MOTÖRHEAD Roadie Steve Luna – “I've Toured With Many Musicians, But LEMMY I Held In High Regard”

Motörhead leader Lemmy Kilmister passed away on December 28th at the age of 70 following a brief battle with an aggressive cancer.

Steve Luna, who was at the bass maniac’s house the day Lemmy stomped into the next life, having spent the past 10-plus years working for him as a bass tech, personal assistant and everything in between, spoke to RollingStone.com about the legend.
 
Rolling Stone: First of all, my condolences for the loss of your friend.

Steve Luna: “I actually went and saw him [on Monday]. I was there an hour before everything went down. Just gave him a giant hug and thanked him for everything. He did a lot for me. I’ve toured with many musicians, but Lemmy I held in high regard. It was like losing a family member – I worked with him for 10-plus years.”

RS: This all happened really fast, from what I heard.

SL: “He lived a long time, he drank, he did what he did. But how many people can say they did 50+ years – we’re going back 40 years with Motörhead and then on top of that these other bands, the Rockin’ Vickers, Sam Gopal, Hawkwind, we’re talking 50+ years that he survived in the industry that most people can’t do. And stay true to it. I don’t want to use the term “selling out” because everybody has to do what they have to do. But Lemmy lived for the music and the music only.”

RS: He always seemed to have an appreciation for where he was, where came from, and where he ended up.

SL: “Yeah, even while I was on the road with him he just wanted to do what he wanted to do. It wasn’t about the money to him, it was about the music. That’s what you rarely see in this industry. His appreciation for music… that always came first for him. Ever since Inferno, I’ve been in there with them from start to finish, just watching a record be made from beginning to end.”

Read more at RollingStone.com.

Motörhead manager Todd Singerman revealed to Sky News that Lemmy went to the hospital two days after his birthday bash at LA’s Whisky A Go Go on December 13th because he wasn’t feeling well. Tests were done, and doctors discovered he had terminal cancer which had spread to his brain.

Singerman told Sky News, “Nobody had any idea, we just learned Saturday, two days ago, that he even had cancer and the doctor told him he had between two to six months to live. He goes today as I was making calls to Phil and Mikkey telling them to come on out so they could have a last goodbye while he was still upbeat and everything. He was feeling mighty low… He wasn’t expected to die like that.

“He gets home (from tour), we have a big birthday party for him at the Whisky A Go Go. His friends came down and played. Two days later I could tell he wasn’t feeling good so we took him to the hospital, they release him, then after the brain scan they found the cancer in his brain and his neck… The doctor comes with the result a couple of days later and says… it’s terminal.”

Motörhead drummer Mikkey Dee told Sweden’s Expressen: ”Motörhead is over, of course. Lemmy was Motörhead. But the band will live on in the memories of many. We won’t be doing any more tours or anything. And there won’t be any more records. But the brand survives, and Lemmy lives on in the hearts of everyone.”

Read more at Expressen.

Motörhead’s 22nd and final studio album, Bad Magic, was released on August 28th, 2015. The album is featured on BraveWords’ BravePicks 2015, ranking at #18.

Bad Magic tracklisting:

“Victory or Die”
“Thunder & Lightning”
“Fire Storm Hotel”
“Shoot Out All Of Your Lights”
“The Devil”
“Electricity”
“Evil Eye”
“Teach Them How To Bleed”
“Till The End”
“Tell Me Who To Kill”
“Choking On Your Screams”
“When The Sky Comes Looking For You”
“Sympathy For The Devil” (Rolling Stones cover)