Late Motörhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister will be honoured with a huge supergroup tribute from Alice Cooper’s Hollywood Vampires at the 28th Grammy Awards in Los Angeles later this month.
In a statement, The Grammy Awards say The Hollywood Vampires‘ performance will feature Cooper, Johnny Depp, Aerosmith’s Joe Perry, Tommy Henriksen, Bruce Witkin, former Guns N’ Roses member Matt Sorum and current Guns N’ Roses member Duff McKagan.
Speaking with Rolling Stone about his band’s Lemmy tribute, Cooper says the group’s genesis makes them a fitting match for such a big Lemmy sendoff.
“We started this band as a means to toast our ‘dead drunk friends’ at the Rainbow, all the ghosts in the bar, and now I guess Lemmy is involved in that, too,” Cooper says.
As for what The Hollywood Vampires will perform in Lemmy’s honour, Cooper is hoping to tackle Motörhead’s Ace Of Spades. “I might do it more ‘Alice Cooper style,’ but it would still have to have that growl, that guttural voice to make it work,” he says. “I can’t picture, like, Creedence Clearwater [Revival] doing that song.”
Reflecting on Lemmy, Cooper says he remembers when the Englishman approached him with an important message only a few weeks before his death in December at the age of 70. “Lemmy came up to me and said, ‘Alice, I’ve quit drinking.’ And he’s got a glass in his hand. And I go, ‘Really?’ And he says, ‘Yeah, I don’t drink whiskey anymore. I drink vodka,'” Copper says.
“And I went, ‘Lemmy, do you think your liver has any idea what color the alcohol is?’ He said, well it’s a step down from whiskey.’ And I went, ‘OK. Any step’s a good step.’
“Lemmy was one of those salt-of-the-earth guys. Find me somebody who didn’t love Lemmy. He’s just one of those guys that’s impossible not to like.”
Kilmister’s life has already been honoured in a number of epic musical tributes, including one from a Dave Grohl and Phil Anselmo-led supergroup and another from Corey Taylor, Dave Lombardo and Metal Allegiance. The rocker’s official cause of death was revealed in late January.
The Hollywood Vampires will use this year’s Grammys to premiere their new song As Bad As I am, from the upcoming deluxe edition of their 2015 debut album. The ceremony will take place on Monday, 15th February at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, and will also see Lady Gaga perform a tribute to the late David Bowie.
Gallery: 13 Photos Of Lemmy Kilmister At His Most Badass
13 Photos That Show Lemmy Kilmister At His Most Badass
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1. Lemmy Chills With Dimebag Darrell
Nothing warms our hearts more than this photo of The Kilmister in his prime, hanging out with a fellow rock legend at a charity benefit. Bet he’s up there drinking black tooth grins with Dime now. -
2. Lemmy Wears Short-Shorts, Holding A Katana, While Smoking A Cigarette
Your argument is invalid. -
3. Lemmy Launches Official Sex Toy Range
And brings new meaning to the name “Motörhead” -
4. Lemmy Shows Us His Sensitive Side
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5. Lemmy Does Double Denim
Seriously, not even Sean Connery circa Zardoz could pull off this look. -
6. Lemmy Stars In <em>The Loudest Silent Movie On Earth</em>
Proving a badass to the very end, Lemmy is one of the top-billed stars to feature in the upcoming silent film Gutterdämmerung. Speaking in the 2016 flick’s batshit crazy trailer, Lemmy says: “If you don’t like it, you can fuck off”. -
7. Lemmy Hangs With His BFF
Two worlds collided when the Prince Of Darkness met the King of Jack and speed metal some 38 years ago, and the pair have been close mates ever since. Lemmy even co-wrote four songs on Ozzy Osbourne’s 1991 album No More Tears (which may or may not explain how he got this bandaged wrist) -
8. Lemmy Gets In Touch With His Animal Instincts
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9. Lemmy Meets Some Of His Biggest Fans
“Lemmy, you are one of the primary reasons this band exists. We are forever grateful for all of your inspiration” – Metallica. -
10. Lemmy Dresses As The Pope
“God bless you, my child. Even though you’re an asshole.” -
11. Lemmy Is A Bad Influence On The Nicest Guy In Rock
“We recorded his track in Los Angeles in maybe two takes about a year and a half ago. Until then I’d never met what I’d call a real rock ‘n’ roll hero before. Fuck Elvis and Keith Richards, Lemmy’s the king of rock ‘n’ roll – he told me he never considered Motörhead a metal band, he was quite adamant. Lemmy’s a living, breathing, drinking and snorting fucking legend. No one else comes close.” – Dave Grohl -
12. Lemmy Is A ‘Sex Legend’
In a 2005 doco called Motörhead: Live Fast, Die Old, it was claimed that Lemmy had “bedded” in excess of 2,000 women. Lemmy himself later offered some clarification: “I said more than a thousand, the magazine made two thousand of it.” Right then. -
13. Lemmy Continues To Give Zero Fucks
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13. Lemmy Is God
Lemmy’s close friend Eddie Trunk of That Metal Show fame posted the following picture to Twitter after breaking the news of his death, claiming it was sent to him by none other than Rob Halford of Judas Priest