What was Lemmy Kilmister’s opinion on The Who

Although Motörhead was formed in 1975, the late legendary songwriter, bassist and singer Lemmy Kilmister was involved in the music business since 1960, being Jimi Hendrix’s roadie for a while and also being part of many groups over the years like Hawkwind.

But obviously, it was fronting Motörhead that he became one of the most influential artists in the history of Hard Rock and Heavy Metal. Although his music was usually fast and heavy, Lemmy had a really broad musical taste and was also known for being quite sincere when talking about other artists. He talked about many other bands during his career and one of them was The Who.

What was Lemmy Kilmister’s opinion on The Who

Lemmy was a big fan of Rock and Roll music made in the 50s and 60s and of course, he loved The Who. As he told Mark Jeeves in an interview with Planet Rock back in 2011 (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage), they were a band you couldn’t go wrong with. He said that after choosing their version of “Summertime Blues” as one of his favorite tracks.

“(The Who), if you want a Rock and Roll band you can’t go wrong with The Who, you know. I mean, Townshend is a wonderful guitar player and he doesn’t play a whole lot of lead but he is incredible and the way he plays chords is unbelievable. That windmill thing is so like wild. When you see him do it, he doesn’t do it really anymore, which is a shame, he should dye his hair and do it more.”

He continued:

“I think Pete’s like worried about being old, he shouldn’t be because it’s only years, you know. It doesn’t matter, you can still do the same thing if you feel it. I don’t think he feels it anymore, really. It’s so fierce, when you see the guy do that (the windmill). If you wanna look at The Who, look at the Woodstock thing and look at the ”Kids Are Alright’ video, brilliant. Really brilliant,” Lemmy Kilmister said.

Lemmy not only loved their music but thought the band members were really good and he even said that the late legendary bassist John Entwistle was the best bass player he ever saw. He even put him in front of Paul McCartney! “I love John Entwistle of the Who. Best bass player I ever saw, Entwistle! McCartney’s the second, though. He keeps giving into the wimp in him, but he’s a great bass player,” Lemmy told Revolver magazine back in 2002.

In a conversation with Bass Player magazine back in 2003, the Motörhead leader listed some of his favorite bassist and of course, Entwistle was also there. Lemmy praised the musician and the bass solo in “My Generation”. “The best bass player on the face of the earth. He was the best for me, no contest. He was so in command of his instrument. You never saw him flicker. Never a bum note that I ever heard. And he was so fast, both hands going like hell.”

“The bass solo in ‘My Generation’, you still tie yourself in knots trying to do it now. You can work it out. But it was another thing thinking it up. And that was back in 1964!” Lemmy Kilmister said. They knew each other and were really nice friends.

Lemmy had the chance to watch The Who perform and in an interview with Classic Rock, he told the story of a funny encounter with The Who’s main songwriter, guitarist and sometimes singer Pete Townshend.

“I don’t think Pete Townshend will ever speak to me again. Do you remember when he impaled his hand on the whammy bar of his guitar? The Who did a show at the Albert Hall amd I went down to see them and went backstage. Pete says: ‘Oh, hello Lemmy.'”

“And I shook his fucking hand! He gritted his teeth – he was a man about it – but I don’t think he’ll forgive. I’m sure he reads Classic Rock, so: sorry, Pete. I’ve got the foot now if you wanna come and stamp on it,” Lemmy Kilmister said.

The Motörhead leader sadly passed away back in 2015 at the age of 70.