Queen guitarist Brian May has rubbed shoulders with some of the best in the business, not to mention the three other heroes that comprised the classic lineup of his band. From his late friend and frontman Freddie Mercury to Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, in his time, May has shared many candid anecdotes involving some of the most cherished figures in rock.
One man May also had the fortune to know better than most is Motörhead frontman and bass-playing titan Lemmy. Notably, the speed-metal pioneer had a career like no other, and outside of being the frontman of the widely influential trio, when younger, he was a roadie for none other than Jimi Hendrix and also played a brief but instrumental role in space rock progenitors, Hawkwind. Tragically, he passed away from cancer at age 70 in 2015 but left behind a legacy of almost mythical proportions.
Part of this legacy is his collaboration with Queen guitar hero Brian May. This materialised as the song ‘The Devil’, a feature of Motörhead’s 22nd and final album, Bad Magic, which arrived four months before his death. As fans of the group will know, May provided the guitar solo on the track, which stands out as one of his finest recent moments.
Following Lemmy’s death in December 2015, May posted a candid message on his official website explaining why the late Motörhead leader was so brilliant and “unique in just about every way”. He said: “Words don’t come easy. Especially when you know Lemmy would have laughed at us all trying to say dignified things about him being a hero. Any time I attempted to say anything complimentary to Lemmy to his face, he would fix me with a kind of amused, contemptuous stare.”
May explained: “But a kind of hero he certainly was. Unique in just about every way imaginable. He was a living mismatch of personality types. His music was roaring, abrasive, uncompromising. His lyrics mostly deliberately gave no hint of sensitivity. Yet, as a person, he was a pacifist, a deep thinker. A man who cared profoundly about his friends. I was never in his closest circle of pals. But we bumped into each other often, and he always managed to say something shockingly respectful to me, leaving me disarmed, because he hated being praised himself. Or so it seemed.”
The Queen guitarist concluded: “One of my dearest friends lived with Lemmy for 10 years. She always spoke of him as a tender man. Very different from his public face, which never deviated from his tough gaze on the world. Lemmy was a highly cultured and well-read man. Yet to see him glued to a fruit machine most of a night in the Rainbow Bar and Grill on Sunset Strip, you would never have guessed it. In fact, that hallowed place, steeped in Rock and Roll history, will always bear his spiritual mark.”
Listen to ‘The Devil’ below.
