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Thin Lizzy are an Irish
hard rock band formed in
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...
in 1969. Their music reflects a wide range of influences, including
blues,
soul music
Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became ...
,
psychedelic rock and traditional
Irish folk music
Irish traditional music (also known as Irish trad, Irish folk music, and other variants) is a genre of folk music that developed in Ireland.
In ''A History of Irish Music'' (1905), W. H. Grattan Flood wrote that, in Gaelic Ireland, there we ...
, but is generally classified as hard rock or sometimes
heavy metal.
Two of the founding members, drummer
Brian Downey and bass guitarist, lead vocalist and principal songwriter
Phil Lynott, met while still in school. Lynott led the group throughout their recording career of twelve studio albums, writing most of the material. The singles "
Whiskey in the Jar
"Whiskey in the Jar" ( Roud 533) is an Irish traditional song set in the southern mountains of Ireland, often with specific mention of counties Cork and Kerry. The song, about a rapparee ( highwayman) who is betrayed by his wife or lover, i ...
" (a traditional Irish ballad), "
The Boys Are Back in Town
"The Boys Are Back in Town" is a song by Irish hard rock band Thin Lizzy. The song was originally released in 1976 as the first single from their album ''Jailbreak''. It is considered by ''Rolling Stone'' to be the band's best song, placing it a ...
" and "
Waiting for an Alibi
"Waiting for an Alibi" is a song by Irish rock band Thin Lizzy, and the first single from their 1979 album, '' Black Rose: A Rock Legend''. ''Black Rose'' was the only Thin Lizzy album recorded while Gary Moore was a member of the band, and he l ...
" were international hits. After Lynott's death in 1986, various incarnations of the band emerged over the years based initially around guitarists
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
John Sykes
John James Sykes (born 29 July 1959) is an English guitarist, best known as a member of Whitesnake, Thin Lizzy and Tygers of Pan Tang. He has also fronted the hard rock group Blue Murder and released several solo albums.
Following a stint in ...
, though Sykes left the band in 2009. Gorham later continued with a new line-up including Downey. In 2012, Gorham and Downey decided against recording new material as Thin Lizzy so a new band,
Black Star Riders
Black Star Riders is a hard rock band formed in December 2012. The band began when members of the most recent line-up of Thin Lizzy decided to record new material, but chose not to release it under the Thin Lizzy name. While Thin Lizzy continues ...
, was formed to tour and produce new releases, such as their debut album ''
All Hell Breaks Loose''. Thin Lizzy have since reunited for occasional concerts.
Lynott, Thin Lizzy's ''de facto'' leader, was composer or co-composer of almost all of the band's songs, and the first
black Irishman to achieve commercial success in the field of rock music. Thin Lizzy featured several guitarists throughout their history, with Downey and Lynott as the
rhythm section, on the drums and bass guitar. As well as being multiracial, the band drew their early members not only from both sides of the
Irish border but also from both the Catholic and Protestant communities during
The Troubles
The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an " ...
.
''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
'' magazine describes the band as distinctly hard rock, "far apart from the braying mid-70s metal pack".
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
critic John Dougan has written that "As the band's creative force, Lynott was a more insightful and intelligent writer than many of his ilk, preferring slice-of-life
working-class dramas of love and hate influenced by
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
,
Bruce Springsteen and virtually all of the
Irish literary tradition."
History
Pre-history
Two of the founding members of Thin Lizzy, bass guitarist and vocalist
Phil Lynott and drummer
Brian Downey, met while at school in
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...
in the early 1960s. Lynott, born on 20 August 1949 in
West Bromwich
West Bromwich ( ) is a market town in the borough of Sandwell, West Midlands, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is north-west of Birmingham. West Bromwich is part of the area known as the Black Country, in terms of geography, c ...
, England, to an Irish mother
Philomena
Philomena ( el, Ἁγία Φιλομένα), also known as Saint Philomena or ''Philomena of Rome'' was a young virgin martyr whose remains were discovered on May 24–25, 1802, in the Catacomb of Priscilla. Three tiles enclosing the tomb bore ...
(1930–2019) and
Guyanese father Cecil Parris (1925–2010), was brought up in Dublin from the age of three. Downey was born on 27 January 1951 in Dublin. Lynott joined a local band, The Black Eagles, as vocalist in 1963, and Downey was recruited as drummer in 1965. In 1967, Lynott was asked to join
Skid Row
A skid row or skid road is an impoverished area, typically urban, in English-speaking North America whose inhabitants are mostly poor people " on the skids". This specifically refers to poor or homeless, considered disreputable, downtrodden or fo ...
by bass guitarist
Brush Shiels, who brought teenage Belfast guitarist
Gary Moore into the band early in 1968. After a disappointing television appearance in June 1969, Shiels fired Lynott, although they remained on good terms and Shiels subsequently taught Lynott to play bass guitar. Lynott then formed Orphanage with Downey on drums after Downey's previous band, Sugar Shack, had split.
Guitarist
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 ...
, born in Belfast on 3 September 1947, began his career playing in local bands such as The Deltones, Shades of Blue and The Bluebeats, and the last incarnation of
Them to feature
Van Morrison
Sir George Ivan Morrison (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards.
As a teenager in t ...
, between September and October 1966. Bell later moved to Dublin and joined an
Irish showband
The Irish showband was a dance band format popular in Ireland from the mid-1950s to mid-1980s. The showband was based on the internationally popular six- or seven-piece dance band. The band's basic repertoire included standard dance numbers and ...
named The Dreams, but left in 1969 with a view to forming a rock band. An acquaintance of Bell's, Belfast organist
Eric Wrixon, also a former member of Them, had also moved to Dublin and joined the showband circuit, but had similar plans to progress towards rock music.
Early years (1969–1972)
![Thin Lizzy founders](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/74/Thin_Lizzy_founders.png)
In December 1969, Bell and Wrixon met by chance in a pub in Dublin and found that they shared similar ideas of forming a band, and decided to visit the Countdown Club where they saw Lynott and Downey perform with Orphanage. Lynott was not playing bass guitar at this time, but Bell was particularly impressed by Downey, and introduced himself to Lynott and Downey during a break. When Bell asked if they would consider forming a band together, Downey was initially sceptical, but both men were aware of Bell's musical reputation. They agreed that night on condition that Lynott play bass guitar as well as sing, and that the band would perform some of Lynott's compositions. Bell later said, "From there on in we were a band." Wrixon was also included as organist in the as yet unnamed band, making the initial line-up a quartet. The following week, Lynott visited Bell at his flat and played him recordings of some of his own songs. Bell was impressed: "They were so good. I knew right away I could put my guitar style into them."
The band started to attract attention in the Irish music press almost immediately, as the band began rehearsals in January 1970. On 1 January, ''New Spotlight'' magazine announced that Bell and Wrixon were to be a part of a new band. By early February, the press had begun to question the delay in any public announcement of the "Bell-Lynott supergroup". The name Thin Lizzy was announced to the press on 18 February. The name came from a robot character in ''
The Dandy
''The Dandy'' was a British children's comic magazine published by the Dundee based publisher DC Thomson. The first issue was printed in December 1937, making it the world's third-longest running comic, after '' Il Giornalino'' (cover dated 1 O ...
'' called Tin Lizzie, which they adjusted to Thin Lizzy as a playful reference to the local Dublin accent, in which "thin" would be pronounced as "t'in". For some of their early gigs, the band were mistakenly promoted as "Tin Lizzy" or "Tin Lizzie". The group's first gig was at a school hall in
Cloghran, near
Dublin Airport
Dublin Airport (Irish: ''Aerfort Bhaile Átha Cliath'') is an international airport serving Dublin, Ireland. It is operated by DAA (formerly Dublin Airport Authority). The airport is located in Collinstown, north of Dublin, and south of ...
, in 1970, though sources vary on the date from 16 February, 19 February, and 20 February.
In July 1970, the band released a single, "The Farmer"/"I Need You", on
EMI
EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...
with the B-side written by John D'ardis, who owned Trend Studios where the single was recorded. The single sold just 283 copies and is now a collectors' item. Wrixon left the band before the single's release, meaning there was a greater share of income for the three remaining members. He moved to mainland Europe before returning to Belfast, rejoining his old band, Them. Wrixon died on 13 July 2015.
