Lemmy never compromised on style or volume - Corey

Slipknot and Stone Sour frontman Corey Taylor has recalled a “fanboy moment” as his favourite Lemmy story.

The Motorhead icon died aged 70 at home in Los Angeles on December 28, two days after being told he had an aggressive form of cancer.

Taylor once met him in Germany at the offices of the Gibson guitar company. He tells the Guardian: “We were there to check out some new gear, do some press, sign some shit. We saw each other, gave each other a quick hug and shoulder slap, and immediately went looking for a place where we could smoke.

“We found ourselves standing in a kitchen with all the windows open, chain smoking, bullshitting and laughing like crazy. I felt like we were cutting class and hanging out somewhere in the high school.”

He refuses to repeat a “most hardcore” joke Lemmy told him, but says: “I laughed so damn hard I thought my pancreas was going to rupture. Once I caught my breath, I had a sense of where I was – hiding in a tiny room, smoking cigarettes, telling dirty jokes and hanging out with my friend, who just happened to be a man I’d been listening to most of my life. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have a little fanboy moment.”

Taylor accepts that many people will focus on the tragedy of Lemmy’s death. “But I am going to talk about this: the man lived,” he says.

“He lived his life on his terms right up until the day he died. He played the music he loved. He never compromised, on style or volume. If there was ever a man who took no shit, prisoners or safe routes, it was Lemmy Kilmister.”

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Freelance Online News Contributor

Not only is one-time online news editor Martin an established rock journalist and drummer, but he’s also penned several books on music history, including SAHB Story: The Tale of the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, a band he once managed, and the best-selling Apollo Memories about the history of the legendary and infamous Glasgow Apollo. Martin has written for Classic Rock and Prog and at one time had written more articles for Louder than anyone else (we think he's second now). He’s appeared on TV and when not delving intro all things music, can be found travelling along the UK’s vast canal network.