Motorhead guitarist Phil Campbell has celebrated his late bandmate Lemmy after the frontman’s ashes were permanently laid to rest behind the bar of his favourite London nightclub - Stringfellows.
Lemmy, real name Ian Kilmister, died in December 2015 in his Los Angeles apartment from prostate cancer, cardiac arrhythmia, and congestive heart failure. The singer and bassist had been suffering from ill health since August of that year.
Kilmister, born in Stoke-on-Trent in 1945 was the only continuous member of Motorhead, the hard rock band which he co-founded in 1975.
On Wednesday, some of his ashes were installed in an urn shaped like his trademark cavalry hat at the bar, guided by instructions in the British star’s will.
At the ceremony honouring his friend, Campbell joked that Lemmy is “going to have a good view” from behind Stringfellows’ bar, the London gentleman’s club where he was “a regular”.
Campbell, who joined Motorhead as a guitarist in 1984 until the band disbanded in 2015 after the death of their bandmate, said he travelled from his home in Wales for the installation of the urn.
“He’d love it,” Campbell told the PA news agency.
“He’s going to have a good view, so it’s a great place to put some of his ashes to rest in London in Stringfellows, especially because he really enjoyed going there when he had a night off.
“Even when we were practising, in rehearsals, he’d be there ordering cabs to Stringfellows, I heard him many times.”
Campbell said the ceremony marks part of the Lemmy Forever! movement, which sees the rocker enshrined in many of his favourite spots around the world.
“We’re committed to honouring the legacy and the band’s legacy – (he was) such a revered, unique character,” Campbell told PA.
“We’re just paying our honour to Lem really, putting him in places where he likes to be, and people can raise a toast to him every time they’re there, or have a chat with him or whatever.
“He was always a good listener.”
The urn is a miniature replica of the original which was laid to rest at the Forest Lawn Cemetery in Hollywood in 2016.
His funeral saw rock heavyweights including Nirvana and Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl, Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash and Metallica members Lars Ulrich and Robert Trujillo pay tribute.
Campbell also confirmed friends received a bullet containing some of Lemmy’s ashes after his death.
“I’ve got one around my neck right now,” he told PA.
“He wouldn’t want to be put in a box in just one place, he’s a man of the road, he’d like to travel and all of his friends have a small part of him – it’s really, really special.
“I’m sure Lem would’ve preferred that, spread himself around as you could say.”
The Welsh musician toasted late rocker Lemmy during the ceremony, which also featured words from Motorhead drummer Mikkey Dee, delivered by his son Marcus.
Motorhead rum and beer was served alongside Lemmy’s favourite meal, pizza.
Campbell confirmed there “is stuff planned for next year” as the band celebrate its 50th anniversary and mark a decade since the death of Lemmy.
“He was unique wasn’t he, he was a law unto himself,” Campbell said of his bandmate, whose death he described as a “shock”.
“Even when he was ill, we never spoke about it, we always talked about the next album or the next tour, or the next song and stuff.
“It was a shock, it happened so sudden.”
Motorhead helped pioneer heavy metal music in Britain with a string of albums including 1980 hit, “Ace Of Spades”.
