THE QUIREBOY

Quireboys bassist Nigel Mogg, an old Lemmy pal, reflects on the man he sees as "the king of rock stars" who could also be "incredibly normal".

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Lemmy was the first person to suggest that we change the name of our band. "I like what you're doing, but you can't call yourselves The Queerboys," he said. And he was absolutely right. So we became The Quireboys.

“As a young rock fan, I'd seen Lemmy everywhere. He was at every London venue, stood by the fruit machine. One night I descended the stairs of the St Moritz Club and there he was again, but on this occasion he looked up, said: 'Alright, Nige' and returned to his game. And that was it. Somehow Lemmy knew my name. My band was in his wheelhouse and we were off to the races.

“Gradually I got to know him. I soon realised that Lemmy was super-smart. He knew a bit about everything. Get in an argument with him and you knew that you were gonna lose. He also had a very good heart. I was going on tour and mentioned that I didn't have a spare bass, and a few nights later he nodded as I walked into the St Moritz. 'There's a bass behind the bar for you.' I don't know whether or not he did it on purpose, but this thing was pink. Anyway, I borrowed it, and gave it back.