Some rock stars are born into
lowly circumstances, become rich and successful, travel the world, die early
and are brought "back home" to be buried. Here is one of them. In
these photos I am by the grave of a drummer whose is buried in the quiet town in
which he was born. He was a drummer and part of the original Motorhead line-up recording eleven studio albums and four
live albums.
He was born in Hasland
in Derbyshire but grew up in Leeds. He took up the drums on his dad’s advice
and was 21 years old when he met rock dude Lemmy (who
was in Hawkwind at the time.) They had little money
and when Motorhead was created Phil was asked to
replace the existing drummer as he had a car and could run the band members
around. He was 25 when the seminal Ace of
Spades album was released in 1980. One day he broke his neck but survived.
A friend was showing off his muscle power and lifted Phil above another friend.
He was dropped him - on his head and was hospitalised (he wore a neck brace for
a while.) The accident left him with a permanent lump on the back of his neck
(calcium build-up) which he called his "knob".
He was 30 when he left Motörhead
and played in other bands. Three years later he was back and remained for
another five years. His performance was suffering due to excesses and was given
stern warnings to pull himself together. He was too far gone though and was
sacked. Aged 51 he was in a group called The Web of Spider but it only lasted
for three years. There were many other projects and other formations of groups
but nothing as commercially successful as Motorhead.
He died of liver failure in London aged 61 and
left £1.3 million mainly to his two sisters. He’d been married years ago but
employed a private detective to track down his wife to ensure she couldn't
claim on his estate. Only seven weeks after his death Lemmy
died aged 70 from prostate cancer and heart disease.
On that quiet Bank Holiday Monday afternoon I had
a drive around Hasland town. It has a population of
7000 and seemed proportionately quiet. I guessed it was probably quiet anyway
despite the national day off. I drove up to the cemetery which seemed quieter.
I can't recall seeing anyone else there as I took a few photos. Some fans had
left drum sticks and a few mementos. Sixty-one years old - not much is it?
Perhaps if Phil hadn't heeded his dad's advice to take up the drums he'd be
alive now having lived a more sedate life. I picked up a drum stick and thought
I might keep it but put it back for fear of being struck down. I did a salute
and left.
The church across the road from the cemetery...