Tony Iommi participates at the unveiling of Blue plaque at Vale Park for Lemmy

A blue plaque commemorating the life of legendary rock star Lemmy was unveiled this evening, 15 June 2017. The memorial has been installed at Port Vale's ground just down the road from where Motörhead frontman Lemmy was born in Burslem. Vale Park was also chosen because Motörhead headlined an iconic gig there back in 1981 and their most famous hit, Ace Of Spades, has been adopted as an anthem by the club's fans.

Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi was invited to Stoke-on-Trent for a special ceremony to reveal the tribute. The heavy metal star said: 

"It is fantastic to be unveiling this plaque because Lemmy really deserves one - it is a shame you have to be dead before you get one. He lived his life to the full with sex drugs and rock'n'roll but eventually they had to drop off with drugs and drink. The influence he had was massive and proved that you could come from anywhere and take the world. He was all about the fans and he has a massive fan base of people with Motorhead t shirts. Lemmy was a really genuine guy and what you saw was what you got. He loved the music and he lived the life with that. Motorhead were loud, I know that we were loud but they were louder and in many ways were the first thrash rock group."

Lemmy was born Ian Fraser Kilmister in Burslem in 1945 although he moved out of the Potteries to North Wales when he was still a young boy. A rock innovator and one of Tony's and Ozzy Osbourne's best friends, Lemmy's music was one of the foundations of the heavy metal genre. In all, he spent four decades in Motörhead. He passed away aged 70 on December 28, 2015 just two days after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer.

Stokesentinel.co.uk, 15 June 2017