(Credits: Far Out / Rama)
Wed 18 February 2026 2:00, UK
Lemmy is a lot of things, but at the centre of it all, he’s one of the greatest live musicians to ever live.
A song needs a melody to drive it, and a lot of the time, these will be provided by a rhythm guitarist or a bass player. The truth of it is that while these instruments are completely separate from one another, the two of them can learn a lot from each other.Â
Tom Petty originally started out his musical career playing the bass. While he realised that this wasn’t the instrument he wanted to spend his life on, he picked up a lot of key lessons as a result of playing basslines, which wound up inspiring his guitar technique. When he eventually started playing the rhythm guitar properly, he was able to write songs with a wonderful driving melody that tied everything together.
“I guess, because I’d been a bass player, I wanted to play rhythm in a real solid way,” said Petty. “So our music is really based on that rhythm guitar, and everything else grows from there. If I’m showing the band a new song, it’s based on rhythm guitar, and they fill in around that. But I stick really closely to the groove with the instrument.”
A lot of people say the same about Lemmy as a bass player. While he is well and truly committed to the low-rumbling four-string, he is often compared to a rhythm guitarist because of how effectively he can instil a groove into his songs, despite that groove being soaked in distortion and grit.
The result is that Hawkwind and Motörhead became two of the greatest live bands on the planet, as crowds everywhere would flock to see what they had to offer audiences with their tantalising taste of rock. Lemmy was always very committed to delivering this live sound in the most effective way he knew how, which meant always being on the road, even when his health deteriorated.
“Instead of arguing with Lemmy, trying to get him off the road, let’s just help him instead,” said drummer Mikkey Dee when discussing the final tour with Motörhead. “I remember shows where we had to adjust a lot of stuff, but I think we, and he, did fantastic. Our last show was December 7th in Berlin, and then a couple of weeks later, the man is gone. Trust me, me and Phil put in 150%, Lemmy must have put in 300% to get through the sets.”
It seems fitting then that a musician who became so intrinsically linked to performing live managed to perfect his craft while playing on stage. The reason that Lemmy became such a proficient bassist and developed a sound which was akin to a rhythm guitar was that he learnt to play on stage, completely inexperienced and merely getting a feel for the instrument as the shows rattled on. It sounds chaotic, but it led to this playing style that fans would come to know and love. Who knew that a lack of experience could be a good thing?
“When I first joined Hawkwind, I didn’t know how to play bass at all because I’d never played one before in my life,” admitted Lemmy, concluding, “I learned on stage.”