Lemmy Kilmister stuck a sandwich into a registration desk

Lemmy Kilmister once got so angry at losing an argument that he forcefully pushed a cheeseburger into the mixing console of a recording studio. The episode was revealed in a new interview given to “Metal Hammer” by guitarist Phil Campbell, who played in Motörhead alongside Kilmister for 32 years.

The argument broke out between the three members of the group at the time, Kilmister, Campbell and drummer Mikkey Dee, while they were at the famous A&M Studios in Los Angeles, in the presence of producer Howard Benson. Recalling what happened, the guitarist said: “Me, Lem and Mikkey were arguing about something. At one point Howard said: ‘I can fix this right now, I recorded the last twenty minutes’. And it turned out that Lem was wrong.” According to Campbell’s memory, the late singer and bassist didn’t take the defeat well: “He was eating a cheeseburger, and all of a sudden he smashed it into the mixing console, stuffing cheese and lettuce all over that two million dollar mixer,” Phil recounted: “Poor Howard had to call someone and say, ‘Can we get a tech? Lemmy from Motörhead just trashed our console with a cheeseburger.'” He continued: “Lem was always very polite to people, but he didn’t suffer fools. He was a gentleman 99% of the time, until something made him mad, and then he would fight for his rights. You could only provoke him to a certain point. He couldn’t stand being surrounded by idiots. Sometimes he would be hysterical when he would yell at us for nothing. But we yelled at him just the same! We had furious arguments, but always in a friendly manner. Like in a real family. There were never any long faces or complaints, nor poisonous words said behind someone’s back.”

Kilmister died on December 28, 2015, four days after his 70th birthday and two days after receiving his prostate cancer diagnosis. Shortly thereafter, Campbell and Dee announced that Motörhead would not continue without their founder. Campbell would later form Phil Campbell And The Bastard Sons, while Dee joined the Scorpions.

Last week “Killed by deaf” was released, a punk rock tribute album dedicated to Motörhead, which features bands such as Rancid, Anti-Nowhere League, GBH and Pennywise.