'Lemmy invented something that didn't really exist'

The founding drummer of Motörhead has spoken of how the group changed his life, ahead of a festival being held in memory of frontman Lemmy.

Lucas Fox, who played with the band for just six months in 1975, will be guest of honour at the first Burslem Urban Rock Festival, in Stoke-on-Trent on Saturday.

The free event in Lemmy's hometown comes after a statue of the rocker was unveiled in Burslem last year, with Fox saying he has been "knocked out" by the strength of Motörhead's legacy.

"Motörhead and Lemmy changed my life a lot," he told BBC Radio Stoke.

"I was 21 when we first met, nine months before we started Motörhead... we had a lot in common – a wacky sense of humour, all the British rock groups, the early 60s and a love for history as well."

He remembered when the band first got together in a rehearsal studio and said it was like "magic was happening".

Fox said: "It was very loud, very fast and it really did sound different to what was going on at the time. It was maybe the link between progressive rock and punk in some ways."

"[Lemmy] really invented something that didn't exist."

Lemmy, whose real name was Ian Fraser Kilmister, was an "incredibly intelligent" man, Fox added – something which he said people underestimated.

"You could discuss anything with him - philosophy, the Second World War, all sorts of stuff. He was a real human being, a great human being and he taught me a lot," said Fox.

"He had enormous respect for the fans and he didn't suffer fools gladly."

As part of Saturday's festival, seven bands will be performing on stage from midday, with tribute act Motörheadache headlining.

The organisers, IFK Legacy CIC, will be raising money during the festival to go towards plans to turn Burslem's Queens Theatre into a concert venue called Kilmister Halls.

Asked what Lemmy, who died from cancer in 2015, would have made of it, Fox said: "It would knock his socks off. It's wonderful it's living on in so many people."

He said he was "absolutely buzzing" for the festival and to see the statue and Lemmy's hometown for the first time.

"Every time we were heading up north, there was a buzz in the car and I could feel Lemmy was back home in some ways," he added.

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