I was so saddened last night when my wife read this on her news feed and alerted me. I had only met him once, at the Rainbow of course, but I had great respect for him. My favorite Lemmy story is not about drinking Jack or snorting speed. It really is about his humanity. A good friend of mine, Steffan Chirazi, has made a career out of reporting all things metal. He was a featured writer for RIP and Kerrang and currently serves as Editor in Chief for Metallica's fanzine. Steffan told me that his entry into that career came from Lemmy - 25+ years ago - while Steffan was still in high school in England. Steffan wrote Lemmy a letter requesting an interview for his high school newspaper. Steffan assumed, if he was lucky, that he might get a 10 minute telephone interview. Not only did Lemmy reply, he invited Steffan down to his studio and spent a day with him telling stories of being a roadie for Jimi Hendrix to his days in Hawkwind and ultimately the formation of Motorhead. Steffan wrote about all of it, and ultimately drew attention from larger publishers as a result. In that one act of kindness, Lemmy helped to directly launch Steffan's writing career. Lemmy did not have to do it. He was an established rock star. He did not need to be interviewed for a high school newspaper. But he agreed to anyway... Steffan and Lemmy have remained close friends ever since. Lemmy lived the rock and roll cliche' - sex, drugs, etc. But there was nothing cliche' about Lemmy. He was a balls-to-the-wall rock and roll legend with very little ego and, as Steffan's story shows, the heart of a gentleman. RIP Lemmy. We will not see another like you.
