Although Motörhead was not commercially successful as many other Hard Rock and Heavy Metal bands, they were one of the most influential bands of all time. That, of course, happened especially because of Lemmy Kilmister, the band’s founder, bassist, main songwriter and vocalist. His unique way of singing and playing the bass were a perfect match with the incredible lyrics the late musician wrote.
He was a quite sincere person and talked over the decades about his peers, including the legendary The Who bassist John Entwistle.
What was Lemmy Kilmister’s opinion on John Entwistle
Lemmy criticized many musicians during his career but John Entwistle certainly was not one of them. He loved The Who and John’s bass playing, even saying that in his opinion, “The Ox” was the greatest bass player of all time.
“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 told Bass Player magazine in 2003.
Curiously, in one of the lists he made of the greatest bassists of all time, John Entwistle was the best and Paul McCartney the second choice.
Lemmy Kilmister first met John Entwistle back the 60s
Before forming Motörhead in 1975, Lemmy had been part of bands like the Rockin’ Vickers, Hawkwind and had also been Jimi Hendrix’s roadie for a while. So he was always connected to the music business. Back in 1966 he had the chance to meet Entwistle, when The Who was releasing their first albums. The two talked when The Rockin’ Vickers was The Who’s opening act at a concert. The show happened on the South Pier in Blackpool, England.
“He was a nice geezer then and until the day he dropped. He went out fairly well, I thought. Five strippers and a quick heart attack and in the Hard Rock Café in Vegas at that,” Lemmy told Paul Du Noyer in 2006.
As Lemmy said, John Entwistle died back in 2002 at the age of 57. The Who continued with only Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey as the original members of the group. Besides his work with The Who, John released five solo albums during his career. They were: “Smash Your Head Against the Wall” (1971), “Whistle Rymes” (1972), “Rigor Mortis Sets In” (1973), “Mad Dog” (1975) and “Too Late the Hero” (1981).
Lemmy Kilmister passed away in 2015 at the age of 70. He was a victim of prostate cancer, cardiac arrhythmia, and congestive heart failure.
