Harsh. The black hat wearing Motorhead singer has never been one to play by the rules. The true spirit of ugly rock and roll is embodied in his frame and time is kicking his ass.
At age 68 most folk should be sitting on a porch but this guy is still drunk and disorderly despite pleas from pros and friends. With a hefty case of diabetes that he basically dismisses as intrusion the rocker continues the path to self destruction.. wait .. he is 68 years old. Old enough to collect Social Security (if American of course) and get the senior discount. But he is up on stage kicking ass like a 30 year old- albeit when he is not calling a time out due to illness.
Rumor has it that he just trades one vice for another- thus making no progress and continuing to damage his already challenged body. The best part are the quotes from friends and band mates. Each one defendant on the Motorhead paycheck.
Lemmy is a punk a damn old one at that but I cant see him ever following a prescribed regime. Instead he will continue on this course until he simply passes away. Then again maybe he is immortal. Todd Singerman, the bands manager threw out some words on the topic
“He’s been up and down. He’s got a really bad diabetic problem and it changes on a daily basis.
“A lot of it is fighting the bad habits, the things he’s not supposed to do any more. He’s stopped smoking but he probably sneaks Jack and Coke here and there – he’d be lying if he said he’d stopped.
“He’s been trying to substitute it with wine. That was the compromise with the doctors: trade the Jack for the wine. He thinks wine’s better than Jack, but it’s still got tons of sugar. He doesn’t tell them he’s drinking two fucking bottles, either.
“These are the battles we’re up against. He doesn’t grasp that he’s just trading one demon for the other.”
Singerman says Lemmy wasn’t fit to return to the stage when he played Wacken. “He was supposed to rest for three months and he refused,” says the manager. “It ended up being 105 degrees out there. The only thing I’m proud of him for is stopping when it didn’t feel good. That was smart of him.
“The bottom line is that he needs to find a balance and then live that balance for a few months. But we can’t find the balance yet. He has great days and then he fucks it up. And when you fuck up, you go backwards.
Drummer Mikkey Dee said, “I think after all he’s been through, I’d say this: ‘Lem, when are you going to get sick and tired of feeling sick and tired? it’s time you started to take care of yourself.’”