By the end of the year, Thin Lizzy were signed to
Decca Records and they travelled to London in January 1971 to record their debut album, ''
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 album sold moderately well but did not chart in the UK, despite airplay and support from influential DJs
John Peel and
Kid Jensen
David Allan "Kid" Jensen (born 4 July 1950) is a Canadian-born British radio DJ and television presenter. Born in Victoria, British Columbia, Jensen began as a radio DJ on Radio Luxembourg. Jensen was later a broadcaster for the BBC from 1976 ...
.
Around March 1971, the band permanently relocated to London, before the release of the unsuccessful "New Day"
EP in August. Despite poor sales, Decca agreed to finance the band's second album ''
Shades of a Blue Orphanage
''Shades of a Blue Orphanage'' is the second studio album by Irish rock band Thin Lizzy, released in 1972. The title is a combination of the members' previous bands: Shades of Blue and Orphanage.
"Sarah" was written for Phil Lynott's grandmother ...
'', released in March 1972. Like the previous LP, the songs were filled with Lynott's personal anecdotes and references to his life in Dublin and the people he knew there. Musically the style was
Celtic, with little warning of the hard rock direction that the band were to take in the future. Again, the album did not chart in the UK.
In mid-1972, Thin Lizzy were asked to record an album of
Deep Purple covers, which was released under the title ''
Funky Junction Play a Tribute to Deep Purple''. No mention was made of Thin Lizzy on the record. Vocals and keyboards were handled by members of another band, Elmer Fudd, and a few instrumental tracks composed by the band were also included, including Bell playing the traditional "
Danny Boy" in the style of
Jimi Hendrix. The album was released in January 1973.
"Whiskey in the Jar" (1972–1974)
![Thin Lizzy - TopPop 1974 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Thin_Lizzy_-_TopPop_1974_1.png)
In late 1972, the band embarked upon a high-profile tour of the UK with
Slade
Slade are an English rock band formed in Wolverhampton in 1966. They rose to prominence during the glam rock era in the early 1970s, achieving 17 consecutive top 20 hits and six number ones on the UK Singles Chart. The ''British Hit Singles ...
, who were enjoying a string of hit singles at the time, and
Suzi Quatro
Susan Kay Quatro (born June 3, 1950) is an American singer, bass guitarist, songwriter, and actress. In the 1970s, she scored a string of hit singles that found greater success in Europe and Australia than in her homeland, reaching No. 1 in th ...
. Around the same time, Decca released Thin Lizzy's version of a traditional
Irish ballad
The following are often-sung Irish folk ballads and folk songs. The songs are arranged by theme under the categories "Politics and soldiering" and "Non-political" and are not necessarily contemporary to the events to which they relate.
Songs ma ...
, "
Whiskey in the Jar
"Whiskey in the Jar" ( Roud 533) is an Irish traditional song set in the southern mountains of Ireland, often with specific mention of counties Cork and Kerry. The song, about a rapparee ( highwayman) who is betrayed by his wife or lover, i ...
", as a single. The band was angry at the release, feeling that the song did not represent their sound or their image, but the single topped the Irish chart, and reached No. 6 in the UK in February 1973, resulting in an appearance on ''
Top of the Pops
''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most o ...
''. It also charted in many countries across Europe. However, the follow-up single, "Randolph's Tango", was a return to Lynott's more obscure work, and it did not chart outside Ireland.
The band's next album, ''
Vagabonds of the Western World
''Vagabonds of the Western World'' is the third studio album by Irish hard rock band Thin Lizzy, released in 1973. It was the band's last album with original guitarist Eric Bell and the first to feature the artwork of Jim Fitzpatrick, whose work ...
'', was released in September 1973 following strong airplay in the UK, but again failed to chart. The accompanying single "
The Rocker" also found little success outside Ireland, and the momentum gained from their hit single was lost.
Towards the end of 1973, Eric Bell began to feel constricted with the changing style of the group, which left less room for free-form jamming and had people wanting the band to create a follow-up hit to "Whiskey in the Jar". Matters came to a head during a gig on New Year's Eve 1973 at
Queen's University Belfast, where he walked off stage halfway through the show and had to be persuaded to finish the set. The next day, he quit the group, and was immediately replaced by ex-Skid Row guitarist
Gary Moore to help finish the tour. Moore stayed until April 1974; the band recorded three songs with him in that time, including the version of "
Still in Love with You" that was included on the fourth album ''
Nightlife
Nightlife is a collective term for entertainment that is available and generally more popular from the late evening into the early hours of the morning. It includes pubs, bars, nightclubs, parties, live music, concerts, cabarets, theatre, ...
''. He left the group after being concerned about his health and struggling to compete with Lynott for control, and formed
Colosseum II
Colosseum II was a British progressive jazz-rock band formed in 1975 by former Colosseum drummer and bandleader Jon Hiseman, which featured guitarist Gary Moore.
History
Following the demise of his previous band, Tempest, Hiseman announced his ...
with
Jon Hiseman
Philip John Albert "Jon" Hiseman (21 June 1944 – 12 June 2018) was an English drummer, recording engineer, record producer, and music publisher. He played with the Graham Bond Organisation, with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers and later for ...
.
With the departure of Moore, Lynott decided to expand the line-up with two guitarists, and recruited two new members to complete a tour of Germany in May 1974. These were ex-
Atomic Rooster and
Hard Stuff
Hard Stuff were an English hard rock group which included John Du Cann and Paul Hammond, formerly of Atomic Rooster. Also in the line-up were vocalist Harry 'Al' Shaw, formerly of Curiosity Shoppe and latterly Export, and John Gustafson, f ...
guitarist
John Cann, and Berlin-born
Andy Gee, who had played with
Peter Bardens
Peter Bardens (19 June 1945 – 22 January 2002) was an English keyboardist and a founding member of the British progressive rock group Camel. He played keyboards, sang, and wrote songs with Andrew Latimer. During his career, Bardens worked al ...
and
Ellis
Ellis is a surname of Welsh and English origin. Retrieved 21 January 2014 An independent French origin of the surname is said to derive from the phrase fleur-de-lis.
Surname
A
* Abe Ellis (Stargate), a fictional character in the TV series ' ...
. This lineup proved to be temporary, as Lynott and Cann did not get on personally, and Gee was under contract to another record label. The tour was ended early when a disillusioned Downey quit the band, and had to be begged to reconsider, at a time when Thin Lizzy's contract with Decca was coming to an end.
Auditions were held for new members, and Lynott and Downey eventually settled on 18 year old Glaswegian guitarist
Brian Robertson, and Californian
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 ...
. The new line-up gelled quickly, dropped most of the old songs when they played live, and secured a new record deal with
Phonogram
Phonogram may refer to:
* A sound recording – see Geneva Phonograms Convention
* ''Phonogram'' (comics), a comic book by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie
* Phonogram (linguistics), a grapheme which represents a phoneme or a combination of phone ...
, but the resulting album ''Nightlife'' was a disappointment for the band due to its soft production and underdeveloped style. Robertson described
Ron Nevison
Ron Nevison is an American record producer and audio engineer. He started his career in the early 1970s as an engineer on ''Quadrophenia'' by the Who and Bad Company's debut album. He eventually became a producer, working with artists including ...
's production as "pretty naff" and Gorham said the record was "ridiculously tame". Like the previous three albums, it failed to chart, selling around 10,000 copies.
"The Boys Are Back in Town" (1975–1977)
![Phil-Lynott Thin Lizzy](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/Phil-Lynott_Thin_Lizzy.jpg)
In early 1975, Thin Lizzy toured the United States for the first time, in support of
Bob Seger and
Bachman–Turner Overdrive
Bachman–Turner Overdrive, often abbreviated BTO, were a Canadian rock band from Winnipeg, Manitoba, founded by Randy Bachman, Robbie Bachman and Fred Turner in 1973. Their 1970s catalogue included five top-40 albums and six US top-40 sing ...
(BTO). When BTO toured Europe later in the year to support their hit single "
You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet", Thin Lizzy again accompanied them on what was a very high-profile tour. They then recorded the ''
Fighting
Combat ( French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, or ...
'' album, which became the first Thin Lizzy album to chart in the UK, reaching No. 60, although the singles still did not chart. Opening with Seger's "
Rosalie", the album showed the first real evidence of the twin guitar sound that would lead the band towards their greatest successes, particularly with the dual harmonies of "Wild One" and both guitarists' soloing on "Suicide".
