Motörhead icon Lemmy has had more of his ashes scattered the mud at Germany’s Wacken Open Air festival. The famed British metallers played Wacken countless times during their decades-long career, and some of his ashes were spread as part of Wacken’s ‘Lemmy Forever’ festivities opening the festival at the weekend.
Lemmy, whose real name was Ian Kilmister, died in December 2015 at the age of 70, just two days after he revealed that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer.
“Lemmy coming back to Wacken is an enormous honour for us — words can hardly express how enormous,” said festival co-organiser Thomas Jensen. “We will create a place of remembrance for him that does justice to his significance for an entire genre and beyond.”
“There has always been a special connection between Motörhead and Wacken Open Air; hardly any band has played here more often,” he continued. “The fact that his journey also ends here will forever hold a special meaning.”
The group’s manager Todd Singerman added: “Wacken was one of Lemmy’s dearest homes and we’re delighted he has a place here forever.
“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.”
Some of Lemmy’s ashes were already used to create tattoos for Motörhead’s tour manager and production assistant. Meanwhile, the artist had also requested before his death for his ashes to be placed inside bullets and sent to his loved ones.