Motorhead singer Lemmy Kilmister, whose gravelly vocals and bass playing helped define the British heavy metal sound of the 1970s and '80s, has died at the age of 70.
Born December 24, 1945, Kilmister played bass with space rock pioneers Hawkwind before forming Motorhead in 1975. Early in career he played with mod beat band Rocking Vickers and with psychedelic Sam Gopal and Opal Butterfly.
His death was confirmed on the band's official Facebook page.
"There is no easy way to say this…our mighty, noble friend Lemmy passed away today after a short battle with an extremely aggressive cancer. He had learnt of the disease on December 26th... We cannot begin to express our shock and sadness, there aren't words," the post read.
Black Sabbath singer Ozzy Osbourne earlier said Kilmister had died, tweeting that: "Lost one of my best friends, Lemmy, today. He will be sadly missed. He was a warrior and a legend. I will see you on the other side."
Motorhead's original drummer, 'Philthy' Phil Taylor, died in November.
The band is best known for its 1980 hit Ace of Spades.
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