Few bands fly the classic rock flag more than Airbourne, and the Aussies have just released a tribute to the one man who possibly defined hard rock more than any other: departed Motörhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister.
‘It’s All For Rock And Roll’ summed up Lemmy’s stance pretty well, really, when it appeared on Airbourne’s 2016 album Breakin’ Outta Hell, but now it’s got a glorious, overblown clip to pay proper tribute to the band’s one true hero. “He did it all, not for you and me, but rock and roll…” they proclaim. “No sleep ’til death, his ghost still haunts the stage.”
Lemmy had of course shared a stage with Airbourne on various tours throughout the years and even appeared in their 2007 video for ‘Runnin’ Wild’, and now this new clip makes use of Motörhead’s signature ‘bomber’ lighting rig to add an emotional punch to the whole affair.
Airbourne frontman Joel O’Keefe has summed up the band’s feelings outside of their lyrics, too, describing the “black hole” Lemmy’s 2015 passing left in the music world.
“When Motörhead played, Lemmy was there for the fans and the fans were there for him,” he says. “It didn’t matter what was happening in the world at that point, because Motörhead was onstage; the crew had everything dialled in, and the crowd were there and lovin’ it – all for rock ‘n’ roll…
“Whenever we were on tour, we looked forward to seeing the festival posters with the big Motörhead logo on there, and now there’s just a big black hole. ‘We are Motörhead, and we play rock ‘n’ roll’, we were so used to hearing that, and when it’s not there anymore, it hits you hard…
“Lemmy meant so much to us, and so much to rock ‘n’ roll itself…”
Premiering over on iMotorhead, you can watch the full video right here, and check out Lemmy’s previous Airbourne cameo below.
