"The Boys Are Back in Town" is a song by Irish
hard rock
Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...
band
Thin Lizzy
Thin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Their music reflects a wide range of influences, including blues, soul music, psychedelic rock and traditional Irish folk music, but is generally classified as hard rock or som ...
. The song was originally released in 1976 as the first single from their album ''
Jailbreak''. It is considered by ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' to be the band's best song, placing it at No. 272 on the 2021 edition of the "
500 Greatest Songs of All Time" list.
Single release information
The original 1976 UK single release featured the album track "Emerald" as a B-side, although in some territories "
Jailbreak" was chosen. The single was remixed and re-released in several formats in March 1991, after the success of the "Dedication" single, reaching No. 63 in the UK.
The 12"
EP featured the extra tracks "Johnny the Fox Meets Jimmy the Weed", "Black Boys on the Corner" and a live version of "Me and the Boys".
There are many theories regarding the inspiration behind "The Boys Are Back in Town", although none has been verified. One theory is that it is about the
Quality Street Gang
The Quality Street Gang operated in Manchester, England, in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Although considered by some senior officers in the Greater Manchester Police to be the instigators of much of Manchester's major crime, many others believed ...
.
Reception
"It was 1976 and we were touring America", recalled
Scott Gorham
William Scott Gorham (born March 17, 1951) is an American guitarist and songwriter who is one of the "twin lead guitarists" for the Irish rock band Thin Lizzy. Although not a founding member of Thin Lizzy, he served a continuous membership afte ...
. "''Jailbreak'' wasn't shifting and we weren't selling any tickets". The band were surprised to learn from their manager that "The Boys Are Back in Town" was becoming a hit record, especially as the track had not been among the ten songs originally chosen by the band for the album. Gorham attributed the song's unexpected success to two DJs in
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...
who "played it incessantly until other stations in the surrounding area picked up on it… Had that song not kickstarted the sales of the album, then the band was over."
It was given 499th position among the 2004
''Rolling Stone''s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, though was not included in the 2010 update. However, it re-entered the list in the 2021 update at an even higher position than before at number 272.
''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' praised
lead singer
The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...
and bassist
Phil Lynott
Philip Parris Lynott (, ; 20 August 1949 – 4 January 1986) was an Irish singer, bassist, and songwriter. His most commercially successful group was Thin Lizzy, of which he was a founding member, the principal songwriter, lead vocalist and ba ...
's "
Gaelic
Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...
soul" and said the "twin-guitar lead by
Scott Gorham
William Scott Gorham (born March 17, 1951) is an American guitarist and songwriter who is one of the "twin lead guitarists" for the Irish rock band Thin Lizzy. Although not a founding member of Thin Lizzy, he served a continuous membership afte ...
and
Brian Robertson" was "crucial to the song's success".
The song is played at most Irish Rugby matches,
and has appeared in numerous commercials, most recently in a
2019 ad for
Applebee's
Applebee's Restaurants LLC. is an American company that develops, franchises, and operates the Applebee's Neighborhood Grill + Bar restaurant chain. The Applebee's concept focuses on casual dining, with mainstream American dishes such as salads ...
, television shows, and feature films. In March 2005,
''Q'' magazine placed "The Boys Are Back in Town" at No. 38 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks. The song won a 1976 ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' Award for Best Single.
The song was used on various trailers for the
Disney Pixar
Pixar Animation Studios (commonly known as Pixar () and stylized as P I X A R) is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films. It is based in Emeryville, Californi ...
films ''
Toy Story
''Toy Story'' is a 1995 American computer-animated comedy film directed by John Lasseter (in his feature directorial debut), produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The first installment in the '' Toy Story ...
'' and ''
Toy Story 2
''Toy Story 2'' is a 1999 American computer-animated film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. The second installment in the Toy Story (franchise), ''Toy Story'' franchise and the sequel to ''Toy Story'' (1995), it wa ...
'', and ''
Rick and Morty
{{Infobox television
, image = Rick and Morty title card (cropped).png
, alt =
, caption =
, genre = {{Plainlist,
* Animated sitcom
* Adult animation
* Science fiction
* Black comedy
* ...
''’s 4th season, and is also heard in the 1990 action film ''
Navy SEALs
The United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the U.S. Navy's primary special operations force and a component of the Naval Special Warfare Command. Among the SEALs' main functions are conducting sm ...
'', in the 1999 comedy film ''
Detroit Rock City
"Detroit Rock City" is a song by the American hard rock group Kiss, released on their 1976 album ''Destroyer''. The song was written by Paul Stanley and producer Bob Ezrin.
The song is one of the band's most popular and is a classic rock staple ...
'', and in the 2013 video game ''
Saint's Row IV''.
2012 Republican National Convention use
At the
2012 Republican National Convention, the song was used to introduce then Vice-Presidential candidate
Paul Ryan on stage. This unauthorised use of the song caused controversy. Both Lynott's mother,
Philomena Lynott
Philomena Lynott (22 October 1930 – 12 June 2019) was an Irish author and entrepreneur. She was the mother of Thin Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott. Her autobiography, ''My Boy'', documents their relationship. She was the proprietor of the Clifton ...
, and Thin Lizzy lead guitarist Gorham criticised its use, suggesting that Lynott would not have wanted his music used for any political purpose, including endorsing politicians, and furthermore would likely have objected to the policies of Ryan and his running mate
Mitt Romney
Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts f ...
.
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Cover versions
Happy Mondays version
A cover version of ''The Boys Are Back in Town'' became the last Top 40 single for the Manchester
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band
Happy Mondays
Happy Mondays are an English rock band formed in Salford in 1980. The original line-up was Shaun Ryder (vocals), his brother Paul Ryder (bass), Gary Whelan (drums), Paul Davis (keyboard), and Mark Day (guitar). Mark "Bez" Berry later joine ...
(featuring vocalist
Shaun Ryder
Shaun William George Ryder (born 23 August 1962) is an English singer/songwriter and poet. As lead singer of Happy Mondays, he was a leading figure in the Madchester cultural scene during the late 1980s and early 1990s. In 1993, he formed Bla ...
and
dancer Bez), when it peaked at number 24 in the UK Singles Chart in May 1999.
According to the band they did not think that their version was a straight cover, but a record "inspired by the Phil Lynott song, but doesn't sound a thing like the original".
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boys Are Back in Town, The
1976 singles
1976 songs
1991 singles
Thin Lizzy songs
Songs written by Phil Lynott
Blues rock songs
Irish Singles Chart number-one singles
Mercury Records singles
Vertigo Records singles