Heavy metal: Fans chip in to create life-size bronze of Motorhead singer Lemmy

Fans of Motorhead frontman Lemmy have raised more than $22,000 for a life-size statue at his favourite bar in Los Angeles. Dozens of fans turned out to see the unveiling of the 6ft bronze at the Rainbow Bar and Grill on West Hollywood’s Sunset Strip. They were joined by Motorhead’s long-time manager Todd Singerman who said he thought the British-born singer would have been “extremely proud” of his statue. “This is for the fans. Nothing corporate. Not the label, nothing. This is a fan thing and we tried to stay out of the way,” he added.

I look at him no differently than Johnny Cash, The Beatles and so on. He was real. He didn’t b******t. The way he went on stage was the way he was at home. Go find that today

Lemmy manager Todd Singerman

Artist Travis Moore created the statue based on a publicity picture of the Ace Of Spades singer, who died from cancer in December. Although he gave his time for free, fans were asked to pay the cost of turning it into a life-size statue. Eventually, the 900 who donated money will have their names on a stack of amps being created to go with the statue. As it was unveiled, fans chanted Lemmy’s name and posed for photographs, while Ace Of Spades played loudly over the bar’s sound system. The singer’s girlfriend, Cheryl Keuleman, said the bar was Lemmy’s “favourite place in the world”. She added: “The Rainbow was Lemmy’s home.”

One of Lemmy’s worst fears was that when he died, the world would forget about him. He’s now immortal. No one ever will forget about him because he was a god. He was a man, but he was a god.

Lemmy’s girlfriend, Cheryl Keuleman

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