). Lemmy asked me the following year if he could use this very photo (the one on the left) for the inner sleeve of their next album "Rock 'n' Roll", which I obviously accepted. It was used but drowned out among dozens of other images.
Earthquake Festival (Netherlands)
It was on the tour bus that I had the chance to have my longest conversations with Lemmy. There were quite a few people around, but Lemmy offered me a lot of beers and we had many exchanges that day. I was just one of his many acquaintances made "on the road" while touring, but we appreciated each other. That day he asked me "where's the other brother?" because Pierre wasn't with me that day.
Right : Wurzel, Lemmy, and me in the middle. This time, no way he was going to stick a finger in my nose; I gave them boxing gloves to ensure it. Which didn't stop them from beating me up.
1987
ORGASMATRON
LIVE
With Phil Taylor in Poperinge, Belgium.
Always complicit, always a joy to see Lemmy who was consistently kind and accessible.
1988
MONSTERS OF ROCK
Donington
A rock festival without Lemmy hanging around backstage is not a real festival. I know that now. We all do. Lemmy with Gene Simmons and then with Slash at Monsters Of Rock in Donington. Evidently, Lemmy was always game to give me the opportunity to take a unique photo. Unless I'm mistaken or forgotten, this is the last "off-stage" photos I took of Lemmy.
I saw Motörhead again (and Lemmy backstage) in 1989 and in the early 1990s at Vooruit in Ghent, but having stopped intensive concert photography around 1990, I no longer have photos of Motörhead/Lemmy since then.
Still, as thousands or millions, I miss those days with Lemmy...
