Statue of Motörhead’s Lemmy Kilmister to be erected in his Staffordshire hometown

According to BBC News, plans to erect a giant statue of the late Motörhead frontman Ian “Lemmy” Kilmister in the Staffordshire town where he was born have been approved.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council has given the go-ahead for a 2.25-metre statue to be erected in Burslem’s Market Place.

It will be made from Staffordshire clay and designed by renowned local sculptor Andy Edwards, perhaps best known for his statues of Brian Clough and Peter Taylor at Derby County FC and The Beatles at Liverpool’s Pier Head.

Lemmy – whose real name was Ian Fraser Kilmister – was born in Burslem before his family moved to Newcastle-under-Lyme. The singer spent most of his childhood in Wales before founding Motörhead in 1975.

A fundraising campaign has been launched to raise the £50,000 that the project will cost to complete.

The description on GoFundMe reads as follows:

 “Mark Curran, commercial developer and owner of the Hard Days Night and Zimmerman’s bars in Stoke-on-Trent, began a search for a sculptor worthy of immortalising his hero Lemmy during the lockdown of 2020.

“He found internationally renowned artist Andy Edwards, sculptor of the world famous Liverpool Waterfront Beatles statue fame on his doorstep also in Stoke-on-Trent.

“With their combined focus in one direction, a prime site has been agreed in the centre of Lemmy’s home town Burslem directly in front of the iconic and historic Town Hall and its famed Gold Angel and enthusiastic cross party support from Stoke-on-Trent city Council given to the planning application.

Motörhead founder Lemmy was born in Burslem in 1945. He died in 2015, aged 70, after a remarkable career fronting one of the world’s most iconic rock bands.