The late legendary bassist and singer Lemmy Kilmister started his musical career in 1960 that led him to become Jimi Hendrix‘s roadie and be part of many bands including Hawkwind before he finally formed Motörhead in 1975. He carried the band for 40 years until his death in 2015 at the age of 70 and was one of the most influential artists in the history of Rock and Roll.
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Over the decades, Lemmy was also known for always speaking truth no matter which was the subject. He gave his opinion on many other bands, including the successful Brit-Pop group Oasis.
What was Lemmy Kilmister’s opinion on Oasis
Oasis was formed in 1991, same year that Motörhead released their ninth studio album “1916”. The debut album of the band led by the Gallagher brothers Noel (Guitar) and Liam (Vocals) would only come out in 1994 titled “Definitely Maybe”. That record was a instant hit, selling over 8.5 million copies around the world and had famous tracks like “Rock ‘N’ Roll Star”, “Live Forever” and “Supersonic”. The band’s next albums helped them to become even bigger with songs like “Wonderwall”, “Stand By Me”, “All Around The World” and “Don’t Look Back In Anger”.
But even though they have countless fans everywhere, Lemmy Kilmister wasn’t one of them, although he recognizes they are good songwriters. Since they first appeared, Oasis was compared with The Beatles many times and Lemmy said that when he talked about the band in an interview with The Arts Desk in 2011.
“Metal is kind of the bastard son of rock’n’roll. If Eddie Cochran or Buddy Holly were alive now, that’s what they’d be doing, I’m sure. That or punk. [Apropos of nothing] I just have trouble with Noel Gallagher being called the funniest man in music. Is that right? If it is, down we go.”
Lemmy was then asked if he was an Oasis fan and he replied:
“I went to see the real Beatles. [Oasis] are good songwriters and everything. But you can see where it all came from. At least they admitted it, I’ll give them that. There’s a band called Overkill in America and I said, “It’s nice to see somebody giving us props,” and [their singer] said, “Oh, we never heard that song.” Please! What are you gonna do with people?” Lemmy Kilmister said.
Oasis remained active until 2009 when they decided to broke-up mainly due to the animosity between the two brothers. But they are still one of the best-selling bands of all time with an estimated amount of more than 70 million records sold worldwide. Since then, the fans keep asking for a reunion. But Liam and Noel keep going with their solo careers.
Liam Gallagher had a funny encounter with Lemmy Kilmister once
There are Rock stars who are known not only for their musical skills, but also for their personalities. Lemmy was very sincere and is recalled as someone who really lived the Rock and Roll life until his final days. Noel and Liam also had their moments regarding that style of living, but they are best known for having huge egos that many times caused a lot of problems. Curiously, Liam Gallagher had the chance to meet Lemmy face-to-face when they once were in a plane together. The musician recalled that moment in an interview with GQ magazine in 2013.
“I met Lemmy once on a plane. I thought, ‘I’m not going to drink on this flight. I’m going to wind my neck in.’ Can I get a water please? Next minute a pair of cowboy boots get put down beside me. He looked at me and said, ‘What the f**k are you doing drinking water?'”
The guitarist Gem Archer, who was a member of Oasis from 1999 to 2009 also recalled that moment in the same interview, saying: “I was on that flight. All Lemmy got off the plane with was duty free and his cowboy boots”.
Gallagher is very active on Twitter and always answer some questions made by the fans. He likes Motörhead and back in 2020 he was asked to choose between Moby or Motörhead. He chose the British group as his favorite.
Noel Gallagher said that Lemmy was one of the greatest of all time
Rock and Roll music is already part of the culture for more than seven decades already and keeps influencing people all over the world everyday. However, many people think that over the decades the music genre got softer. Also that it’s harder now for bands to appear and reinvent the genre being successful. Talking with Detroit Free Press in 2016, Noel Gallgher was asked about his opinion on the current state of Rock and Roll music at that time. He recalled that in 2015 and 2016 the music had lost many legendary artists, including Lemmy.
“This year alone, we’ve lost Prince — one of the greatest. We’ve lost Bowie — one of the greatest. We’ve lost Lemmy (Kilmister) — one of the greatest. It’s like, will there be the same outcry on the day that one of Maroon 5 die? I do not think so,” Noel Gallagher said.
I'm a Brazilian journalist who always loved Classic Rock and Heavy Metal music. That passion inspired me to create Rock and Roll Garage over 6 years ago.
Music has always been a part of my life, helping me through tough times and being a support to celebrate the good ones. When I became a journalist, I knew I wanted to write about my passions.
After graduating in journalism from the Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais, I pursued a postgraduate degree in digital communication at the same institution. The studies and experience in the field helped me improve the website and always bring the best of classic rock to the world!
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