You did a ‘Lemmy Forever’ dedication ceremony at Download, where some of his ashes were enshrined in a fruit machine. How did you meet Lemmy?
“Guns N’ Roses were playing our first gigs ever in London, like four or five nights at the Marquee. We had this flat on Kensington High Street and everything seemed to be going our way. Especially so when we got this invite to go hang out with Motörhead at their studio. We walk in and there’s a pool table – at least that’s how I remember it – and Lemmy looked at me first and goes, ‘You’re the bass player, aren’t you? I’m Lemmy. Nice to meet you.’ So very nice! We had no idea what to expect, whether they were going to fuck with us or whatever. Lemmy took us under his wing and we played Donington a year later. He came up just to hang out with us.”
It’s hard to imagine you guys being starstruck – even then.
“Oh, man. Ace Of Spades to me – and to everybody else my age – was one of those place-setter records that changed the scope of what you could do in rock’n’roll. It was truthful, badass and, look at me – I play bass! When Ace Of Spades came out I was playing drums, guitar, a bit of bass in different bands, but I started to lean more towards bass because of Lemmy.”
It seems everyone who met Lemmy has a wild story about him. What’s the story you’d tell people at parties?
“I mean, look, man, the party story I’d have with Lemmy… I wouldn’t remember! Ha ha ha!”
Away from drinking, what memory with Lemmy means most to you?
“I got to get up and play with Motörhead and that was incredible. Loaded [one of Duff’s former bands] did a tour with them up in Germany – they’re huge over there. I’d get up and play Overkill with them, every night. They made me an honorary Motörhead member – I’ve got a plaque. I’d like to think I’m the only one, but I bet there’s others.”
You’re the first we’ve heard of, at least.
“Well, there we go!”
Speaking of legends, last year you played the final Black Sabbath gig at Villa Park. GN’R had played the venue
the week before, so was it weird returning to do a quick set?
“That gig was just ultra-special. Those guys have been my family since the 80s, you know? There were roadies there I’ve known since the start. This one guy comes up, he’s like, ‘You won’t remember me, but I was on the crew for Mötley Crüe during Girls, Girls, Girls.’ Everybody was there, man. Trying to get side-stage to watch a band, it’d take you 45-minutes because you’d run into everybody on the way. The mood was killer. Everybody was in it for Ozzy and Sabbath. It was cool – more than cool, it was epic.”
You mentioned playing Donington earlier – what are your strongest memories of playing?
“Man, I have played so many times. That first time [in 1988] was so special. We were playing at 1pm but we’d blown up by that point, so in between us being booked and playing, everybody had heard about us. It felt incredible at the time, but the crowd started pushing forward and I remember it was the first time Axl had to do crowd control, getting everyone to take a step back. Unfortunately, a couple of guys didn’t make it and that was such a wake-up call. We took a step into the big leagues, but we had to be careful. Now it was like, ‘We need to take care of people.’”
Are there any up-and-coming bands who you think who could become legends?
“I really like James And The Cold Gun. They’re great songwriters and I’ve seen them play a bunch. They have got everything you need. But in this day and age, it’s just so hard to break through so I don’t know how you could.”
A lot of people keep Lemmy’s ashes in special places. Do you have some and, if so, where are they?
“Of course! I’ve got them in a little Lemmy hat thing. It’s on my mantelpiece at home. He lives with my family, he’s safe with us.”
(LouderSound)
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