Heavy-metal hero turns down the volume at 65

Lemmy of Motorhead has rerecorded the rock classic Ace of Spades as a blues number. Photo / Richard Robinson

Whisper it: the Godfather of Heavy Metal is turning down the sound.

Lemmy from Motorhead, with his infamous weakness for amphetamines, an autobiography called White Line Fever, and claiming more than 2000 notches on his bedpost, is slowing down the pace.

In two months' time, on Christmas Eve, Ian Fraser "Lemmy" Kilmister, known for album titles such as Overkill, Bomber and Everything Louder than Everyone Else, will be 65 years old.

And 30 years after the band released the pulsating heavy rock classic Ace of Spades, Lemmy has rerecorded the song at half the tempo as a blues number - and sanctioned it for a commercial.

The languid version of Ace of Spades will be in Britain next week.

Lemmy will be seen supping a glass of French lager as part of an advertising campaign titled "Slow Down the Pace". Lemmy plays harmonica on the track.

Ace of Spades has not been rerecorded before. It features Lemmy's two Motorhead bandmates, Phil Campbell and Mikkey Dee, who both appear in the TV ad jamming in a bar close to Lemmy's home in Los Angeles, but which has been dressed up to give the impression of rural France.

Matt Doman, creative director at the advertising agency BBH, admitted Lemmy "was quite challenging but really because he's very protective of the track. We spent a rollercoaster of a day with him in the recording studio."

At the start of November, Motorhead will touch down in Britain as part of a (non-acoustic) international tour.

This weekend, at the National Film Theatre in London, a documentary about his life will get its UK premiere at the London Film Festival.

Lemmy, which took three years to make, celebrates the rocker's daily consumption of two packets of Marlboro Reds and a bottle of Jack Daniel's.

In the film, Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl observes: "More than any other rock musician, he's the baddest motherf***** in the world."

In heavy metal circles, that is praise.

Lemmy has appeared in advertisements before, notably a brief appearance in a 2001 ad for Kit Kat, where he was seen playing a violin.

Lucas Bergmans, senior brand manager for Kronenbourg 1664, said Lemmy was the ideal focus for a campaign aimed at male lager drinkers aged between 35 and 49.

- INDEPENDENT