rAIRDROP III: Lemmy on The Roof
Music photographer Steve Rapport offers a rare glimpse of the late heavy metal star through a new series of multimedia NFTs with behind-the-scenes commentary.
One September morning in 1982, Chalk Farm, London, a young Steve Rapport is sent on assignment to meet one Lemmy Kilmister, rock ’n’ roll legend and heavy metal hellraiser, for a midday photoshoot. Aware of Lemmy’s reputation but unsure of what to expect, Rapport is greeted with a switchblade, a mound of mysterious white powder, and the opportunity for the session of a lifetime. “It’s one of the most seared-in-my-brain experiences in my rock and roll life,” the photographer recalls. “It was just such a rock and roll moment from such a rock and roll icon.”
At the time, Rapport’s budding career was beginning to take off. As a university student in central England, he developed some pictures he’d taken of post-Zeppelin Robert Plant, and picked up a phone book to call every music magazine in town on the off-chance that some editor might be interested in his portfolio. Sure enough, Sounds Magazine invited him to London to shoot The Specials, and before long, Rapport had enough gigs lined up to take them on full-time.
40 years later, the photos taken that day are finally unearthed from the photographer’s “(Mostly) Rock ’n’ Roll” archive and given new life in the form of 10 limited-edition NFTs. Rapport graciously lent us his time for an extensive interview, which we recorded, edited and spliced into audible components corresponding to the Lemmy imagery. Each NFT includes insightful behind-the-scenes commentary from Rapport. The story is complete when all 10 are played consecutively.
‘I think the set has everything. The fact that the story and the photos go together so closely. Here’s my memory of him sitting behind the desk. Here’s a picture that adds a bit of flavor to what was going on. I just love the fact that they’re very full of character. They’re full of life. He’s kind of self-aware and not precious about himself, about his image or anything. He’s just Lemmy.”’
–Steve Rapport
Lemmy Kilmister (1945–2015), known to fans mononymously as Lemmy, was the bass-playing frontman of the influential rock bands Mötorhead and Hawkwind. His grizzly voice and fuzzed-out Rickenbacker bass are among the most recognizable sounds in rock, if not the loudest. His reckless, swashbuckling lifestyle earned him a worldwide reputation for being the true human embodiment of rock ’n’ roll, some examples of which are documented in the 2005 film Motörhead: Live Fast, Die Old.
Each NFT offers an intimate glimpse of Lemmy like he’s never been seen before. 572 NFTs are available to claim; among them are 10 different faces of Lemmy narrated by Rapport. Collect them all to hear the full story.
Mötorhead fan or not, Lemmy on The Roof captures a priceless moment in rock ’n’ roll history, and we’re grateful to be a part of it.
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