After a successful multi-band tour in support of
Status Quo, the band recorded the album ''
Jailbreak'', which proved to be their breakthrough record. Released on 26 March 1976, it featured the worldwide hit "
The Boys Are Back in Town
"The Boys Are Back in Town" is a song by Irish hard rock band Thin Lizzy. The song was originally released in 1976 as the first single from their album ''Jailbreak''. It is considered by ''Rolling Stone'' to be the band's best song, placing it a ...
" which reached No. 8 in the UK, and No. 12 in the US,
their first charting record in that country. The twin guitar sound had been fully developed by this time and was in evidence throughout the album, particularly on the hit single, and other tracks such as "Emerald" and "Warriors". The album also charted well on both sides of the Atlantic, reaching No. 10 in the UK and No. 18 in the US, and the follow-up single, "
Jailbreak", also performed well. Thin Lizzy toured the US in support of various bands such as
Aerosmith,
Rush and
REO Speedwagon, and they planned to tour there again in June 1976, this time with
Rainbow
A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows c ...
. However, Lynott fell ill with
hepatitis
Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver tissue. Some people or animals with hepatitis have no symptoms, whereas others develop yellow discoloration of the skin and whites of the eyes ( jaundice), poor appetite, vomiting, tiredness, abdominal ...
and the tour was cancelled, which set them back a few months.
While Lynott was ill, he wrote most of the following album, ''
Johnny the Fox''. The album was recorded in August 1976 and the sessions began to reveal tensions between Lynott and Robertson; for example, there was disagreement over the composition credits of the hit single "Don't Believe a Word". Lynott was still drawing on
Celtic mythology and his own personal experiences for lyric ideas, which dominated ''Johnny the Fox'' and the other albums of Thin Lizzy's successful mid-1970s period. The tour to support the album was very successful and there were further high-profile TV appearances, such as the ''
Rod Stewart BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
TV Special''.
An important tour of the US in December 1976 had to be cancelled when Brian Robertson's hand was injured by a broken bottle during a fight at
The Speakeasy Club in London, the night before the band were due to fly. Robertson maintains that, contrary to reports at the time, he was not drunk and had only gone to the venue for a meal. Lynott was angry and replaced Robertson with Gary Moore for another tour of the States in January–March 1977, this time supporting
Queen
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
. The tour was a success and Lynott asked Moore to stay on, but he returned to his previous band,
Colosseum II
Colosseum II was a British progressive jazz-rock band formed in 1975 by former Colosseum drummer and bandleader Jon Hiseman, which featured guitarist Gary Moore.
History
Following the demise of his previous band, Tempest, Hiseman announced his ...
. Robertson had not been sacked but was unsure of his position and made plans to start another band with
Jimmy Bain
James Stewart Bain (19 December 1947 – 23 January 2016) was a Scottish musician, best known for playing bass guitar in the bands Rainbow and Dio. He also worked with Kate Bush and Thin Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott, co-writing on his solo ...
of Rainbow. Before the American tour, Lynott had also invited Irish guitarist Jimi Slevin to "try out a few things" with Thin Lizzy, prompting speculation that the ex-Skid Row member could replace Robertson.
Thin Lizzy flew to Canada in May 1977 as a trio to record ''
Bad Reputation'', with Gorham handling all the guitar parts. A month into the sessions, at Gorham's urging, Robertson joined them, in his own words, "as a session player" and in Lynott's words, "as a guest". Robertson added lead guitar tracks to three songs as well as rhythm guitar and keyboards, and was officially reinstated in July. The album was released in September and sold well, reaching No. 4 in the UK, after a successful single, "
Dancing in the Moonlight (It's Caught Me in Its Spotlight)
"Dancing in the Moonlight (It's Caught Me in Its Spotlight)" is a song by the Irish rock band Thin Lizzy. It appears on their 1977 album '' Bad Reputation'' and was also released as a single a few months before the album. The song reached No. 14 ...
". Also in 1977, Thin Lizzy headlined the Reading Festival, and played
Dalymount Park
Dalymount Park (Irish: ''Páirc Cnocán Uí Dhálaigh'') is a football stadium in Phibsborough on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland.
It is the home of Bohemian F.C., who have played there since the early 20th century. Affectionately known ...
on 21 August.
"Live and Dangerous" (1978)
In 1978, Thin Lizzy released their first live album ''
Live and Dangerous
''Live and Dangerous'' is a live double album by the Irish rock band Thin Lizzy, released in June 1978. It was recorded in London in 1976, and Philadelphia and Toronto in 1977, with further production in Paris. It was also the last Thin Lizzy ...
''. There is some disagreement over just how much of the album is actually recorded live – producer
Tony Visconti
Anthony Edward Visconti (born April 24, 1944) is an American record producer, musician and singer. Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of performers. His first hit single was T. Rex's " Ride a White Swan" in 1970, the first of man ...
claimed that the only parts that were not
overdub
Overdubbing (also known as layering) is a technique used in audio recording in which audio tracks that have been pre-recorded are then played back and monitored, while simultaneously recording new, doubled, or augmented tracks onto one or more av ...
bed were the drums and the audience. However Brian Robertson has disputed this, saying that he had refused Lynott's request to re-record a guitar solo, and that the only overdubs were backing vocals and some guitar parts by Gorham. He added, "It's just not true. The only reason we said that it was recorded all over was obviously for tax reasons... so everything that Visconti claims is bollocks." Gorham concurs, stating that he attempted to re-record a solo but could not recreate the live sound, adding, "I re-did ''one'' rhythm track and a few backing vocals. But that's it." The album was a huge success, reaching No. 2 in the UK, and was ranked as the best live album of all time by
''Classic Rock'' magazine in 2004.
The permanent departure of Robertson occurred some time after a gig in
Ibiza on 6 July 1978, the disagreements with Lynott having reached a breaking point. (Robertson then teamed up with Jimmy Bain to front their new band,
Wild Horses.)
The return of Gary Moore (1978–1979)
![Phil Lynott](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c1/Phil_Lynott_.jpg)
Lynott replaced Robertson with Gary Moore again, and around this time the band loosely joined forces with
Steve Jones and
Paul Cook
Paul Thomas Cook (born 20 July 1956) is an English drummer and member of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols. He was also called "Cookie" by his friends on the punk music scene.
Early life and career
Cook was raised in Hammersmith and atte ...
of the
Sex Pistols, and also with
Chris Spedding
Christopher John Spedding (born Peter Robinson, 17 June 1944) is an English musician, singer, guitarist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and record producer. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Spedding is best known for his st ...
and Jimmy Bain, to form The Greedy Bastards, who played a small number of gigs playing a varied selection of songs. In this way Lynott was able to align his band with the
punk
Punk or punks may refer to:
Genres, subculture, and related aspects
* Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres
* Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...
movement and avoid being tagged as a 'dinosaur' as many other 1970s rock bands had been. Other occasional members of The Greedy Bastards included
Bob Geldof and
Pete Briquette
Patrick Martin Cusack (born 2 July 1954), known by the stage name Pete Briquette, is an Irish bassist, record producer and composer. He is a member of the Boomtown Rats and has also played in Bob Geldof's band.
Boomtown Rats
He was born in B ...
of the Boomtown Rats.
In August the band began another tour of the US, followed by a trip to Australia and New Zealand. Brian Downey did not accompany them, having contracted pneumonia and preferring to spend some time in Ireland. He was replaced for the tour by American drummer
Mark Nauseef
Mark Nauseef (born June 11, 1953), in Cortland, New York, is a drummer and percussionist who has enjoyed a varied career, ranging from rock music during the 1970s with his time as a member of the Ian Gillan Band and, temporarily with Thin Li ...
. On their return, Downey rejoined the band and at the beginning of 1979 they recorded ''
Black Rose: A Rock Legend'' in Paris. The sessions were marked by the increasing drug habits of Lynott and Gorham, and the general presence of drugs around the band. This also showed in the subject matter on the album, in songs such as "Got to Give It Up". Celtic influences remained, however, particularly in the album closer "Róisín Dubh", a seven-minute medley of traditional Irish songs given a twin guitar rock veneer. Two singles, "
Waiting for an Alibi
"Waiting for an Alibi" is a song by Irish rock band Thin Lizzy, and the first single from their 1979 album, '' Black Rose: A Rock Legend''. ''Black Rose'' was the only Thin Lizzy album recorded while Gary Moore was a member of the band, and he l ...
