During his appearance on Vintage Rock Pod on September 4, Dee Snider detailed the challenges Twisted Sister faced in the early 1980s and Lemmy’s assistance during that period.
During the early 1980s, Twisted Sister’s UK debut was set at the Wrexham football stadium, where they were scheduled to perform alongside bands like Budgie and Tank. Facing the challenge of their first daylight performance, the band had concerns regarding their appearance.
The UK metal scene at that time was known to have a rather unforgiving crowd, with bands displaying hints of femininity risking harsh rejections. This was a cause of concern for Twisted Sister, known for their stage costumes and makeup.
In the interview, Snider revealed how Pete Way, who was working with Twisted Sister, reached out to Lemmy for support:
“Lemmy, as I always said, recognized the smell of human feces as he walked past our — because we were shitting our pants — he came in, and this is partially thanks to the late Pete Way [producer], late Kilmister, Lemmy Kilmister. Pete was producing ‘Under the Blade,’ which hadn’t been released yet, and Pete put a call into Lemmy, who was a mate, and said, ‘Hey, man, these are good guys. Take care of them.'”
He then recalled how Kilmister ended up stepping in and supporting them:
“And when we walked down the stage, I’m telling you, you saw the bottles, you saw the cans, you saw the arms up, it would go by like this, and then Lemmy walks out. And then again, he said something in the microphone, which I was told later, was, ‘Here’s a surprise from America, give a listen.'”
This mutual support then became a tradition, with the two bands introducing each other at various events over the years:
“He’d bring us on, he’d get up and jam with us spontaneously, and this generosity on his part paved the way for us, for acceptance. You go to the Reading Festival, where he rejoined Fast Eddie Clarke — they were having a heated public press battle over the breakup, Fast Eddie leaving Motörhead — and then he comes on stage and joins Fast Eddie, Pete Way, and Twisted Sister for the finale of ‘It’s Only Rock and Roll (But I Like It)’ at Reading and helps to just cement our relationship with the UK.”
According to Nation.Cymru, here is Lemmy’s perspective of what happened that day:
“They were terrified, the poor b*stards. I ran into them backstage – here was this group of big geezers all dressed like women, and they were so nervous they were spitting teeth. I could see that they were going to fall to bits, so I said, ‘Listen, I’ll go out and introduce you if you want,’ and they were like, ‘Yes, please!’ So I went out there and said, ‘These are some friends of mine, so give them a f*cking break – Twisted Sister.’ That made sure they wouldn’t get bottled off, at least. And they went on and blew the place down.'”
As Snider recalled later in the interview, attendees shared anecdotes of how Lemmy influenced their lives at Lemmy’s memorial. Dee’s wife, on the other hand, suggested that Lemmy might have been a guardian angel for many, including her husband.
You can listen to the episode below.
