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How did Lemmy Kilmister die? Ashes of late Motorhead star scattered at Wacken Open Air Festival in Germany

Lemmy Kilmister's close friends also received a bullet filled with the late singer's ashes encased inside as per his wishes

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Germany’s Wacken Open Air Festival certainly made many Motorhead fans emotional as some of the ashes of the legendary musician and band frontman Lemmy Kilmister were scattered on the ground. The ‘No Sleep 'til Hammersmith’ singer died in 2015 and, as a way of honoring the heavy metal music legend, Lemmy’s ashes were scattered in the village of Schleswig-Holstein, where the band gave several performances, per Daily Mail.

Thomas Jensen, the co-organizer of the festival sounded exuberant as he said, “Lemmy coming back to Wacken is an enormous honor for us — words can hardly express how enormous,” before adding, “We will create a place of remembrance for him that does justice to his significance for an entire genre and beyond.” He also added, “There has always been a special connection between Motorhead and Wacken Open Air; hardly any band has played here more often. The fact that his journey also ends here will forever hold a special meaning.”

Speaking about Lemmy’s love for Wacken, the group’s manager Todd Singerman said, “Wacken was one of Lemmy's dearest homes and we're delighted he has a place here forever.” He continued to say, “He was a man of the people, and as such, he 'lived' in many places worldwide. It's our aim to allow him to rest permanently in all his 'homes' globally and allow his fans worldwide to have a place close to them where they can both pay respects and celebrate his enormous continuing legacy and influence.”

How did Lemmy die?

Born Ian Fraser Kilmister in 1945, the English musician was better known as Lemmy Kilmister or simply Lemmy. Just four days after celebrating his 70th birthday, the ‘Ace of Spades’ crooner died on December 28, 2015. It was later revealed that the singer was diagnosed with prostate cancer just two days prior to his death. 

Lemmy, who started smoking at the age of 11, as per Loudwire, was a chain smoker for most of his life. He was also known to consume alcohol and drugs in abundance. In August 2015, he said that he brought down his cigarette smoking from two packs a day to one pack a week, per the New York Post. He also suffered from a lung infection in September 2015.

Despite suffering from successive lung infections in the later stage of his career, Lemmy didn’t die of it. As per the Death Certificate obtained by The Guardian, the musician died from prostate cancer, cardiac arrhythmia, and congestive heart failure. When Motorhead announced his death, they revealed that Lemmy was diagnosed with prostate cancer only two days ago. The manager, Singerman noted, “He [Lemmy] gets home [from tour], we have a big birthday party for him at the Whisky a Go Go. His friends came down and played. Two days later I could tell he wasn't feeling good. So we took him to the hospital. They release him. Then after the brain scan, they found the cancer in his brain and his neck. The doctor comes with the result a couple of days later and says ...it's terminal,” per Music-news. Lemmy and the band last performed live on December 11, 2015, in Berlin, Germany.

Lemmy’s funeral was held on January 9, 2016. His body was later cremated and the ashes were kept inside an urn shaped like his cavalry hat. As he wished before his death, some of his ashes were later put inside bullets and gifted to his loved ones in 2021.

Lemmy’s legacy

Lemmy’s close friends including Whitfield Crane, Rob Halford, Michael Monroe, Doro Pesch and Riki Rachtman received the bullets filled with Leemmy’s ashes. Upon receiving the golden bullet with Lemmy’s name engraved on it, ‘MTV Headbangers Ball’ host Riki Rachtman wrote on his Twitter, “Before his death #Lemmy asked for his ashes to be put in some bullets and handed out to his closest friends Today I received a bullet and was literally brought to tears Thank you @myMotorhead.”