Musically, Motörhead stayed in their lane and did it excellently. From their 1975 founding until architect Lemmy’s passing 40 years later, the trio dished out full-throttle rock’n’roll and little else, rattling teeth with such bangers as Ace Of Spades, Iron Fist and Hellraiser.
In quite the stark contrast, though, their lynchpin himself seemed to love rocking up in new and unexpected places. He appeared on mainstream TV music quiz Never Mind The Buzzcocks. He cameoed in the Hollywood-made Adam Sandler vehicle Airheads. Plus, shortly before his death, the mutton-chopped maestro starred in an advert for milk manufacturer Valio, one of the biggest companies in Scandinavia.
No appearance is as bizarre and out-of-character, however, as the time Lemmy picked up the violin to help market Kit Kats in the UK. The chocolate bar’s 2001 ad campaign centred around taking British icons and getting them to do the opposite of what they’re best-known for. These snippets of celebs “taking a break” from their usual ways is a pretty weak and tenuous tie-in with Kit Kat’s long-standing slogan, “Have a break. Have a Kit Kat.”
- “Arnold Schwarzenegger wanted to talk to me. They thought I would be right for the part of The Terminator”: WASP frontman Blackie Lawless’ wild tales of Lemmy, Gene Simmons and The Village People
- “We’d solidly work from two in the afternoon to until 10pm. Why did we knock off then? So, we could get to the pub!”: The chaotic story behind Motörhead’s Overkill, the album that turned three speed freaks into stars
The 40-second advert (embedded below) opens with the Daleks, the always-angry and murderous baddies from sci-fi juggernaut Doctor Who, declaring, “We love you!”, and demanding cuddles. Topless model Kelly Brook declines to buy a dress because she deems it “far too revealing”, notorious Manchester United hardman Roy Keane is seen quaintly sewing, magnificently maned TV personality Laurence Llewelyn Bowen tells his barber to “cut it all off” – it’s all very ironic and quaint and British.
Then, the ad crescendos with an elderly couple enjoying a meal with a soothing classical soundtrack. A quick camera pan away reveals that the source of the gentle music is the usually-rowdy Lemmy, who’s playing the violin with poise and seriousness. Given his area of musical expertise, it’s pretty unlikely that this grunting amp-exploding frontman could actually play the violin, but the intensity he brings to his tiny role almost makes us believe he could. Almost.
