He might have an obsessive penchant for World War II memorabilia, but you could totally picture Motörhead’s Lemmy with a cutlass between his teeth boarding a seafaring vessel for a good pillaging as much as you can piloting a uni-bomber.
Well that fantasy is about to become (half) realised.
Following in the footsteps of Weezer (or should that be sealegs?), Motörhead are promising to ferry fans on “The Loudest Boat In The Wörld” for their own music festival set at sea, as Billboard reports.
The impressively mustachioed Lemmy and his cohorts recently announced the musical cruise, brilliantly named MotörBoat (but of course), which will mix the band’s crushing, classic riffage with a luxurious cruise. Taking place later in the year, MotörBoat will chart a metal-fuelled course that departs from Miami before docking in Key West and Cozumel in Mexico before returning to American waters.
Exact sailing dates, ship info, lineup and ticket details are all still forthcoming for MotörBoat’s maiden voyage, and we might have to hedge our hopes for a pirate ship or a Germanic submarine, but the cruise is expected to feature more than a few shipping containers’ worth of bands and maybe even some Motörhead-themed attractions. (Seabound gambling to ‘Ace of Spades’, anyone?) “…named MotörBoat (but of course), it will mix the band’s crushing, classic riffage with a luxurious cruise.”
It’s actually not the first time that someone’s thought to combine music with an aquatic trip. There’s the aforementioned weezer cruise, which wrapped up its sophomore sailing trip last week, while the 70,000 Tons of Metal festival voyage has been combining headbanging with aquatic antics for four years now.
There may be some concerns that Motörhead’s iconic leader will be ship-shape for the Autumn cruise after the band were forced to cancel then postpone an European tour two times owing to Lemmy’s ongoing health problems, as NME points out.
A statement from the band over the scrapped tour noted that “while there has been undoubted progress, Lemmy and the band were advised by doctors that it was still too soon to resume full touring activities,” referring to their frontman’s “range of health issues relating to diabetes.”
Shortly after, the 68-year-old rock veteran took to the Motörhead website to tell fans, “I’m working my way back to full fitness and rude health. Don’t worry – I’m not about to start promoting veganism and alcohol-free beverages, but it is fair to say that I personally have been reconfiguring areas of my life to make sure I can come back fitter and stronger than ever.”
What six months recovery doesn’t fix for Lemmy, some salty sea air should do him a world of good.
The MotörBoat announcement follows in the wake of the band’s latest and 21st(!) studio album, Aftershock, being unleashed – the second for the band’s own Motörhead Music label (after 2010’s The World Is Yours).
Ahead of hitting the high seas, the band are also due to perform as part of the massive Coachella 2014 lineup this April (which also features a selection of Aussie artists).
For info on MotörBoat head to www.motorheadcruise.com
