Lemmy on speed: "Because it makes me happy"

[ColtDan]

Speed

 

[Ismene]

"Speed don't kill and I'm the proof" - Lemmy "Snaggletooth"

Fast Eddie does say that "I could live without speed, Philthy could manage but it was fucking murder getting Lemmy motivated without it. Particularly in the early days - we had no money and no money meant no speed".

Good story I read from Nick Kent once too, he woke up in a squat once and went downstairs and Lemmy was just finishing off a speed deal with 3 germans. Lem said "Do you want some Nick?". Nick said he was awake for 3 days and when he told Lemmy he said "Thorough the germans"

 

[Shambles]

^ I read Nick Kent's second autobiography a while back and there's a couple of good Lemmy stories in there too. Loads of good stories about all sorts of music folk actually. Must get around to reading his other one some time.

I think the condition that the family have in the documentary is that "fatal familial insomnia" I mentioned in my earlier post.

You did indeed. I got sidetracked for several hours (sadly no speed involved ) whilst writing out my post and when I finally got around to posting it it was somewhat superfluous

 

[MonoThom]

I'm an amph sulph user (no meth) but for what it's worth: I never get comedowns from speed. I'm tired, but not sick as with alcohol or M.

 

[Ismene]

^ I read Nick Kent's second autobiography a while back and there's a couple of good Lemmy stories in there too. Loads of good stories about all sorts of music folk actually. Must get around to reading his other one some time.

Didn't know he'd done two autobiogs shammy - I think I just read the..is it "the dark stuff"? Quite a thick book with a yellow cover.

Nice line from Lemmy on youtube - "I've had so much fun on speed, if I told you you wouldn't believe it. Acid too. Acid made me a better person". The interviewer asks "Did speed make you a better person" and he says "No, speeds functional, it gets you there on time".

 

[Shambles]

Yeah. The Dark Stuff was his first one and I've not read that. Second one is Apathy For the Devil and is pretty good read. Loads of great lil rock 'n' roll tidbits.

 

[Ismene]

Apathy was the one I read. I first took notice of him because he said something nice about Lester Bangs - something like "It wasn't just some bullshit, the guy had a magical thing with words".

 

[consumer]

Not related to Lemmy but if you are into your Punk music (primarily the New York scene) then get hold of Please Kill Me - The oral history of punk by Legs McNeil. Basically a book of quotes that form a story told by the people involved. Amazing book.

 

[the_gay_blade]

Please Kill Me is indeed the best book about the genesis of the punk scene. So well edited, and such a sad ending. As was the case for many of the central figures.

 

[consumer]

His book The Other Hollywood - The oral history of porn is equally as good. Same format. Crazy tales.

 

[blondin]

already told stories on here about hanging out with lemmy and dik from Hawkwind - Lemmy was the only one who didny shoot speed -use to drop a shit load of acid bitd(hawkwind started out as a front to smuggle and sell acid)

 

[MonoThom]

Nice line from Lemmy on youtube - "I've had so much fun on speed, if I told you you wouldn't believe it." (...) "Did speed make you a better person" and he says "No, speeds functional, it gets you there on time".

Ergo, "So much fun you wouldn't believe" = "getting there on time."

Fun = Functional

Weird. I guesss that's why the Americans went for recreational and functional drug usage, I guess.

I have a book called White Line Fever (with a line of speed on the cover I tried to snort on multiple occasions). It was entertaining when I found out he's quite eloquent (I was never a connoisseur). It turned boring when every described days became the same (speed, drink, hustling for shows, find new guitarists). He could have been a lot more graphic about some parts of his life but I guess he was too much of a gentleman for it.

The documentary of him living on sunset with the nazi stuff was depressing. He sounded like he didn't buy his own story anymore. What the fuck did he do there anyway? He should have been living his last days in an old church in the british countryside, cross upside down, gigantic dog skull looking down on the parish, gunning his motorcycle from up the pulpit. Makes no sens either but the sound of it would be pretty diabolical.

