Motorhead icon Lemmy was remembered at last night’s Grammys when Alice Cooper’s Hollywood Vampires played Ace Of Spades to a surprised pop and rap audience in Los Angeles.
The explosive tribute came after Alabama Shakes won four gongs. They took home Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance for Don’t Wanna Fight – which they played live during the ceremony – plus Best Alternative Music Album and Best Engineered Album (Non-classical) for Sound & Color.
Ghost were named winners of the Best Metal Performance Award for Cirice, while Muse won Best Rock Album for Drones.
Dave Grohl introduced the Hollywood Vampires’ TV debut by saying: “Many of us play rock’n’roll but a rare few among us are rock’n’roll. Lemmy was rock’n’roll. He was a rebel, an outsider, one of a kind, and a way of life. He was Motorhead. He was a legend and I was proud to call him my friend.”
Cooper, Joe Perry, Johnny Depp, Matt Sorum and Duff McKagan then hit the stage, performing Ace Of Spades in front of a bass rig featuring Lemmy’s trademark high mic stand, cowboy hat and bass. They appeared to have won over much of the bemused audience by the end of their short set.
Alabama Shakes bandleader Brittany Howard admitted it had been a “crazy” night for her, adding: “What an honour. We never even dreamed of this moment. When we started this we were in high school and we just did it for fun. We never thought we’d win any recognition like this. It’s beautiful – and I promise we’re going to keep going.”
Ghost frontman Papa Emeritus said in his brief acceptance speech: “Thank you so much for this. This is a big, big thing for us, obviously. A nightmare has just turned into a dream – thank you all for that.”
Buddy Guy’s Born To Play Guitar was named Best Blues Album while the reissue of Roger Waters’ 1992 solo album Amused To Death won Best Boxed Or Special Limited Edition Package.
Maria Schneider’s work on David Bowie’s Sue (Or In A Season Of Crime) won Best Arrangement while Grammys were also received by Bob Dylan and Mavis Staples.
The ceremony also featured the Eagles delivering a musical tribute to late colleague Glenn Frey, Lady Gaga performing in memory of David Bowie, and Gary Clark Jr, Bonnie Raitt and Chris Stapleton staging a farewell to B.B. King.
Rock-related Grammy winners 2016
Best Rock Album: Muse, Drones
Best Metal Performance: Ghost, Cirice
Best Rock Song: Alabama Shakes, Don’t Wanna Fight
Best Rock Performance: Alabama Shakes, Don’t Wanna Fight
Best Alternative Music Album: Alabama Shakes, Sound & Color
Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical: Alabama Shakes, Sound & Color
Best Blues Album: Buddy Guy, Born to Play Guitar
Best Surround Sound Album: James Guthrie and Joel Plante, Amused To Death (Roger Waters)
Best Historical Album: The Basement Tapes Complete: The Bootleg Series Vol. 11 (Bob Dylan)
Best Arrangement: Maria Schneider, Sue (Or In A Season Of Crime) (David Bowie)
Best American Roots Performance: Mavis Staples, See That My Grave Is Kept Clean
Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package: The Rise & Fall Of Paramount Records, Vol 2
Best Album Notes: Joni Mitchell, Love Has Many Faces: A Quartet, A Ballet, Waiting To Be Danced
