Big Bronze Lemmy Erection to Finally Go Up at Ceremony Next Friday

More than a year after receiving final approvals from local officials, a bronze statue immortalizing the late Motörhead founder and frontman Lemmy Kilmister will finally be erected at the “Lemmy Forever” Stoke-On-Trent ceremony next Friday.

Set to take place at the center of Lemmy’s hometown of Burslem, England, the ceremony will be a raucous remembrance of perhaps one of the last great rockstars. The result of a crowdfunding effort that helped cover its roughly $63,000 (£50,000) cost, the bronze sculpture in question stands at nearly 7.5 feet (2.24m) tall atop a nearly 10 foot (3m) plinth made to look like an overhanging stage. On the plinth will be the Motörhead logo, along with details about Lemmy fashioned on its face. The sculpture will be placed at outside the town’s Market Place.

Set to kick off at about 4 p.m. next Friday, the ceremony will feature Motörhead guitarist Phil Campbell placing some of Lemmy’s ashes into the statue sculpted by local artist Andy Edwards. Of course, those ashes will be escorted to the site by a biker’s corteo, who will provide a “21-rev salute” to honor the iconic musician.

Additionally, there will be multiple speakers on hand to share their thoughts and stories about Lemmy, while “various site-adjacent hostelries including Old Post Office bar and Ale House” will help revelers get reveling with some pre-ceremonial Motörhead drinks. Surely there’ll be a Jack and Coke or two enjoyed…

Further features about the days’ events include:

• The Bare Walls Art Gallery next to the statue will be displaying an installation featuring rarely seen photographs of Lemmy in their space along with other memorabilia.
• Later in the evening, Grumpy’s bar will host “A Night Of Music To Celebrate The Life Of Lemmy”, hosting the MOTÖRHEAD tribute band MOTÖRWRECKED, as well as hosting an auction of exclusive items supplied by MOTÖRHEAD’s record label and merchandise companies. A very limited number of wristbands for the auction will be available on a first-come-first-served basis to purchase on the day from the event office, which can be found at The Old Post Office Bar priced at £10. There will also be exclusive merchandise available at The Old Post Office.
• Music Mania will also be hosting an event at the Mitchell Arts Centre in Hanley from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. featuring MOTÖRHEAD tribute band MOTÖRHEADACHE, with tickets at £18. Head to musicmaniauk.com/event/motorheadache for further details.

Lemmy died on December 28, 2015 at 70 years old after he was diagnosed with cancer. Ever since his passing, there have been numerous tributes to the fallen badass, including a statue with his ashes at one of his favorite bars, the Rainbow Bar & Grill in Los Angeles. A Lemmy statue was also built at Hellfest in France back in 2016 and eventually replaced with a bigger one six years later in 2022.

All of this gives a new meaning to the song title “Stone Dead Forever”.