Motorhead’s female tour manager reveals band had chemist to make sure drug supply ‘never ran out’ 

The tour manager who worked for iconic bands such as Motorhead, Black Sabbath, Rush and Hawkwind has revealed the wildest times she had while touring the world with music’s biggest names.

Kim Hawes, from ‘a small farming town in Lancashire’, has been described as ‘a pioneer for women in the music industry’ and ‘slept under’ Motorhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister for many years on the band’s tour bus.

She was Motorhead’s tour manager for 10 years.

To promote her book, Lipstick and leather: on the road with the world’s most notorious rock starsKim took to Reddit for one of the famous social media platforms AMAs (Ask me anything).

She said she spent years sleeping in the cage under Motorhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister on the band’s tour bus

And she certainly had a lot to say.

Kim, who started in the music industry at age 19 selling merch before working her way up to tour manager, said she had “fighted with the members of Black Sabbath, tripped mushrooms on stage with Hawkwind, the Hells Angels and escalated band jokes. wars.’

“I’ve thrown Madonna off the stage, turned down an invitation from Nelson Mandela (great regret) and dealt with the aftermath of Chumbawamba drenching John Prescott,” the longtime music fan added.

In an anecdote, Kim, who is now in her 60s, revealed that the original Motorhead lineup took chemists on tour after a Redditor asked how illegal drugs were obtained on the road.

“I don’t want to get anyone in trouble, but I’ll talk about the original Motorhead lineup because none of them are with us anymore,” she said.

“They took their own chemistry lab on tour! They were two boys (who had been in the SAS!) [who] came on tour to produce the supplies and make sure it never runs out.”

She also recalled a time when a fan who was “dagger excited” to join a Rush performance in the 1980s sent the merchandise people “a matchbox full of all these different pills as a bribe.”

But no one was game enough to let them in.

Kim has shared some photos of her life on tour with Motorhead from her personal collection

A young Kim from her time as a tour manager. She has been described as a “pioneer for women in the music industry”

As for how many people went out with bands, Kim, who last toured in 2013, said she usually had about 75 crew members. One of Kim’s photos from a Motorhead tour

She called Lemmy her “friend” and “mentor” in a birthday message to him on Instagram

Now in her 60s, Kim started out in the music industry selling merchandise at age 19 before working her way up to tour manager

Despite touring with Motorhead for ten years, Kim recalled being nervous when she first met them.

‘They scared the hell out of me! I was very young and hadn’t really discovered the heavy metal scene yet. Their looks and gruff voices scared me,” she said.

“Also, Lemmy made fun of me with a straitjacket when I first met him. But I’ve come to love them. By the end of the ten years we were family.’

Although he had a rock star persona, Kim insisted he was always a gentleman, but admitted that he was “into booze and drugs.”

“When I worked with him, I could never understand how he could stay awake for so long. I was so much younger than him and couldn’t understand why I needed more sleep than he did… see you later, of course,” she said.

“I got into my travel cot and was inevitably awakened by him asking me to come and watch a movie on the buses’ VHS. He didn’t seem to care what kind of movie it was, but I remember the first movie I watched with him was Excalibur.’

Lemmy died in 2015 at the age of 70 after being diagnosed with prostate cancer.

A Redditor asked Kim what the “craziest thing” she’d seen on the tour was, and she listed a few.

Lemmy pictured with Motorhead bandmates Eddie Clarke and Phil Taylor in 1980

Hawkwind, an English rock band and one of the first space rock groups, pictured in 1972

Rush bandmates Alex Lifeson, Neil Peart and Geddy Lee pictured in 1977

“To be honest, at some point you kind of lose the idea of ​​what ‘crazy’ is. But to name a few highlights, the day at a gas station in Italy when these guys were so annoying the truck driver ran over their car,” she said.

“The day Chumbawamba said they had some people on the guest list and over 200 people showed up at the front door without warning!”

As for the number of people going out with bands, Kim, who last toured in 2013, said she usually had about 75 crew members, but it depended on the band and how much they could afford.

‘I’ve had many professions (see above on the Chemists at Motorhead!)

Kim said people would be surprised to learn that her job was “like babysitting.”

“You have to keep them quiet, focused on their homework and prevent them from committing suicide,” she said.

“I always had the biggest smile on my face on the way home from tour, when the whole thing was done, knowing that I had handled all the little things that had come my way and the tour had been a success.”

Kim has retired from touring and plans to coach and mentor other people who are music fans and want to get a start in the industry.

Her book, Lipstick and Leather: On the Road With The World’s Most Notorious Rock Stars, is out now.