Even as he approaches his 50th birthday on Christmas Eve, Motorhead frontman Lemmy has no thoughts of retirement. None whatsoever.
“I’m not the type to putter about the garden,” the brash lead singer-bassist said recently. “Turning 50 doesn’t make a difference to me. Rock ‘n’ roll is still in my blood, and this is still a helluva lot of fun. If it wasn’t, we wouldn’t be doing this.”
Now in its 20th year, Motorhead – Lemmy, guitarist Phil Campbell and drummer Mikkey Dee – continues its brand of supercharged rock on its 18th album, “Sacrifice” (released in the spring on CMC International). It’s everything a diehard Motorhead fan expects.
“We make albums as good as we can make them,” Lemmy said. “Our vision is being the best we can be. There are no plans, no real agenda. This is straightahead rock ‘n’ roll. It’s what this world needs more of.”
Lemmy, once a member of the British psychedelic rock band Hawkwind, said he formed Motorhead in 1975 with American sonic-boomers MC5 in mind.
“For me, it was ‘Kick Out the Jams’ (in 1969),” he said. “At first, I didn’t like the album, but it definitely grew on me. I always thought their second album (‘Back in the USA’) was much better. It was a good band, with a good approach, and that’s what we were after.”
BWF (before we forget): Rev up with Motorhead on the Web @ www.imotorhead.com or www.cmcinternational.com.