HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES, the supergroup featuring international film star and musician Johnny Depp alongside Alice Cooper and AEROSMITH’s Joe Perry, paid tribute to late MOTÖRHEAD frontman Lemmy Kilmister by performing the MOTÖRHEAD classic “Ace Of Spades” earlier tonight (Monday, February 15) at the Grammy Awards at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.
Dave Grohl introduced the VAMPIRES‘ appearance by saying: “Many of us play rock and roll, but very few of us are rock and roll. Lemmy Kilmister was rock and roll. He was a rebel and an outsider, one of a kind and a way of life. He was MOTÖRHEAD. He was a legend and I was proud to call him my friend. I have an ‘Ace Of Spades’ tattoo, but the truth is Lemmy and MOTÖRHEAD left their mark on me a long time ago, just as they did for everybody who’s ever loved rock and roll. As Lemmy taught us in ‘Ace Of Spades’, the pleasure is to play. So tonight, I wanna thank Lemmy and the late Phil ‘Philthy Animal’ Taylor for their music and everything it meant.”
Cooper, Perry and Depp, along with Matt Sorum and Duff McKagan then hit the stage, performing their own song, “As Bad As I Am”, followed by “Ace Of Spades” in front of a bass rig featuring Lemmy’s trademark high mic stand and cowboy hat and bass.
“We started this band as a means to toast our ‘dead drunk friends’ at the Rainbow, all the ghosts in the bar, and now I guess Lemmy is involved in that, too,” Cooper told Rolling Stone.
“He was always funny,” he continued. “I’m a ‘healed’ alcoholic and I haven’t had anything to drink in 35 years. A lot of people that drink always feel a little bit like they owe an explanation to me. A couple weeks before his death, Lemmy came up to me and said, ‘Alice, I’ve quit drinking.’ And he’s got a glass in his hand. And I go, ‘Really?’ And he says, ‘Yeah, I don’t drink whiskey anymore. I drink vodka.’ And I went, ‘Lemmy, do you think your liver has any idea what color the alcohol is?’ He said, well it’s a step down from whiskey.’ And I went, ‘Okay. Any step’s a good step.'”
Source: Blabbermouth