Confronting this... I used to think that was a pretty fat line. Weird.

 

[spacejunk]

Yeah. The Dark Stuff was his first one and I've not read that. Second one is Apathy For the Devil and is pretty good read. Loads of great lil rock 'n' roll tidbits.

The Dark Stuff is great. Bands like the Only Ones and the Velvets and stuff. All my favourites.

Not related to Lemmy but if you are into your Punk music (primarily the New York scene) then get hold of Please Kill Me - The oral history of punk by Legs McNeil. Basically a book of quotes that form a story told by the people involved. Amazing book.

Amazing book is an understatement. I call it "the Bible", and habe read it so many timee.

England's Dreaming by Jon Savage is a good UK perspective too - and a mighty fine read - too.

 

[mydrugbuddy]

I had a work mate who spent 10 years on the road as a New Age Traveler. Most of his traveling friends were into h, and all of them that used h have long since died. My workmate avoided the smack and spent 10 years abusing speed instead.

He was a roadie for Lemmy for 1 month, the being awake for 20 days and nights that it initially entailed, perhaps as some kind of test, soon burnt him out and he quit/got fired after 1 month.

After his 10 years of daily amphetamine use he has over 700 notches on his bedpost, so to speak.

On the negative side he's lost most of his teeth, and is now having serious heart problems. The guy is in his mid 50s. I think that his heavy tobacco use has been just as injurious to his heart as the speed, but it is impossible to separate the 2. A Dr has told him that he will be dead within 5 years if he carries on smoking tobacco, but could conceivably live to be 80 if he gave up. (This was at least 2 or 3 years ago.) Last i saw/ heard he is still smoking.

Some people seem unable to quit tobacco even when it means that death will be staring them in the face in the not too distant future.

 

[Ismene]

Ergo, "So much fun you wouldn't believe" = "getting there on time."

I think that was my missing out on a fair bit of the statement - he talked about the fun he'd had on speed first but then went onto acid. And I think by the time he got round to speed again he was contrasting it with acid.

Yeah the autobiography was a disappointment, seemed to be a bit superficial. The new Mick Wall biog is better. I think he had to move to america in 1990 because Motorhead were dead and buried in England. I think he could better quality methamphetamine too. Collecting the nazi stuff was just his interest, he was a pretty intense student of the history - certainly wasn't a nazi.

 

[BigG]

He once said "my girlfriend is black...I'm no Nazi"

 

[mydrugbuddy]

In the TV show shown soon after his death he explained that he preferred the Nazi uniforms over all others simply because they looked the best / most stylish. Implying that his Nazi memorobillia collection had nothing to do with hm being a Nazi sympathizer.

I guess if you have all that wealth you have to collect something, otherwise what is the point. 8(

 

[BigG]

Didn't he also say "if the Israeli army made the best uniforms I'd collect them instead"

The Nazis did make good uniforms it has to be said..made by Hugo Boss IIRC....The whole killing 6 million jews took the shine off a little though

 

[mydrugbuddy]

Didn't he also say "if the Israeli army made the best uniforms I'd collect them instead"

The Nazis did make good uniforms it has to be said..made by Hugo Boss IIRC....The whole killing 6 million jews took the shine off a little though

Quite possibly, i just didn't remember that bit. I dont mean to be rude, but I don't want to comment on the Jewish thing as it could start derailing and totally sidetracking the thread, and i can for see a major shit storm brewing if it were to carry on8(

Another reason of many why I like(d) Lemmy so much was his amazing down-to-earthness, considering all the groupies, flatterers and Yes Men he must have been constantly surrounded by. When talking about constantly being on the road and performing virtually every night, he said in genuine modesty 'you get your good days and bad days. I dare say that the same thing could be said by someone in the plumbing trade.' I've never known of another star as big as him keep his feet so firmly planted on the ground. Lemmy will forever be a legend of Rock %)

 

[MonoThom]

Coming to think of it, I guess his appetite for women was far better satisfied there too.