Music

Motorhead's Lemmy stops set after three songs with breathing troubles

by Jesse Locke

September 2, 2015

"I can't do it."

Legendary hellraiser Lemmy Kilmister of Motörhead stopped an Austin, Texas performance surprisingly short last night. No, this wasn’t cited as a “technical error” like Kanye’s abbreviated appearance at the Pan Am Games, but rather a physical one.

Glide Magazine reports that the British band only made it through three songs — “Damage Case”, “Stay Clean” and “We Are Motörhead” — before Lemmy pulled the plug. The 69-year-old singer, described as “fatigued and winded” let out a sigh and told the crowd “I can’t do it.” After shuffling offstage with the rest of Motörhead’s members, he returned moments later with a sincere apology: “You are one of the best gigs in America, and I would love to play for you, but I can’t… So please accept my apologies. Next time, all right?” The house lights and music came on, as “concerned” and “slightly annoyed” showgoers exited.

This is only the latest in a series of Motörhead walk-offs, following similarly short sets in Salt Lake City and Denver, where high altitudes were blamed for Lemmy’s breathing troubles. After suffering a haematoma, the band’s 2013 European tour was cancelled entirely, along with a performance at Germany’s Wacken Open Air festival where Lemmy was rushed offstage to be taken to a hospital. We hope he’s feeling well enough to make it to their Canadian dates at Pop Montreal on September 18 and Riot Fest in Toronto on September 19.

UPDATE: The band have issued the following statement announcing the cancellation of their San Antonio show.

As you might have heard, Motörhead again had to abbreviate a performance due to Lemmy not feeling well. This is a DIRECT follow-on from the altitude issues in Colorado, and clearly, Lemmy tried to get back at it too quickly. For this reason, Motörhead will not play in San Antonio tonight, but the show will still go on with Saxon headlining. Lemmy will resume duties the moment he is PROPERLY rested and firing on all cylinders again. The legendary Motörheadbanger patience is much appreciated, and the band send their deepest thanks. More details will be released soon.