'I'm writing a play on Lemmy's life in A Christmas Carol style'

Combining the life of Motorhead legend Lemmy with A Christmas Carol for a stage show is not something most people have considered.

But for actor and writer Steve Beattie, from Stoke-on-Trent, it makes for the perfect double-act for a performance about the Burslem-born rocker where rock 'n' roll meets Charles Dickens' festive classic.

Mr Beattie said he was inspired by the recent unveiling of the singer's statue in the town and the subsequent Lemmy Encore festival, where fans said the Ace of Spades singer was as important to Burslem as Shakespeare was to Stratford.

He told BBC Radio Stoke he had been a Motorhead fan since he was a teenager.

In a similar style to Dickens' story, Lemmy would be visited by past, present and future versions of himself as they explore his life and career.

'He was down to earth'

"Everything about Lemmy…his personality, his views on politics, religion, life in general - all of that resonated with me and just made sense," Mr Beattie explained.

"I have no doubt he could play the rock star when he wanted to and you can't help but be drawn to the man.

"You know he's down to earth…he's got that Stokie vibe about him, where you know you can sit down and have a chat with the guy."

Steve Beattie said he wanted to see the play performed in the next year

Mr Beattie said his vision for the play involved Lemmy in the studio while Motorhead recorded their last album Bad Magic, which was released four months before the frontman's death in 2015.

"During that time, Lemmy was quite unwell," Mr Beattie said. "Obviously unbeknownst to the band at that time he was quite ill with cancer.

"How does a man like Lemmy face these challenges, while writing the lyrics to what possibly is the last album he'll ever write?"

Mr Beattie said he wrote the first act within two weeks of attending the Lemmy Encore festival on 3 August and was part-way through act two.

His aim was to have the play completed within the next few weeks and to have it staged in 12 months.

The statue of Lemmy Kilmister in Burslem was unveiled in May

Lemmy, real name Ian Fraser Kilmister, was born in Burslem in 1945 and later lived in nearby Newcastle-under-Lyme and Madeley.

He joined Hawkwind as a bassist and vocalist in 1971 before forming Motörhead four years later.

The band went on to release 23 studio albums in a career spanning 40 years until Lemmy's death on 28 December 2015, which came after he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.