" and "
Do Anything You Want To", were successful, and the album reached No. 2 in the UK.
A third, moderately successful single, "
Sarah" was Lynott's ode to his new-born daughter.
However, on 4 July 1979, after playing their
Day on the Green
Day on the Green was a recurring concert in Oakland, California, presented by promoter Bill Graham and his company Bill Graham Presents. Held at the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, these events began in 1973 and continued into the early 1990s ...
set in
Oakland, Gary Moore abruptly left Thin Lizzy in the middle of another tour. Years later, Moore said he had no regrets about walking out, "but maybe it was wrong the way I did it. I could've done it differently, I suppose. But I just had to leave." He subsequently pursued his solo career, releasing several successful albums. He had collaborated with Lynott and Downey on his 1978 album ''
Back on the Streets'' and the hit single "
Parisienne Walkways
"Parisienne Walkways" is a song by guitarist Gary Moore that reached number 8 in the UK Singles Chart in May 1979. The song is featured on Moore's album '' Back on the Streets'' and features a vocal from Thin Lizzy frontman, Phil Lynott, who c ...
" before leaving Thin Lizzy, and in 1985 he and Lynott teamed up again on the UK No. 5 single "
Out in the Fields". Gary Moore died of a heart attack in
Estepona
Estepona () is a town and municipality in the comarca of the Costa del Sol, southern Spain. It is located in the province of Málaga, part of the autonomous community of Andalusia. Its district covers an area of 137 square kilometers in a fertile ...
, Spain on 6 February 2011, aged 58.
After Moore's departure, Thin Lizzy continued the tour for a few nights as a trio before Lynott brought in
Midge Ure to replace him on a temporary basis. Ure had prior plans to join
Ultravox
Ultravox (earlier styled as Ultravox!) were a British new wave band, formed in London in April 1974 as Tiger Lily. Between 1980 and 1986, they scored seven Top Ten albums and seventeen Top 40 singles in the UK, the most successful of which was ...
, but had co-written a song, "Get Out of Here", with Lynott on ''Black Rose: A Rock Legend'', and agreed to help Thin Lizzy complete their touring commitments. He also contributed guitar parts for ''
The Continuing Saga of the Ageing Orphans'', a compilation album of remixed and overdubbed versions of Eric Bell-era tracks. On their return to the UK, the band were to headline the Reading Festival for the second time on 25 August 1979, but had to cancel due to the disruption within the line-up.
Before a tour of Japan beginning in September, Lynott decided to bring in another guitarist,
Dave Flett
David Flett (born, 2 June 1951) is a Scottish rock guitarist, best known for performing with Manfred Mann's Earth Band and Thin Lizzy.
Career Early years and Manfred Mann
Flett began his career with local groups in Aberdeen such as Cat Squirre ...
, who had played with
Manfred Mann's Earth Band
Manfred Mann's Earth Band are an English rock band formed by South African musician Manfred Mann. Their hits include covers of Bruce Springsteen's " For You", "Blinded by the Light" and "Spirit in the Night". After forming in 1971 and with a ...
, to enable Ure to switch to playing keyboards where necessary. The tour was completed successfully, but the line-up now contained two temporary members, and Lynott was spending a lot of time on projects outside Thin Lizzy, including composing and producing material for other bands, as well as putting together his first solo album, ''
Solo in Soho
''Solo in Soho'' is the debut solo album by Irish rock singer Philip Lynott, released while he was still in Thin Lizzy. Current and former Lizzy members guested on the album, including Scott Gorham, Brian Downey (drummer), Brian Downey, Snowy W ...
''. Lynott also reactivated The Greedy Bastards, who released a one-off Christmas single, "A Merry Jingle", in December 1979 as simply The Greedies. With the group now composed of Lynott, Gorham and Downey with Sex Pistols Jones and Cook, the single reached No. 28 in the UK.
Later years and break-up (1980–1983)
While Lynott searched for a permanent guitarist, he and the other members of Thin Lizzy, past and present, worked on ''Solo in Soho'' which was released in April 1980, and the next Thin Lizzy album, ''
Chinatown''. Lynott got married on 14 February, and his wife gave birth to a second daughter in July.
[Philomena Lynott, "My Boy: The Philip Lynott Story", Virgin, 1995.] Dave Flett had hoped to be made a permanent member of Thin Lizzy but Lynott chose
Snowy White
Terence Charles "Snowy" White (born 3 March 1948, Barnstaple, Devon) is an English guitarist, known for having played with Thin Lizzy (permanent member from 1980 to 1982) and with Pink Floyd (as a backing guitarist; he was first invited to tour ...
, who had played with
Pink Floyd and
Peter Green. Midge Ure was still acting as a temporary keyboard player at gigs during early 1980, but was replaced by
Darren Wharton
Darren Leigh Wharton (born 25 December 1961) is a British keyboardist, singer and songwriter. He has fronted his own band, Dare, since 1985, but first came to attention as a member of Thin Lizzy. His son, Paris, is also a musician.
Biography
Wh ...
in April, shortly after White joined the band. Wharton was only 18 at the time and was initially hired on a temporary basis. This new line-up completed the ''Chinatown'' album between short tours, and two singles were released from it. The first, "Chinatown", reached No. 21 in the UK, but the second, "
Killer on the Loose
"Killer on the Loose" is a song by Irish rock band Thin Lizzy, released as a single in September 1980. It was written by Phil Lynott, and is from their 1980 album ''Chinatown''. The song was a chart hit, peaking at No. 10 on the UK Singles Chart, ...
", reached the top 10 amid much adverse publicity due to the ongoing activities of serial killer
Peter Sutcliffe
Peter William Sutcliffe (2 June 1946 – 13 November 2020) was an English serial killer who was dubbed the Yorkshire Ripper (an allusion to Jack the Ripper) by the press. Sutcliffe was convicted of murdering 13 women and attempting t ...
, known as "The Yorkshire Ripper".
![Front Thin Lizzy](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/Front_Thin_Lizzy.jpg)
''Chinatown'' was finally released in October 1980, and reached No. 7 in the UK, but by this time Thin Lizzy albums were not even reaching the top 100 in the US. After a successful tour of Japan and Australia, the band undertook what was to be their final tour of the US in late 1980.
At the beginning of 1981, Lynott began work on his second solo album, using Thin Lizzy members among a large group of backing musicians. Around the same time, the band were recording material for the next Thin Lizzy album, and as before, the sessions seemed to merge to the extent that musicians were not always sure which album they were working on. Producer for the Thin Lizzy sessions,
Chris Tsangarides
Christopher Andrew Tsangarides (17 August 1956 – 6 January 2018) was a British Grammy-nominated record producer, sound engineer, and mixer of Greek Cypriot origin. He was best known for his work with many heavy metal artists, including G ...
, stated, "The feeling of confusion was in the air in that sometimes nobody knew if they were working on a Phil solo record or a Lizzy album." Snowy White had previously felt that, as a member of Thin Lizzy, he should have been paid as a session player to appear on Lynott's solo recordings.
In April 1981, the band's first 'greatest hits' album was released, and ''
The Adventures of Thin Lizzy'' reached No. 6 in the UK, although a stand-alone single, "Trouble Boys", only reached No. 53, the band's worst chart placing since 1975. According to White and Wharton, Lynott was the only person who wanted to release it, and nobody else liked the song. "Trouble Boys" had even been pencilled in as the title for the new album, but the single's chart failure resulted in the song being dropped from the album and the title changed to ''
Renegade
Renegade or The Renegade may refer to:
Aircraft
*Lake Renegade, an American amphibious aircraft design
*Murphy Renegade, a Canadian ultralight biplane design
*Southern Aeronautical Renegade, an American racing aircraft design
Games
*'' Comman ...
''. One highlight for the band at this time was headlining the first-ever
Slane Castle
Slane Castle (Irish ''Cáisleán Bhaile Shláine'') is located in the village of Slane, within the Boyne Valley of County Meath, Ireland. The castle has been the family seat of the Conyngham family since it was built in the late 18th century, on ...
concert on 16 August, with support from
Kirsty MacColl
Kirsty Anna MacColl (10 October 1959 – 18 December 2000) was a British singer and songwriter, daughter of folk singer Ewan MacColl. She recorded several pop hits in the 1980s and 1990s, including " There's a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop Swears ...
