How Lemmy Kilmister found his terrifying bass tones: “I just turn it up really loud and hit it really hard!”

Lemmy
(Image credit: Chelsea Lauren/Getty Images)

“I’m made for bass – I’m supposed to play bass, that’s what I’m supposed to do,” said Ian ‘Lemmy’ Kilmister, who departed for the great gig in the sky in December 2015. In our world, bass is indeed what the great man remains best known for, but let’s not forget that he was many other things, too – a singer, songwriter, guitarist, blues harp player, TV personality, actor, and most certainly a bon viveur

You could even label Lemmy an intellectual, arguably, as he was widely read, politically informed, and able to discourse learnedly on a number of philosophical subjects. 

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Joel McIver

Joel McIver was the Editor of Bass Player magazine from 2018 to 2022, having spent six years before that editing Bass Guitar magazine. A journalist with 25 years' experience in the music field, he's also the author of 35 books, a couple of bestsellers among them. He regularly appears on podcasts, radio and TV.