I'm glad I waited, because I needed to have my wins in order to join Motörhead.

Wikimetal (Daniel Dystyler) : Hi, it's truly an honor to be here with you because, you know… We've been following your career for over 20 years, so it's great. We have the biggest Heavy Metal podcast in Brazil, so it's a pleasure to have you here on our show. I know we don't have much time, so I'll be very brief. Can you talk a little about those wonderful albums you recorded with King Diamond like “Conspiracy,” “Before Your Betrayed”? I really loved those albums.

Mikkey Dee : Abigail.

W (DD) : Abigail!

MD : As I already told the other girl who came here, we were a group of young friends from Sweden and Denmark who recorded something unique. We knew we were unique in some way, but we didn't know what kind of impact we would actually have. Because it wasn't until 10 or 15 years later that we realized we had created a style… Well, you know, there were a lot of bands following us.

W (DD) : Really, followers all over the world. I was a kid in Brazil listening to everything you were doing over there in Denmark and Sweden.

MD : Yeah, exactly! So it was great, you know? But to sum it up… We knew what we were doing, but at the same time, we had no idea what we were doing.

W (DD) : At the time, at least.

MD : At the time. We were all good musicians, good friends, and when you have a good band where you really feel comfortable, it's easy to produce good material. We played well live. That time was great, especially for me.

W (DD) : If I'm not mistaken, you played with the great Accept bassist, Peter Baltes. What do you remember about that? He's a great guy, isn't he?

MD : Yes!

W (DD) : Have you had a chance to listen to Accept's latest album? It's great, isn't it?

MD : Yes, the new singer is great.

W (DD) : It's incredible that in 2010, Accept was releasing, probably, one of the best albums of all time, and Motörhead too, because "The Word is Yours" is among the top three for me.

MD : That's what Ozzy said in Japan. He listened to our album and said, "I don't believe that the older we get, the better songs we write." Because I heard that our album would be in his top 3, which is great coming from Ozzy. And Peter Baltes, Billy White, me and Don had a really good time.

W (DD) : Like the “National Team”.

MD : That's it! Almost like a dream team.

W (DD) : All Star.

MD : Yeah, but we didn't feel like we were a "star band." We were a great band. We toured for 12 consecutive months and played great shows; we were fantastic.

W (DD) : And there was a lot of promotion for the music videos, like “Mirror Mirror”.

MD : Yeah, and "A Thousand Miles Away" is good material... We had some good times, but my heart is in a heavier music section, you know?

W (DD) : So it was a natural move for you to team up with Lemmy.

MD : It was perfect. Lemmy, Phil, and Würzel invited me two or three times, and I refused. Because I never changed bands for fame or money, you know? Wherever I'm happy, I stay. Even if a big band came to ask me, I'd say "no," I'm happy here. So the atmosphere was naturally very good when I finally said yes, and I'm glad I waited, because I needed to have my own successes to be able to join Motörhead , you know? This isn't a band where you say, "Okay, let's go." So at least there I could be part of writing the lyrics, I wrote songs that were great… And, you know… I could never contribute the way I did and am doing if I had joined the band earlier.

We had a chance to do much better if we had sold out, but we didn't.

W (DD) : Without the acquired experience.

MD : Exactly, I needed to do more tours and more albums. I didn't know that at the time. It's now, in retrospect, that I can look back and see how good it was that I didn't join [the band] back then.

W (DD) : Yes, things come at the right time.

MD : That's right, if you don't rush, you mature, you mature, you play better, you become a better person and you get ready for a great band like Motörhead.

W (DD) : I'm very interested in this new album. Was the process for writing the lyrics the same as the others before? Because I feel that the songs on this album are so good that probably 5 or 6 songs are among Motörhead's top 20.

MD : I always say this: “Every album is a reflection of the previous year,” like how the tour went the previous year, how our relationship was, how life was in general, and that’s usually reflected when you go into the studio, you try to find cool riffs and rhythms, and that’s what automatically comes from the subconscious, you know? You just go there and pull out the riffs. We’re battling with touring, and I can feel that in the songwriting process. So I think that’s one explanation. And also, another important aspect is that Cameron Webb has been with us for four albums, and he’s a really cool guy, he helps a lot. And several things are happening now, several details at the same time. Let’s say you have 10 different problems, these 10 different problems come together and that makes it difficult to pull this great rock machine forward, you know? Now everyone is pulling on “1, 2, 3, pull… 1, 2, 3, pull.”

W (DD) : Everyone is working at the same time and in the same direction.

MD : I can feel that several details are coming together at the right time and…

W (DD) : And you can probably focus more on the songwriting process, and the band, and the music, and things in general. Great… And Brazil has been a target, I think, in the last two years with all the big bands coming here… We had Iron Maiden and Ozzy and Camelot… And in two weeks we're going to have Helloween here. And you played with Helloween in 2003, right? How was that?

MD : Great band, they called me when they were having some problems. Mark Cross had a virus and was really weak, and he's a great drummer, and everyone had a problem with that album for some reason, and I said, "If I can help, I'd love to go there."

W (DD) : I really loved that record.

MD : It's great, isn't it?

W (DD) : It's a great album.

MD : So all the best to the guys, they're fantastic live too, and the lyrics they write are fantastic. And I'm happy that I could be a part of it.

W (DD) : Rafael is going to ask a question. He says that since he was a child he has loved Motörhead and "No Sleep 'til Hammersmith" and all those great albums the band made, and now he's a teacher, he has several students and he said, "I'm going to a Motörhead show, I'm going to meet the guys." And they said, "Amazing! Wow!" So his question is: what do you think it is about Motörhead that captivates all generations?

MD : Honesty. Honesty, actually, is very, very simple. We never sold out, Lemmy never sold out, neither did I nor Phil. And believe me, we had chances to save the band or do much better if we had sold out, but we didn't. We stuck with what we wrote, with what we liked. So many people tried to come and "season" what we had, and say, "I know how you're going to be successful, I know what songs you need, you know? We need this for the radio, we need this for that fan..." Get out of here. If you can't find that in those 12 songs, it doesn't exist, sorry. We could have sold hundreds of thousands more albums if we had made those two songs for the radio, or if we had made that song for MTV. And the kids today, like the ones he teaches, aren't stupid. They're super aware of what's going on in the world. I'm not saying that kids in the '70s, '80s, or early '90s were stupid, but they didn't have the tools we have today, like the internet and YouTube… The information is immense! You can't fool these 14-year-olds. I have a 14-year-old son, and he knows a million things more than I do, so… When it comes to the cyber world or bands or artists, I ask, "Wow, really?" I have no idea, he finds out everything. So I think a lot of young people are curious and will research Motörhead, their dad's or mom's favorite band… You know, you might not like the music your parents listen to, but they come to the show and say, "Oh my God!"

W (DD) : "Actually, my parents are cool!"

MD : "Yeah, that's great! They really know how to present themselves!"

"Hockey is number one for me, music is number two."

W (DD) : Are you still a metalhead? Do you listen to heavy metal?

MD : Sure.

W (DD) : What's the song that, when it starts playing, you can't control yourself?

MD : Oh, there are so many… Lots of Deep Purple and Rush songs… When “Limelight” starts playing, I go crazy.

W (DD) : That's a good question: Ian Paice or Neil Peart?

MD : Both.

W (DD) : Both of them?

MD : Yes, absolutely. And Brian Downey from Thin Lizzy… I don't like Neil Peart, I love him, of course, but I'm not as impressed with his drumming as I am with guys like Brian Downey and Ian Paice, Steve Smith from Journey. But the way he plays the songs for Rush, nobody else can do that. And from my generation, drummers like Scott Rockenfield, I love him. And Dave Lombardo, Charlie Benante… We're all from the same generation, many good drummers.

W (DD) : Great! Last question! Are you a hockey fan?

MD : Yes, I've been playing hockey all the time, ever since I was two years old.

W (DD) : There in Sweden?

MD : Yeah… I play two or three times a week when I'm home. I try to keep it up. I was talking about this yesterday when we went to an Irish bar here and they were showing an NHL hockey game. And I couldn't believe I was watching hockey in Brazil!

W (DD) : Who is your favorite player?

MD : There are so many!

W (DD) : Who would be the Pelé of hockey?

MD : Actually, there are many: Wayne Gretzky, of course. Guys like Peter Forsberg…

W (DD) : There was a guy who played for the Maple Leafs, a Swedish guy, for the Toronto Maple Leafs… Mats Sundin!

MD : He's a great friend of mine.

W (DD) : Really?

MD : Yeah, and Peter. And Sundin is fantastic, number 13. So there are several Pelés and Maradonas there. And I even told the security guard that if I were a little younger I would give up music and play hockey. Hockey is number one for me, music is number two. No! Family is number one, then hockey, then music.

W (DD) : We have a big fan on our show, and Motörhead is like a god to him, and yesterday was his birthday, could you say "hi" to him?

MD : Hello, Elder Fernandes. I heard you had a birthday, I don't know how old you turned, but it must be many years. Happy birthday, though! I know it's already passed, but there's another one coming up next year, or this year. No, next year, obviously! So, have a happy birthday and keep listening to our awful music.

W (DD) : Thank you very much, Mikkey!

MD : You're welcome!

Check out everything about Motörhead at Everything Motörhead.