"The Farmer" is the debut single by Irish rock 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 some ...

, released on

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a German–British record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 192 ...

in 1970. It is the only recording by the original four-piece line-up of

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 ...

Eric Bell Eric Robin Bell (born 3 September 1947 in Belfast, Northern Ireland) is a Northern Irish rock and blues musician, best known as a founding member and the original guitarist of the rock group Thin Lizzy from 1969 to 1973. After his time in Thin ...

, Brian Downey and

Eric Wrixon Eric Wrixon (29 June 1947 – 13 July 2015) was a musician from Belfast, Northern Ireland, and a founding member of Them (band), Them and Thin Lizzy. He came up with the band name "Them" (from the 1954 sci-fi film ''Them!''), but as he was a mino ...

Background

Thin Lizzy were formed at the end of 1969, and quickly gained press reputation around

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, as the members were already known in local bands around the city. After playing a showcase gig at St Aidan's Hall in July 1970, Thin Lizzy were signed by EMI Ireland to record a single. The song, written by lead singer and bassist

, was recorded at Trend Studios,

Baggot Street Baggot Street () is a street in Dublin, Ireland. Location The street runs from Merrion Row (near St. Stephen's Green) to the northwestern end of Pembroke Road. It crosses the Grand Canal near Haddington Road. It is divided into two sections: ...

, and produced by John D'Ardis. The B-side was a D'Ardis composition, "I Need You", which featured a

brass section The brass section of the orchestra, concert band, and jazz ensemble consist of brass instruments, and is one of the main sections in all three ensembles. The British-style brass band contains only brass and percussion instruments. They contain ...

. The group were inexperienced at recording, and turned up with their live PA, as guitarist

thought D'Ardis would record the band live with their stage equipment, rather than use studio gear. After recording, the group were told by their management that they were short of money and needed to get rid of one member. Keyboardist

did not appear to fit in with the rest of the group's long-term plans, and quietly left. Lynott and Bell subsidised the band's income by performing as a folk duo in various Dublin pubs.

Release

The single was released by

on 31 July 1970. Five hundred copies of the single were pressed, but only 283 copies were sold. The remainder of the unsold records were probably melted down and recycled. The group were disappointed with the failure of the single, but it is now one of the rarest releases by Thin Lizzy. In the 21st century, copies have been sold for around £800.

Personnel

- lead vocals, bass guitar *

- guitar * Brian Downey - drums *

- keyboards

References

Footnotes

Sources

* * * *

External links

The Farmer
- Thin Lizzy Guide {{DEFAULTSORT:Farmer, The Thin Lizzy songs 1970 debut singles