,
Hazel O'Connor
Hazel Thereasa O'Connor (born 16 May 1954) is a British singer-songwriter and actress. She became famous in the early 1980s with hit singles " Eighth Day", " D-Days" and " Will You?" She also starred in the 1980 film '' Breaking Glass''.
Care ...
and
U2.
Lynott's second solo album, ''
The Philip Lynott Album'', was delayed until 1982 while ''Renegade'' was completed and released in November 1981. ''Renegade'' was not successful, only reaching No. 38 in the UK and No. 157 in the US. A single, "
Hollywood (Down on Your Luck)
"Hollywood (Down on Your Luck)" is a song by the Irish rock band Thin Lizzy, written by guitarist Scott Gorham and bassist/vocalist Phil Lynott, and released as a single in 1982. It was the only single to be released from their 1981 album ''Reneg ...
", also flopped, although it did reach No. 24 on the US
Mainstream Rock
Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada.
Format background
Mainstream rock stations represent the middle ground between classic rock and active rock ...
chart. Only two songs from the album were written solely by Lynott, with the other members of the band contributing more to the compositions. Both Gorham and Wharton have since stated their dissatisfaction with some of the songs, such as "Angel of Death", "Fats" and "Mexican Blood". Wharton was omitted from the band photos on the back of the record sleeve, despite the fact that he was by this time a permanent member of the band. "It hurt me a great deal", he later said.
''Thunder and Lightning''
![Thin Lizzy - Manchester Apollo - 1983 (2)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/Thin_Lizzy_-_Manchester_Apollo_-_1983_%282%29.jpg)
The beginning of 1982 was marred by both Downey and Gorham having to take breaks from the European tour to recover from personal problems. Downey was involved in a fight in a nightclub in Denmark in February, and Gorham was suffering from drug-induced exhaustion. Downey missed five concerts, and was replaced by
Mark Nauseef
Mark Nauseef (born June 11, 1953), in Cortland, New York, is a drummer and percussionist who has enjoyed a varied career, ranging from rock music during the 1970s with his time as a member of the Ian Gillan Band and, temporarily with Thin Li ...
again for three of them, and by Mike Mesbur of support band The Lookalikes for the other two.
In March, Gorham collapsed and returned home; eight concerts were performed as a quartet and six others were postponed.
Later in the year, Lynott went on a solo tour and released his second solo album, which did not sell particularly well. Snowy White left the band in August 1982, having tired of the disorganised schedules and Lynott's drug problems, although by his own admission he was too restrained and quiet to fit in well with his more raucous bandmates. White went on to achieve top ten chart success in the UK with his single "
Bird of Paradise" in 1983. Long-time co-manager Chris O'Donnell also left at this time, later stating, "A once-brilliant band was turning to crap before my very eyes."
Lynott wanted to find a replacement for White before starting to record the next album, which would turn out to be the band's last. By September 1982, after some unsuccessful rehearsals with Dutch guitarist
Adrian Vandenberg
Adrian Vandenberg (born 31 January 1954 as Adriaan van den Berg) is a Dutch rock guitarist, best known for his tenure as one of the guitarists in Whitesnake during their successful late 1980s period and the band Vandenberg which he started in ...
, he had settled on
John Sykes
John James Sykes (born 29 July 1959) is an English guitarist, best known as a member of Whitesnake, Thin Lizzy and Tygers of Pan Tang. He has also fronted the hard rock group Blue Murder and released several solo albums.
Following a stint in ...
who had been a member of
Tygers of Pan Tang
Tygers of Pan Tang are an English heavy metal band who are part of the new wave of British heavy metal movement. They formed in 1978 in Whitley Bay, England, and were active until 1987. The band reformed in 1999 and continue to record and perf ...
, and he co-wrote the first single from the album, "
Cold Sweat
"Cold Sweat" is a song performed by James Brown and written with his bandleader Alfred "Pee Wee" Ellis. Brown recorded it in May 1967. An edited version of "Cold Sweat" released as a two-part single on King Records was a No. 1 R&B hit, and rea ...
", although the rest of the album had already been written. ''
Thunder and Lightning'' was released in March 1983, and was much more successful than its predecessor, reaching No. 4 in the UK. Sykes' presence had rejuvenated the band musically, the composing credits were evenly shared, and the style had grown much heavier, veering towards
heavy metal.
The tour to support the album was to be a farewell tour, although Lynott was not convinced that this would be the end of the band. Sykes wanted to continue, although Gorham had had enough. The tour was successful, and some concerts were recorded to compile a live album. Partway into the tour, many of Thin Lizzy's past guitarists were invited onstage to contribute to some of the songs they had originally recorded, the only exception being Snowy White. The album was released in October 1983 as ''
Life
Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for Cell growth, growth, reaction to Stimu ...
'', which included an older performance of "Renegade" featuring White, and reached No. 29 in the UK. The tour continued while two more singles were released, the last of them, "
The Sun Goes Down", only reaching No. 52 in August. Lynott also undertook another solo tour, accompanied by Downey and Sykes, under the name of The Three Musketeers.
After a difficult leg of the tour in Japan, where some members of the band had difficulty obtaining heroin, Thin Lizzy played their final UK concert before their break-up at the
Reading Festival
The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Festiv ...
on 28 August 1983, which was eventually released in 1992 as their ''
BBC Radio One Live in Concert'' album. The last concert came in
Nuremberg
Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...
on 4 September, at the
Monsters of Rock
Monsters of Rock was an annual hard rock and heavy metal music festival held in Castle Donington, England, from 1980 to 1996, taking place every year except 1989 and 1993. It later branched into other locations such as the Netherlands, Poland, ...
festival, after which the band members went their separate ways.
Post-Thin Lizzy projects and tributes (1985–1996)
Before the end of 1983, Lynott formed a new band called
Grand Slam
Grand Slam most often refers to:
* Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves
Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to:
Games and sports
* Grand slam, winning category te ...
, but they were never able to secure a contract with a record company and split by the beginning of 1985. Sykes and Downey initially agreed to be a part of the band, but Sykes joined
Whitesnake
Whitesnake are an English hard rock band formed in London in 1978. The group was originally put together as the backing band for singer David Coverdale, who had recently left Deep Purple. Though the band quickly developed into their own en ...
and Downey also changed his mind. Lynott began to focus more on his solo career and enjoyed a No. 5 hit single "
Out in the Fields" with Gary Moore in May 1985. The song, composed by Moore, was taken from his solo album ''
Run for Cover'' featuring various contributions from Lynott. Lynott's solo efforts did not fare so well, and his last single, "Nineteen", only reached No. 76 in the UK.
[Adam C. Winstanley, "Black Rose" magazine, Issue 4, 1990.]
Before his death, Lynott was planning a third solo album, and had spoken to Downey about a possible reformation of Thin Lizzy around March 1986, possibly with Gorham and Sykes, and had booked studio time for January of that year. "Phil asked Brian Downey and I to re-form Thin Lizzy and we both agreed," recalled guitarist Robin George, on whose album ''Dangerous Music'' Lynott had played. "We made some recordings in the studio in his back garden in the house at
Kew
Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is a ...
during December
985
Year 985 ( CMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Europe
* Summer – Henry II (the Wrangler) is restored as duke of Bavaria by Empress Theoph ...
It went absolutely great… Unfortunately, the cassette of our material failed to resurface after his death. It was the only copy. It was such a shame as Phil was vibed up about the new Lizzy."
Lynott died in hospital in
Salisbury
Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath.
Salisbury is in the southeast of ...
, Wiltshire, on 4 January 1986, aged 36, having suffered from internal
abscesses,
pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...
and
septicaemia
Sepsis, formerly known as septicemia (septicaemia in British English) or blood poisoning, is a life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage is follo ...
, brought on by his drug dependency, which led to multiple organ failure.
On 17 May, Thin Lizzy reformed for the
Self Aid
Self Aid was an unemployment benefit concert held in Dublin, Ireland on 17 May 1986. The concert performances were primarily by Irish musicians, although Elvis Costello and Chris Rea, both Englishmen of Irish descent, were designated "honorary Ir ...
concert, with a line-up of Gary Moore, Downey, Gorham, Wharton and
Bob Daisley
Robert John Daisley (born 13 February 1950) is a retired Australian bass guitarist. He has collaborated on several occasions with Ozzy Osbourne, for whom he contributed bass, backing vocals, co-production and songwriting. He has also worked wi ...
on bass.
