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Amazon.co.uk Review
In White Line Fever, Lemmy, the thinking person's Ozzy Osbourne, provides a completely unreconstructed, warts and all account of his excessive life--well, the bits he can, or cares to, recall of it anyway. "That was a great time, the summer of 71", he wistfully muses at one point, "I can't remember it, but I'll never forget it!" Leader of Motorhead for close to 30 years, Lemmy has had more drugs, drinks and girls than hot dinners. His mechanism really has gone--in 1980 his blood was officially diagnosed as toxic to other human beings.
Lemmy, born in 1945 and christened Ian Fraser Kilmister, was a vicar's son. His dad, however, didn't stay around long and he was raised, predominantly, by his librarian mother in Wales. A teenager at the birth of rock 'n' roll, Lemmy first took an interest in music after discovering, as he forthrightly puts it, "what an incredible pussy magnet guitars were". After spells in local beat combos he headed off to Manchester and then London. Here he became a roadie for Jimi Hendrix, played in Opal Butterfly, before pretty much ambling into space rockers Hawkwind's line-up during 1971. This was, of course, an era when the group "would get high in the park and talk to the trees--sometimes the trees would win the argument". Sometimes it sounded as if the trees wrote the songs, too. Four years later speedfreak Lemmy was sacked for "doing the wrong drugs".
Vowing to form the "dirtiest rock 'n' roll band in the world", he put together Motorhead, arguably the heaviest (and according to the Guinness Book of Records for about five years, the loudest) heavy metal band ever to grace a stage. Thrilling buzzsaw songs such as Ace of Spades, Bomber, Killed by Death and Hellraiser (as deep as their names suggest) gained them a legion of headbanging fans. And while Lemmy may spend a little too long berating his former record label Sony and griping about recent albums being overlooked, this sex, drugs and metal memoir certainly goes all the way up to 11. --Travis Elborough --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Synopsis
The autobiography of the frontman of the loudest rock band in the world. Told with Lemmy's indomitable charisma and humour, this is the autobiography of a rock icon who over the past thirty years in the industry, has stayed true to his music, his fans and his pleasures. Lemmy was born Ian Fraser Kilmister in 1945, the son of a vicar who walked out on his mother when Lemmy was just three months old. Having been inspired to play the guitar by chicks, Little Richard and Buddy Holly, Lemmy formed what would become the ultimate metal group in 1975 and christened them Motorhead. The group went on to embrace a rock-and-roll lifestyle fuelled by drink, drugs and women, and in the process released twenty-one albums and attracted a huge following. WHITE LINE FEVER is a truly headbanging tour through the last few decades of speedmetal, offering a sometimes hilarious, often outrageous, but highly entertaining trip with the frontman of the loudest rock band in the world.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Sure, lots of celebs enter extremely late middle age as well preserved national treasures; few do so on their own terms. Ian Kilmister--boomer, Capricorn, sometime loudest man on the planet--has lived his life like that Jimi Hendrix song: 'let me live my life, the way I want to'. Superficially, that might seem to add up to forty years of professional excess and little more, but as this work shows, it is actually a case-study in what it meant to grow up working class in the North of England immediately after the war. Nobody did a damn thing for him; he carved out what he did, despite a business that has ignored him, mispackaged him and exploited him pretty much since day 2.
Superficially, the book is about sex, drugs and the rest of it; in reality, its about the way in which popular culture has provoked profound social change in the UK and what it means to live through that social experiment--to live your life as an individual in an increasingly collective society.
Lemmy is at pains to emphasize that this is a life that has worked for him but would not work for everyone. He's quite happy to acknowledge that his libertarian views can translate into some un-PC attitudes--and mostly he's just *happy*, which is quite an accomplishment. Ever notice how successful people tend to be like elephants, reciting every grievance and every professional slight--despite a career full of them, Mr. Kilmister remains philosophical and phlegmatic about being thrown out of Hawkwind, the debacle of 'Another Perfect Day' and getting tossed aside by more record labels than he's had Malboros.
To repeat, this is neither philosophy nor literature, but if you want to know why folk like Dave Grohl seek out Lemmy to work with, then listen to 'Damage Case', read this book and you shall have insight.
