But the sideburn-sporting Lemmy, who sadly passed away in December 2015, wasn\u2019t just a lover of high-octane riffage, he also had something of a lifelong fixation with rockabilly; a genre that stemmed from the early rock \u2019n\u2019 roll he\u2019d first fallen in love with as a teen.<\/p>\n
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Back in 2012, MusicRadar chatted to Lemmy about this unlikely side-passion<\/a> which he indulged with his other band, The Head Cat.<\/p>\n The band included Stray Cats drummer Slim Jim Phantom and guitarist Danny B Harvey. Ahead of a show at the Roxy in Los Angeles, MusicRadar sat down with Lemmy for a chat about rockabilly and how this other strand of his career began\u2026<\/p>\n You may like<\/p>\n \u201cWe were doing a track for this album [Swing Cats: A Special Tribute To Elvis], and when we were done, we started fooling around with guitars. Before you knew it, we were playing a bunch of songs. It came easy – and that’s the best way, isn’t it? That’s how you know you’ve got something worth doing,\u201d Lemmy told us.<\/p>\n \n Danny B Harvey and Lemmy performing as The Head Cat (Image credit: Noel Vasquez\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n \u201cI wasn’t looking to start another group, so it’s probably a big mistake that I went ahead with this. [laughs] But you know, when you’ve got some chemistry, and everybody knows the same songs, and they’re good at what they’re doing, why waste the opportunity?\u201d<\/p>\n One of the big benefits of the Head Cat for Lemmy was the lack of pressure on it compared to Motorhead;<\/p>\n \u201cTouring with Motorhead is so time-consuming. It’s all I can do to find the time to do anything else. I don’t know when The Head Cat is going to go into the studio again \u2013 there’s no plans \u2013 but if we get two days off, we could make another record.<\/p>\n \u201cWe just get together and play, that’s all,\u201d continued Lemmy. \u201cWe can play just about anything, you know. Name a song, play it, see if the other guys know it \u2013 that’s what we do in the studio. If you can’t remember something, then pick another song. It’s pretty easy.”<\/p>\n What to read next<\/p>\n His love of rockabilly (and indeed, rock in general) stemmed from attending a Billy Fury show in his youth, and that\u2019s where his fixation began\u2026<\/p>\n \u201cBilly had the whole star thing down, had a silver suit and the whole bit. He was from Liverpool, same as The Beatles<\/a>. Ballads were his main thing, but he did rock ‘n’ roll on his B-sides – that’s what I liked, the rock stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n \n The late, great Lemmy (Image credit: Gary Wolstenholme\/Redferns\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n We asked Lemmy for his perspective on how that original form of rock \u2019n\u2019 roll became more watered down and chart-angled as the 1960s grew. But Lemmy was surprisingly open-minded;<\/p>\n \u201cI didn’t care, really \u2013 still don’t. Just as long as it’s a good song, that’s all I ever cared about. The word ‘pop’ is just shorter for saying ‘popular.’ Just ’cause something’s popular, it can still be good. In fact, if more people are buying it, then you must be doing something right. People look down on stuff that sells. What do you call that? Downward snobbery, I guess.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Lemmy\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/WNHAcWfrELMcBs5384KERQ.png\")
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