Bob Geldof and Moore handled most lead vocals, though various singers got onstage for "
Whiskey in the Jar
"Whiskey in the Jar" ( Roud 533) is an Irish traditional song set in the southern mountains of Ireland, often with specific mention of counties Cork and Kerry. The song, about a rapparee ( highwayman) who is betrayed by his wife or lover, i ...
". A compilation album, ''Soldier of Fortune'', was released in 1987, and also that year, the "Vibe for Philo" tribute concert in Lynott's memory was organised by Dublin DJ and promoter Smiley Bolger, which continues on an annual basis on the anniversary of Lynott's death.
![Brian Robertson in 2011](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7d/Brian_Robertson_in_2011.jpg)
The remaining members of Thin Lizzy did not work together until the recording of the single "Dedication" in October 1990, when a rough demo of Lynott's called "Guiding Light" was worked into a finished song to commemorate the fifth anniversary of his death. The song dated from the Grand Slam days and had been originally written with guitarist
Laurence Archer
Laurence Archer (born 9 November 1961 in London) is a British guitarist and songwriter notable for his work with British rock bands UFO and Phil Lynott's Grand Slam. He wrote many of Grand Slam's songs together with Phil Lynott and Mark Stanway ...
. Modern recording techniques were used to replace the guitar and drum tracks with new work by Downey and Gorham. Gary Moore had agreed to participate as well, but ultimately did not do so. The song charted in the UK at No. 35 during early 1991, and No. 2 in Ireland,
and featured on another greatest hits compilation album, ''
Dedication: The Very Best of Thin Lizzy'', released in February of that year, which reached No. 8 in the UK album chart. However, a follow-up reissue of "The Boys Are Back in Town" only reached No. 63 in the UK,
although it peaked at No. 16 in Ireland.
Following this, numerous small reunion projects began to appear. In 1991, a line-up featuring Robertson and Downey performed with
Bobby Tench
Robert Tench (born 21 September 1944) is a British vocalist, guitarist, sideman, songwriter and arranger.
Tench is best known for his work with Freddie King and Van Morrison, as well as being a member of The Jeff Beck Group, Humble Pie, Street ...
on lead vocals, ex-Grand Slam member Doish Nagle on guitar and Doug Brockie on bass. They toured Ireland briefly with a series of "An Evening of Thin Lizzy" concerts. In August 1994, Downey, Bell, Robertson and Wharton held a tribute concert in
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunians ...
, together with tribute bands Limehouse Lizzy, Ain't Lizzy and Bad Habitz. Another version of Thin Lizzy was formed later that year by John Sykes (now also performing lead vocals) with Downey, Gorham and Wharton, and with bass parts played by
Marco Mendoza, who had played with Sykes in
Blue Murder from 1991 to 1993. The tour was advertised as a tribute to Phil Lynott. This line-up also played at the Vibe for Philo gig on 4 January 1996, with a number of other notable musicians including Eric Bell, Midge Ure, Brush Shiels,
Henry Rollins
Henry Lawrence Garfield (born February 13, 1961), known professionally as Henry Rollins, is an American singer, writer, spoken word artist, actor, and presenter. After performing in the short-lived hardcore punk band State of Alert in 1980, Roll ...
, and
Joe Elliott
Joseph Thomas "Joe" Elliott (born 1 August 1959) is an English–Irish rock singer, best known as the lead singer and one of the founding members of the hard rock band Def Leppard. He has also been the lead singer of the David Bowie tribute ba ...
and
Rick Savage
Richard Savage (born 2 December 1960) is an English musician best known for being the bass guitarist and one of the founding members of the English rock band Def Leppard. Savage and lead singer Joe Elliott are the only two remaining original ...
from
Def Leppard
Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1976 in Sheffield. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drums, backing vocals), Phil Collen (guitar, backing vocals), ...
. Boxer
Steve Collins
Stephen Collins (born 21 July 1964) is an Irish former professional boxer who competed from 1986 to 1997. Known as the Celtic Warrior, Collins is the most successful male Irish boxer in recent professional boxing history, having held the WBO mi ...
also performed, reciting the lyrics to "Warriors". Brian Robertson was absent due to injury.
In 1994, a collection of Thin Lizzy tracks from the BBC Radio 1
Peel Sessions
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...
was released, and yet another compilation album was brought out in 1996, called ''
Wild One: The Very Best Of Thin Lizzy''. This was successful, although it did not feature the title track, "Wild One".
On 20 August 1996, Rude Awakening bassist Robert Ryder held "A Celebration of the Life of Philip Lynott" at
the Palace in Hollywood, California, at the request of Lynott's mother, Philomena, to commemorate both Phil Lynott's birthday and the tenth year of his passing. Philomena Lynott, her partner Dennis Keeley, and Smiley Bolger (Ireland's Vibe for Philo promoter) were flown to Los Angeles by Ryder to make a personal appearance at the show. It featured concert performances by Rude Awakening,
Billy Sheehan
William Sheehan (born March 19, 1953) is an American musician. He is best known for playing the bass guitar with acts such as Talas, Steve Vai, David Lee Roth, Mr. Big, Niacin, and The Winery Dogs. He is also known for his "lead bass" playing ...
,
Rudy Sarzo
Rodolfo Maximiliano Sarzo Lavieille Grande Ruiz Payret y Chaumont (born November 18, 1950) is a Cuban American hard rock/ heavy metal bassist. He remains best known for his work with Quiet Riot, Ozzy Osbourne, and Whitesnake, and has also played ...
,
John Norum
John Norum (born 23 February 1964) is a Norwegian-Swedish guitarist and one of the founders of the rock band Europe. Concurrent to his role with Europe, he also maintains a career as a solo artist.
Biography
As an infant, Norum moved with his p ...
,
Carmine Appice
Carmine Appice ( , born December 15, 1946) is an American rock drummer. He is best known for his associations with Vanilla Fudge; Cactus; the power trio Beck, Bogert & Appice; Rod Stewart; King Kobra; and Blue Murder. He is also Vinny Appice's ...
,
Phantom Blue, Soma, producer
Roy Z
Roy Z (born February 1968) is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer, best known for his work with Bruce Dickinson (from Iron Maiden), Halford, and Judas Priest. He also is the founder of Tribe of Gypsies, a Latin-influenced har ...
and his band the Tribe of Gypsies, Mark Ferrari, Oslo,
Bang Tango
Bang Tango is an American hard rock band. The band was formed in Los Angeles in 1988 and was signed to MCA Records the same year.
History Formation (1988)
Initially the band was founded by guitarist Mark Knight and bassist Kyle Kyle in 1 ...
, Stash, Iron Cross and Irish singer-songwriter Mark Dignam.
Thin Lizzy without Lynott (1996–present)
1996–2010: John Sykes era
![John Sykes with Thin Lizzy 2007](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/John_Sykes_with_Thin_Lizzy_2007.jpg)
In 1996 John Sykes decided to reactivate Thin Lizzy, presenting the band as a tribute to Phil Lynott's life and work.
He decided to take on the role of lead vocals himself in the absence of Lynott, and persuaded Scott Gorham, Brian Downey and Darren Wharton to return to the fold. To complete the line-up, Marco Mendoza continued in Lynott's role as bass player. They received criticism for using the Thin Lizzy name without Lynott being present, but the band only played hits from Thin Lizzy's back catalogue, and did not compose any new material.
In 1997,
Tommy Aldridge
Tommy Aldridge (born August 15, 1950) is an American heavy metal and hard rock drummer. He is noted for his work with numerous bands and artists since the 1970s, such as Black Oak Arkansas, Pat Travers Band, Ozzy Osbourne, Gary Moore, Whitesna ...
filled in on drums when Brian Downey was unable to, and became a full member when Downey left shortly thereafter. This line-up remained stable through to 2000, when the group recorded a live album, ''
One Night Only''. The band went on to tour the US playing clubs in early 2001, but Wharton had already left the band by the time of the tour. From 2000 to 2003, Mendoza toured with
Ted Nugent
Theodore Anthony Nugent (; born December 13, 1948) is an American rock musician and activist. He initially gained fame as the lead guitarist and occasional lead vocalist of The Amboy Dukes, a band formed in 1963 that played psychedelic rock ...
