Dec. 28, 2015 (Gephardt Daily) — Motörhead founder and frontman Ian “Lemmy” Kilmister has died aged 70 after battling against cancer, the band announced on its Facebook page.
Kilmister was born in 1945 in Burslem, Staffordshire, England. News of his death was first reported by radio and TV host Eddie Trunk, who was a longtime friend of Lemmy.
Consequence of Sound reported Kilmister’s death, and several others have confirmed the news, including Black Sabbath’s Ozzy Osbourne.
Osbourne wrote on Twitter, “Lost one of my best friends, Lemmy, today. He will be sadly missed. He was a warrior and a legend. I will see you on the other side.”
In a statement posted to its official Facebook page, Motörhead wrote, “There is no easy way to say this… our mighty, noble friend Lemmy passed away today after a short battle with an extremely aggressive cancer. He had learnt of the disease on December 26th, and was at home, sitting in front of his favorite video game from the Rainbow which had recently made its way down the street, with his family.
“We cannot begin to express our shock and sadness, there aren’t words. We will say more in the coming days, but for now, please… play Motörhead loud.”
According to COS, in addition to cancer, Lemmy had been suffering from a number of other well-publicized health issues, including hematoma. In 2013, he was fitted with an implantable defibrillator to correct an irregular heartbeat. His health issues had caused the cancellation of multiple Motörhead performances in recent years, though Lemmy remained an active force up until the time of his death.
On Nov. 11, we reported Motorhead’s drummer Phil “Philthy Animal” Taylor had passed away. Check out that story right here.
