As well as a recently erected statue, Motörhead founder Lemmy Kilmister’s birthplace may become the home of a dedicated music venue.
Plans to install an 800-capacity live music club called ‘Kilmister Halls’ in Burslem, Stoke-On-Trent have been gathering local support. The space would also include a cafe and a museum, and it would replace the currently vacant building Queen’s Theatre on Wedgwood Street.
IFK Legacy CIC, the company behind the 2.25m Lemmy statue put up in Burslem’s Market Place last month, is leading proposals for the venue. Organisers are “looking at procuring the building and raising funds”, per the BBC.
In an interview with BBC Radio Stoke, local artist Andy Edwards, who created the Lemmy statue, says the proposed venue could draw more touring musicians to the city.
“We’ve got a big musical heritage in this city and we used to attract the best bands,” he explains. “That’s drifted away and this [new venue] would make a huge difference in getting that back again.”
Edwards also says that there have been meetings between IFK Legacy and Stoke-On-Trent City Council, who own Queen’s Theatre, and that discussions have been “really positive”.
A Grade-II listed building, Queen’s Theatre first closed in 1998. It reopened in 2003 before shutting again in 2014. It’s situated on the same street as the Lemmy statue.
Lemmy was born in Burslem on Christmas Eve 1945, but he moved to Newcastle-under-Lyme with his mother at a very young age. He also spent portions of his childhood in Madeley in North Staffordshire and Benllech in North Wales.
The singer/bassist founded Motörhead in 1975, after his dismissal from space rockers Hawkwind. He was the heavy metal band’s sole constant member for their 50-year career, and they almost immediately disbanded after his death on December 28, 2015, aged 70. Lemmy was diagnosed with prostate cancer two days before he died.
When the statue of Lemmy was unveiled in Burslem on May 9, Stoke-On-Trent Lord Mayor Lyn Sharpe said in tribute, “Lemmy was one of us.” Longtime Motörhead guitarist Phil Campbell was in attendance.