Superficially, the book is about sex, drugs and the rest of it; in reality, its about the way in which popular culture has provoked profound social change in the UK and what it means to live through that social experiment--to live your life as an individual in an increasingly collective society.
Lemmy is at pains to emphasize that this is a life that has worked for him but would not work for everyone. He's quite happy to acknowledge that his libertarian views can translate into some un-PC attitudes--and mostly he's just *happy*, which is quite an accomplishment. Ever notice how successful people tend to be like elephants, reciting every grievance and every professional slight--despite a career full of them, Mr. Kilmister remains philosophical and phlegmatic about being thrown out of Hawkwind, the debacle of 'Another Perfect Day' and getting tossed aside by more record labels than he's had Malboros.
To repeat, this is neither philosophy nor literature, but if you want to know why folk like Dave Grohl seek out Lemmy to work with, then listen to 'Damage Case', read this book and you shall have insight.
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Lemmy is the kind of rock star that makes you proud to be British. He doesn't take himself too seriously, he just wants to play in a rock and roll band and get laid after the show. In this book (called an autobiography, but it reads like an interview) he recounts his long career in rock, powered by amphetamines and bourbon, and it is a risible ride indeed. Stories of drink-and-drug-induced foolishness abound, along with interesting pen sketches of his fellow band members over the years. I laughed out loud a lot whilst reading this book, you know you're always going to have a good time, all the time, with Motorhead.
It's the life that you're glad somebody led, just to prove that it can be done.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is probably one of the best autobiographies i have read (and i have read a few) he has such a way with words, he is funny and he also knows how to get his point over, especially if something really gets up his back, but i found after a while i does get a bit repetition...drop from record label...tour...drop from record label...tour again, ok every one is different and he is totally honest about what he thinks, but after a while i just got the tinsiest bit bored of the repetition, but otherwise it is a truely excellent read and i would totally recommend it.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Hilarious
Probably the best rock themed Autobiography I have ever read. I was close to wetting myself one more than one occasion!
Published 12 days ago by Rabid Joe
Essential reading for any Motorhead fan
As you can imagine, this book is packed with great stories from the man himself. Its particularly interesting to hear about the early days before Motorhead, even though Lemmy's... Read more
Published 6 months ago by G
100mph
I must say that I have enjoyed reading this book to a certain degree though I did at times find Lemmys writing style somewhat rushed. Read more
Published 9 months ago by E. R. Evans
Brilliant read.
I have been reading this every night before I go to sleep. I am not a major Motorhead fan but I do like them and have always liked Lemmy and the era with Phil Taylor and Eddie... Read more
Published 9 months ago by JulieC
Heavy duty fun
This is tons of fun. I say that with a bit of caution, because amongst all the stories of wildman antics and rows with record companies there are unwanted children given up for... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Adam Eterno
Lemmy(Motorhead) - Autobiography
I've often wondered why Lemmy is THE most important British heavy metal musician in the world EVER and now I know WHY.! Read more
Published 11 months ago by allister m hardwick
Motormouth in top gear
Motorhead
AS WITH HIS MUSICAL STYLE,LEMMY KILMINSTER GOES STRAIGHT FOR THE JUGULAR AND LEAVES NOTHING UNTURNED ON THE WAY,IN HIS NO-FRILLS,STRAIGHT-TALKING LAUGH AND PATHOS... Read more
AS WITH HIS MUSICAL STYLE,LEMMY KILMINSTER GOES STRAIGHT FOR THE JUGULAR AND LEAVES NOTHING UNTURNED ON THE WAY,IN HIS NO-FRILLS,STRAIGHT-TALKING LAUGH AND PATHOS... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Mr. M. Ashburn
Wow
I bought this book on advice from a friend. I couldn't wait for it to arrive and have since not been able to put it down ! Read more
Published 13 months ago by Kimberley T. Eden
Lemmy`s White line fever
White Line Fever: Lemmy - The Autobiography is such a great book to read about one of the best, funny and wild british rock stars. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Customer999
Lemmy: the Last Man Standing
I galloped through this yarn in a couple of sittings. It's written in a fast paced conversational style, almost as if Lemmy is sitting right beside you telling his stories over a... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Neil Kernohan
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