The death of Motorhead frontman and bonafide rock icon Lemmy Kilmister has led fans to honour him in a wide range of ways. Now, ahead of his upcoming funeral and memorial, a petition has been started to name a newly-discovered chemical element after him.
Lemmy died late last month aged 70, after his health deteriorated and he lost his battle to cancer. Now, after a new addition has been made to the periodic table of elements, fans are calling for it be named Lemmium.
The element is currently called 'Ununoctium 118', and the petition has been started as it's one of four radioactive "super-heavy" elements in the table.
The petition, which has attracted over 15,000 signatures so far, reads: "Heavy rock lost its most iconic figure over Christmas with the sudden and unexpected death of Ian 'Lemmy' Kilmister.
"Lemmy was a force of nature and the very essence of heavy metal. We believe it is fitting that the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) recommend that one of the four new discovered heavy metals in the periodic table is named Lemmium.
"An astrological object (a star) has been named Lemmy to meet the IUPAC naming recommendations."
Some have taken to the petition to pedantically voice their opposition however, with Christopher Scurrah writing: "Lemmy always said Motorhead wasn't heavy metal, he said 'We're Motorhead and we play rock and roll'. If 118 is a noble gas that's fine with me."
Right on.
Meanwhile, a campaign to get Motorhead to No.1 has started gathering steam - while Lemmy's upcoming memorial service and funeral is set to be streamed online.
