Ex-MOTÖRHEAD Drummer MIKKEY DEE On How LEMMY Is Being Remembered: 'It's Been Bigger Than ELVIS'

In a new interview with Goldmine, former MOTÖRHEAD and current SCORPIONS drummer Mikkey Dee was asked to reflect on what Lemmy's legacy is turning out to be. "Oh, he's being remembered in a million different ways," Mikkey responded. "He was a poet, you know; he was so good with words. That's why Ozzy [Osbourne] always called him to work with him, and a lot of other entertainers as well, because he could put words together like no one could, really. He scribbled a lyric down in 15 minutes that people might be struggling for months to put together. He just took a napkin and wrote the best lyrics that you could imagine. He had a very, very easy way of that.

"But we all have our own kind of relationship with him, in different ways," he continued. "So I don't know, I just think and hope — and I already know — that he's being remembered in a proper way. Because, you know, when he passed, it's been bigger than Elvis [Presley]. He would be very surprised and honored if he knew. He might know, if he was peeking down to see what's going on. I mean, if you saw what just happened at the Wacken [Open Air] festival [in Germany], for instance, with a hundred thousand fans raising their hands while they played the new video, for [a cover of David Bowie's] 'Heroes'. That was the release of that song, kind of, and it was just incredible. They're naming streets after Lemmy; they're naming all kinds of parks and stages. So no, it's quite amazing."

Lemmy, who celebrated his 70th birthday on December 24, 2015, learned two days later that he was afflicted with an aggressive form of cancer. He died two days later, on December 28, 2015, at his home in Los Angeles.

The MOTÖRHEAD frontman had dealt with several health issues over the past few years, including heart trouble, forcing him to cut back on his famous smoking and Jack Daniels habits.

The band canceled a number of shows two years ago, although they did manage to complete one final European tour on December 11, 2015.

MOTÖRHEAD released a covers compilation album, "Under Cöver" — a collection of some of the band's best covers — on September 1.