BEHIND THE WALL OF SOUND

You think you know who the late, great Ian ‘Lemmy’ Kilmister of Motörhead was? We thought so too, until we met the singer songwriter Lynda Kay, who reveals a tender side to the great man that we never knew existed

- Joel McIver

The acclaimed singer, guitarist and actor Lynda Kay was born in Dallas, Texas and resides in Los Angeles, appropriately so as she has been a regular on the music scene and on TV shows such as Amazon Prime’s Goliath for many years. Along the way, she struck up a close friendship with the late Motörhead singer Lemmy, a hero in our world—not just for his unique bass playing, but also for the sheer force of his intellect and personality.

Kay’s new album, Black And Gold, features a beautifully heartfelt duet with the man himself called ‘The Mask’— required listening for anyone interested in his more introspective side. Here, Kay recalls her many memories of life with the last true rock star.

How did you first meet Lemmy, Lynda?

My husband Jonny and I own Coffin Case, the guitar case company, and Jonny knew Lemmy because Motörhead was sponsored by Coffin and he had a great relationship with him and his management. I met Lemmy through Coffin, and I was in a roots duo called the Lonesome Spurs with Danny B. Harvey, the guitarist who played with him in Headcat. I knew Slim Jim Phantom too, the drummer. I’d be at a lot of the Headcat shows and I was the little Angie Dickinson to their Rat Pack, I guess. In 2006, Lemmy came to one of our shows and was very impressed. I was playing guitar, singing and playing a suitcase kick drum, and he told me ‘You keep good time!’

Lemmy was 61 in 2006. Was he in good shape?