, and with
Whitesnake
Whitesnake are an English hard rock band formed in London in 1978. The group was originally put together as the backing band for singer David Coverdale, who had recently left Deep Purple. Though the band quickly developed into their own en ...
in 2004. Sykes released two solo albums during 2002–03, while Gorham worked with his band
21 Guns. Thin Lizzy performed sporadically during this period, recruiting some musicians for single tours, such as bass guitarist
Guy Pratt for the Global Chaos Tour of 2003.
Wharton later stated that Thin Lizzy would have been better suited to playing fewer concerts, in bigger venues. He also felt that after the experience of fronting his own band
Dare, it was not satisfying enough to play keyboards behind Gorham and Sykes. Sykes said that all the previous Thin Lizzy members were welcome to play with Thin Lizzy at any time.
In 2004, Thin Lizzy worked together again, with Sykes and Gorham bringing in ex-
Angel
In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God.
Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles inclu ...
bassist
Randy Gregg, and drummer
Michael Lee, who had played with
Robert Plant and
The Cult
The Cult are an English rock band formed in 1983 in Bradford, West Yorkshire. Before settling on their current name in January 1984, the band performed under the name Death Cult, which was an evolution of the name of lead singer Ian Astbury' ...
among others. They toured in North America in both the winter and then the summer as special guests of Deep Purple. This line-up proved temporary however, with Mendoza returning in 2005, and Aldridge returning in 2007. There were no plans for a new album though Thin Lizzy continued to tour. At the London
Hammersmith Apollo concert of 13 December 2007, the line-up was Sykes, Gorham, Aldridge and
Francesco DiCosmo on bass.
Sykes stated that Thin Lizzy was now "more of a tribute thing"
and that it would be wrong to record new material under that name. He added that while the existing band members might record together, it would not be as Thin Lizzy.
In 2007, Gorham said that Lynott still received the biggest cheer of the night at concerts, and that the current Thin Lizzy was not active simply for money.
"We'd stop if we thought we were just going through the motions... I think that has a lot to do with the songs – if they were inferior, then maybe we would have got tired of it all. But they're not and we haven't," he said.
In January 2011, Gorham maintained that Lynott would have approved of the continuation of the band: "He worked long hours and travelled thousands of miles to get it to a certain level. There's no way he would have said 'No-one should play those songs again.'"
Thin Lizzy, along with support band
The Answer, were to support
AC/DC at stadium shows in England, Ireland and Scotland at the end of June 2009, but these appearances were cancelled after drummer Aldridge broke his collarbone in an accident. On 30 June, the band's website confirmed that Sykes had left Thin Lizzy and all shows for the rest of 2009 were cancelled or postponed. Gorham stated that he would announce Thin Lizzy's future plans shortly. In a statement, he said, "It's been a very tough time of late for myself and the band, firstly with drummer Tommy Aldridge's injury and now the subsequent decision for John and the rest of the group to go their separate ways. I can only apologise to everyone who has supported us over the years, but we will be back up to full speed soon."
2010–2021: Ricky Warwick era and Black Star Riders
![Ricky Warwick, June 2011, Download Festival](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/Ricky_Warwick%2C_June_2011%2C_Download_Festival.jpg)
In September 2009, Gorham began to assemble a new version of Thin Lizzy, and in May 2010 a new line-up was announced. Joining Gorham was original drummer Brian Downey, long-standing keyboardist Darren Wharton,
Def Leppard
Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1976 in Sheffield. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drums, backing vocals), Phil Collen (guitar, backing vocals), ...
guitarist
Vivian Campbell
Vivian Patrick Campbell (born 25 August 1962) is a Northern Irish guitarist. He came to prominence in the early 1980s as a member of Dio, and has been a member of Def Leppard since 1992 (replacing Steve Clark after his death). Campbell has al ...
, and singer
Ricky Warwick
Ricky Warwick (born 11 July 1966) is a Northern Irish musician and the lead singer of the rock bands Black Star Riders and Thin Lizzy. He is also the frontman for the Scottish hard rock band The Almighty, with whom he achieved chart success in ...
from
The Almighty, while Marco Mendoza returned to fill the bass guitar role. Ex-Lizzy guitarist Brian Robertson was asked if he wanted to participate but had previous commitments to his own solo career.
In addition to a full UK and European tour beginning in January 2011, the band initially announced a concert for 4 January at the
O2 Arena O2 Arena may refer to:
*The O2 Arena (London)
*O2 Arena (Prague)
*The 3Arena
The 3Arena (originally The O2) is an indoor amphitheatre located at North Wall Quay in the Dublin Docklands in Dublin, Ireland. The venue opened as The O2 on 16 Decem ...
in Dublin, which was in conflict with the 2011 "
Vibe for Philo". The tour itself started on 6 January at the
Music Hall Aberdeen
The Music Hall is a concert hall in Aberdeen, Scotland, formerly the city's Assembly Rooms, located on Union Street in the city centre.
History
The venue was designed by Archibald Simpson, a notable Aberdeen architect, and cost £11,500 whe ...
in the UK, with the band finishing the tour in The Olympia, Dublin on 17 February 2011, having cancelled the O2 show.
In April 2011 the band announced that Vivian Campbell would be leaving Thin Lizzy amicably to rejoin Def Leppard after one final gig on 28 May. He was replaced by
Guns N' Roses guitarist
Richard Fortus
Richard Fortus (born November 17, 1966) is an American guitarist. He has been a member of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he has recorded one studio album, since 2001. Fortus has also collaborated extensively with The Psychedelic Fur ...
. On 28 August, it was announced that
Damon Johnson
Damon Rogers Johnson (born July 13, 1964) is an American guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter, currently a solo artist and member of Thin Lizzy. In the 1990s he co-founded Brother Cane, and later joined Alice Cooper's band as lead guitarist. He w ...
of
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...
's band would be replacing Fortus for Thin Lizzy's tour of the US with
Judas Priest. Fortus returned to tour with Guns N' Roses for the rest of the year, and Johnson has since replaced Fortus permanently.
In March 2011, Gorham told
Billboard.com
''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music ...
that Thin Lizzy may record a new album in the future, saying, "That's the No. 1 question we're getting from people – are we gonna record some new material? The fans seem to trust this line-up, and I don't blame them. We've kind of jumped this emotional hurdle together. Ricky's writing some fucking killer lyrics, and with the kind of talent that's in Thin Lizzy now I think we can pull off a really cool set of tunes. At least it's something that we can think about now, where before it wasn't on the table." On 25 June 2012, Thin Lizzy were in the studio recording new material, although it was not clear how many songs would be recorded or released.
On 10 October 2012, Thin Lizzy announced that the new material would not be released under the Thin Lizzy name, but would be released under a different name in due course. According to Gorham, this was "out of respect to Phil Lynott and the legacy he created", though he confirmed that the new material would feature the classic Thin Lizzy sound.
Ricky Warwick announced that the group would cease regular touring as Thin Lizzy at the end of 2012, but that this did not necessarily mean they would never play as Thin Lizzy again.
On 20 December 2012, Gorham revealed that the new material would be recorded under the name of
Black Star Riders
Black Star Riders is a hard rock band formed in December 2012. The band began when members of the most recent line-up of Thin Lizzy decided to record new material, but chose not to release it under the Thin Lizzy name. While Thin Lizzy continues ...
, and that Downey and Wharton had chosen not to participate in the new band project. Downey had decided to take a break from touring, and Wharton would be working on his own band
Dare, and a film project. In March 2013, the band toured Australia under the Thin Lizzy name, with Downey and Wharton, as the opening act on a triple bill with
Mötley Crüe and
Kiss
A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...
. Gorham stressed that Thin Lizzy would still perform together occasionally: "We'll still go out as Thin Lizzy. There are still certain big festivals that we will do. Thin Lizzy is still on the horizon, we will still go out and do that but in the meantime we have Black Star Riders that we are going to concentrate on also."
