Motörhead frontman Lemmy’s real first name was Ian.
He was born Ian Fraser Kilmister on December 24, 1945, in Stoke-on-Trent, England. He adopted the name Lemmy during his youth, and it became the name by which he was known throughout his career as a bassist, singer, and songwriter.
Before forming Motörhead, Lemmy played with the psychedelic rock band Hawkwind. He joined Hawkwind in 1971 and performed on the group’s influential space-rock material before being dismissed in 1975. He formed Motörhead later that year.
The band’s name is commonly written with an umlaut as Motörhead, although the pronunciation is not changed by the punctuation. Lemmy remained the group’s constant member until his death on December 28, 2015, just days after his seventieth birthday.