Lemmy Kilmister, the lead vocalist and founding member of Motörhead, died Monday. He was 70.
Kilmister had been suffering from of well-publicized health issues, including hematoma and had been fitted with an implantable defibrillator to correct an irregular heartbeat. Having been a smoker for 57 years, Lemmy reportedly recently cut back on alcohol and cigarettes.
In September, the frontman canceled a number of concerts after suffering complications from diabetes and a hematoma.
Lost one of my best friends, Lemmy, today. He will be sadly missed. He was a warrior and a legend. I will see you on the other side.
— Ozzy Osbourne (@OzzyOsbourne) December 29, 2015
“Lost one of my best friends, Lemmy, today. He will be sadly missed. He was a warrior and a legend. I will see you on the other side,” Osbourne wrote on Twitter.
Born Ian Fraser “Lemmy” Kilmister, the British rocker was from Stoke-on-Trent, England, and first joined space rock band Hawkwind in 1972 as a bassist and vocalist.
He was fired from Hawkwind in 1975 after being arrested on drug charges in Canada, and went on to form a new band called Bastard with Larry Wallis and Lucas Fox in 1975, before changing the name to Motörhead.
The heavy metal band went on cult success in both the U.K. and U.S., and released twenty studio albums and achieved 30 million in sales worldwide.
Lemmy was lead vocalist, bassist, principal songwriter and the only constant member of Motörhead over the decades.
SOURCE: AOL