The stars came together for a celebration of the life of a legend, Ian “Lemmy” Kilmister. Members of the music and entertainment industry gathered at Forest Lawn Memorial Cemetery in Los Angeles to pay their respects to Lemmy. The entire procession was shown live on Motörhead’s You Tube channel to over a quarter million viewers.
The speeches were led by Paul Kilmister, Lemmy’s son, who shared many memories that left the attendees with no doubt the love and respect he has for his father. He expressed numerous narratives of his father’s life and closed the heartfelt eulogy by saying, “They say you can’t choose your parents, well I won the lottery when I got Lemmy.”
Motörhead drummer Mikey Dee attended in honor of the band. Guns and Roses guitarist Slash delivered emotional memories of Lemmy and the times the two men shared drinks. Whitfield Crane (Ugly Kid Joe) told stories about Lemmy and touring with him on his crew. He also delivered a personal message from Phil Campbell who was unable to attend. Mike Inez (Alice in Chains), Rob Halford (Judas Priest), Metallica‘s Robert Trujillo and Lars Ulrich, and Scott Ian (Anthrax) all spoke in honor of the fallen legend.
Closing out the procession was Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters). Grohl led a very emotional story of his meeting Lemmy for the first time that brought a tear to the eyes of most people listening. However, there was a slight sound problem with Grohl’s speech and the audience was unable to hear what he has to say.
A lone bass guitar was strummed one last time in honor of Kilmister.
Motörhead mentioned if anyone wants to help, they can make a charitable donation in Lemmy’s name to the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund.
Kilmister died Dec. 28 at age 70.
The memorial service can be seen in full here:
