Glenn Hughes: Lemmy set the bar ...he was the bar

Glenn Hughes has described Lemmy as “the real dang deal” and “the originator” in his tribute to the Motorhead leader.

The rock icon passed away on December 28 (Monday) after a brief battle against an aggressive form of cancer. The 70-year-old had been dealing with poor health for several year, but continued to tour and record.

Former Black Sabbath and Deep Purple vocalist and bassist Hughes says: “Within seconds on the radio I knew it was him – distinctive bass and vocal approach. He lived for rock’n’roll.

“In the 80s I failed miserably to keep up with him at the bar. He set the bar. He was the bar.

“There will never be another like you Lem. You did good, kid.”

Queen guitarist Brian May has written a blog entry in which he says: “Words don’t come easy, especially when you know Lemmy would have laughed at us all trying to say dignified things about him being a hero. Any time I attempted to say anything complimentary to Lemmy to his face, he would fix me with a kind of amused, contemptuous stare. But a kind of hero he certainly was.”

Among many other tributes, Saxon say: “We are in shock and mourning for our friend.”

Whitesnake’s David Coverdale posted a picture of two whisky glasses, with the message: “To Lemmy. Cheers!”

His former colleague, guitarist Bernie Marsden, says: “Spent many a evening chatting with him, especially about Hendrix. I always thought his image belied the depth of his intellect.”

Toto’s Steve Lukather writes that the pair “had a few great hangs years ago I shall always cherish.”

And Black Star Riders frontman Ricky Warwick says: “A huge part of rock’n’roll is gone.”