Long-time rock musician and frontman for the legendary heavy metal band Motörhead Ian “Lemmy” Kilmister passed away on Monday at the age of 70.
According to a band statement, the bass player and singer died due to “extremely aggressive cancer.” He had just been diagnosed with having the disease over the Christmas weekend, NBC News reports.
“We cannot begin to express our shock and sadness, there aren’t words,” Motörhead said in the statement.
The band had recently cancelled several live appearances due to the health issues of its sole remaining founder. Lemmy had even walked off a September 1 set in Austin, Texas, after telling the crowd, “I can’t do this.”
The renowned bassist has played in several rock bands since the early 1960s and formed Motörhead in 1975. The British-band was a pioneer in the heavy metal genre and its punk-infused, fast-paced style served as a influence for countless metal and rock acts since its creation. Its most famous albums include “Ace of Spades” and the live recording “No Sleep ‘Til Hammersmith.”
Lemmy was famous for embodying the hard partying rock ‘n’ lifestyle well into old age. He reportedly had over 1000 sex partners during his lifetime and allegedly drank an entire bottle of Jack Daniels every day from the age of 30 up until only a few years ago.
He had to give up whisky in 2013 due to his ongoing battle with Type 2 diabetes, which encouraged him to switch over to vodka.
The death of its iconic frontman is not the only death Motörhead had suffered this year. Phil “Philthy” Taylor, the band’s drummer on many of its classic albums in the 80s, passed away in November. Lemmy said of the passing that “it really pisses me off that they take somebody like him and leave George Bush alive.”