Motorhead Drops In On Los Angeles City Council Meeting

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Members of the band Motorhead dropped by Los Angeles City Hall Wednesday to promote their latest album and 40th anniversary world tour.

The presence of the English band known for songs like "Ace of Spades," "Bomber" and "Iron Fist" drew dozens of long-haired heavy metal fans and prompted flustered reactions from some City Council meeting regulars.

"Ladies and gentleman, ladies and gentlemen, Motorhead is in the building!" Councilman Jose Huizar declared before presenting Ian Fraser "Lemmy" Kilmister, Mikkey Dee and Phil "Wizzo" Campbell with a City Council proclamation.

Huizar credited the band with ushering in the era of heavy metal music and influencing bands like Metallica, Guns N' Roses and Nirvana.

The band has "stuck to its artistic guns," Huizar said, and "continues to make brilliant music, while inspiring musicians here in Los Angeles and all over the world to play well, to play hard and to honor their visions to play rock 'n' roll just like Motorhead has done for 40 years."

"Lemmy and crew epitomize what it means to live rock 'n' roll," Huizar added.

Kilmister thanked the council for the recognition, saying that "since none of us is from Los Angeles, this is a great honor."

Dee elicited a cheer from the audience when he raised the idea of further longevity for the band.

"We're going to continue for another 40 years, I hope!" he said.

Campbell said being honored by the council was "unbelievable, so thank you very much!"

The band's new album, "Bad Magic," goes on sale Friday.

(©2015 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)