After the disastrous (and almost embarrassing) event at the Wacken Festival in Germany last week when Lemmy had to call it quits after half a set, the band has released the following statement.
The show had to go on because that’s how Lemmy rolls. Even though he was not 100% fit, he refused to feel he was letting the 85,000 Wacken fans down. They kicked ass in the 100+degree heat for a shortened, but powerful, set before, Lemmy finally realized he might have bitten off a little more than he could chew. Thus he will embark upon the recuperation recommended. We know that rumors are flying around, but once he fully recharges, Motorhead will be back, don’t you worry.”
Here’s the question. Does the band do it for the fans or for themselves. Is there some sort of deep sense of responsibility to your fans that force you to disregard doctors orders to get on stage? I’m not sure if its ego, cash or love but it seems to me it could be a mixture of both. Who would want to see Lemmy hauled off the stage on a stretcher? Who wanted to see Fat Elvis in a cape? There is a time when it’s not OK to be on a stage and I think that regardless of the true reason Lemmy ‘rolled’ like that it was a huge mistake.
The ‘die young stay pretty’ mentality of rock and roll is long gone. Now we practically taxidermy artists and animate them with wires. Wait. Why bother when there are holograms. There has to be a limit, a pinnacle hit when the harsh slap of reality gets you off the stage and on to other life adventures.
How many near dead do we have now? I suppose our Golden Slumbers column doesn’t mind but as of now the death watch is on Randy Travis, Lemmy and the permanent fixture Bret Michaels.