On 19 January 2016, the band revealed a "half dozen or so" dates in mid-2016 and early 2017 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the release of ''
Jailbreak'' and the 30th anniversary of Lynott's death. Two festival dates were initially confirmed: the Ramblin' Man Fair in
Maidstone, Kent
Maidstone is the largest town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, linking it with ...
on 23 July 2016 – at which Midge Ure once again joined them on stage – and the Rock Legends Cruise in
Fort Lauderdale, Florida on 19–23 January 2017. The lineup for these shows was to be Gorham, Warwick, Johnson and Wharton with
Motörhead
Motörhead () were an English rock band formed in London in 1975 by Lemmy (lead vocals, bass), Larry Wallis (guitar) and Lucas Fox (drums). Lemmy was also the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band are often considered a precu ...
drummer
Mikkey Dee
Micael Kiriakos Delaoglou (born 31 October 1963), known professionally as Mikkey Dee, is a Swedish musician, best known as the last drummer for British heavy metal band Motörhead from 1992 until its dissolution in 2015. Dee also played temporari ...
initially confirmed as standing in for Downey. Further dates were announced soon afterwards, at the Monsters of Rock shows in Germany on 17 and 18 June 2016, in Barcelona on 17 July, and the Skogsrojet Festival in Sweden on 6 August. On 19 April it was announced that Dee would not be participating after all, and that Judas Priest drummer
Scott Travis
Mark Scott Travis (born September 6, 1961) is an American metal musician, best known as the drummer for the English heavy metal band Judas Priest, the Irish rock band Thin Lizzy and the supergroup Elegant Weapons. He was also a longtime member ...
would be taking Downey's place for all shows except Sweden on 6 August, when
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
drummer
Ian Haugland
Jan-Håkan "Ian" Haugland (born 13 August 1964) is the drummer in the Swedish rock band Europe. When he was eight months old, he and his family moved to the Stockholm suburb of Märsta, Sweden. He joined Europe in the summer of 1984, replacing ...
played. Also,
Aerosmith bass guitarist
Tom Hamilton was confirmed as Thin Lizzy's bassist for these shows.
After the shows were completed, Gorham confirmed that extended Thin Lizzy tours were probably a thing of the past, but that the band would continue to perform in one-off events. He stated, "To kill it off stone dead I think would be the wrong thing." Four further shows were announced for 2019 in the UK, Spain and Belgium.
Troy Sanders
Troy Jayson Sanders (born September 8, 1973) is an American musician, best known as a member of heavy metal band Mastodon, in which he plays bass and sings alongside guitarist Brent Hinds and drummer Brann Dailor. He is also active in Killer ...
of
Mastodon
A mastodon ( 'breast' + 'tooth') is any proboscidean belonging to the extinct genus ''Mammut'' (family Mammutidae). Mastodons inhabited North and Central America during the late Miocene or late Pliocene up to their extinction at the end of th ...
was recruited to replace Hamilton on bass guitar for these shows.
In September 2021, Gorham left Black Star Riders as the band were planning a "very heavy" touring schedule to promote their upcoming fifth album. Warwick stated, "He will be looking to put Thin Lizzy back out on the road from 2022 onwards with a busy schedule."
Gorham made a statement complimenting the band and thanking the fans, and confirmed Warwick's position in Thin Lizzy, adding, "Regarding Thin Lizzy concerts in 2022 – this is currently in the planning stages and I will make sure to let you know of our progress regarding line-ups and dates."
Other Thin Lizzy releases and tributes
A boxed set of four CDs of Thin Lizzy material was released in December 2001 as ''
Vagabonds, Kings, Warriors, Angels''. It contained all of the band's major hits, and included some rare songs, such as the first single "The Farmer", and single B-sides. In 2004 and 2006, two further greatest hits compilations were released, with 2004's double CD ''
Greatest Hits
A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...
'' climbing to No. 3 in the UK album chart.
On 19 August 2005, Gary Moore staged a concert at the Point Theatre, Dublin, promoted as "The Boy Is Back in Town". The concert was staged to mark the unveiling of a bronze statue of Lynott on Dublin's Harry Street in the city centre. The performance also featured Brian Downey, Eric Bell, Brian Robertson and Scott Gorham, and included many classic Lizzy songs, such as "Whiskey in the Jar", "Still in Love With You", "Cowboy Song", "Emerald" and "The Boys Are Back in Town". A DVD of the concert was released as ''
One Night in Dublin: A Tribute to Phil Lynott''.
On 8 September 2008, a 15-track album ''
UK Tour '75'' was released featuring the band performing at Derby College on 21 November 1975. The album includes a 20-page booklet of previously-unseen photos, liner notes written by Brian Downey and extra material of the band jamming during their soundcheck.
In March 2009, VH1 Classic Records issued the band-authorised ''
Still Dangerous: Live At The Tower Theatre Philadelphia, 1977'', a live CD recorded on the Bad Reputation tour. It was produced by Gorham and
Glyn Johns
Glyn Thomas Johns (born 15 February 1942) is an English musician, recording engineer and record producer.
Biography
Early history
Johns was born in Epsom, Surrey, England. He had three siblings, two older sisters and a younger brother, Andy ...
, and Johns also mixed the record. It reached no. 98 in the UK chart.
Gorham has suggested there will be further archival releases in the future.
On 24 January 2011, Universal Music issued remastered and expanded editions of ''Jailbreak'', ''Johnny the Fox'' and ''Live and Dangerous''. ''Jailbreak'' and ''Johnny the Fox'' are double CD editions with the second disc containing outtakes, BBC session recordings and newly remixed versions of select album tracks. ''Live and Dangerous'' was a three-disc set, consisting of two CDs and a DVD. The former contains the original album plus two bonus tracks, recorded on the same tour and originally released on the ''Killers Live'' EP in 1981, while the DVD features a 1978 live performance from the Rainbow Theatre, recorded for television but never broadcast. Previous CD editions of ''Live and Dangerous'' were single discs.
Universal followed this with remasters of ''Bad Reputation'', ''Black Rose'' and ''Chinatown'', and in early 2012, ''Nightlife'' and ''Fighting''. Finally, ''Renegade'' and ''Thunder and Lightning'' were remastered and re-released in 2013.
Metallica have covered "Whiskey in the Jar" multiple times in honour of their former bassist
Cliff Burton
Clifford Lee Burton (February 10, 1962 – September 27, 1986) was an American musician who was the bassist for heavy metal band Metallica from 1982 until his death in 1986. He performed on ''Kill 'Em All'' (1983), ''Ride the Lightning'' (1984) ...
, who died in a bus accident in 1986. Thin Lizzy were one of Burton's favourite bands, and Lynott had a major influence on him as a bass player.
Style and legacy
![Thin Lizzy 1978-Live and Dangerous lineup](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/Thin_Lizzy_1978-Live_and_Dangerous_lineup.jpg)
From 1974, Thin Lizzy switched from using one lead guitarist to two. This style was later refined and popularised in the mid-1970s by bands like Judas Priest, and later by the emerging
new wave of British heavy metal
The new wave of British heavy metal (commonly abbreviated as NWOBHM) was a nationwide musical movement that started in England in the mid-1970s and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. Journalist Geoff Barton coined the term i ...
groups such as
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...
and
Def Leppard
Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1976 in Sheffield. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drums, backing vocals), Phil Collen (guitar, backing vocals), ...
. Iron Maiden covered the song "Massacre" from Thin Lizzy's ''
Johnny the Fox'' album, and released it on their 1988 single "
Can I Play with Madness". A cover of "
Cowboy Song" appears on ''
Sound of White Noise
''Sound of White Noise'' is the sixth studio album by American heavy metal band Anthrax, released in May 1993 via Elektra Records. It is the band's first album to feature vocalist John Bush, who replaced longtime Anthrax vocalist Joey Bellado ...
'' (1993) by
Anthrax as a bonus track on the album's Japanese and Australian releases, and as a B-side on some singles of "
Only
Only may refer to:
Music Albums
* ''Only'' (album), by Tommy Emmanuel, 2000
* ''The Only'', an EP by Dua Lipa, 2017
Songs
* "Only" (Anthrax song), 1993
* "Only" (Nine Inch Nails song), 2005
* "Only" (Nicki Minaj song), 2014
* "The Only", by ...
" and "
Black Lodge".
Thin Lizzy are also a major inspiration for modern heavy metal bands such as
Metallica,
Alice in Chains
Alice in Chains (often abbreviated as AIC) is an American rock band from Seattle, Washington, formed in 1987 by guitarist and vocalist Jerry Cantrell and drummer Sean Kinney, who later recruited bassist Mike Starr and lead vocalist Layne ...
,
Mastodon
A mastodon ( 'breast' + 'tooth') is any proboscidean belonging to the extinct genus ''Mammut'' (family Mammutidae). Mastodons inhabited North and Central America during the late Miocene or late Pliocene up to their extinction at the end of th ...
and
Testament. In 2004,
Robert Smith lead singer of
The Cure
The Cure are an English rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith has remained the only constant member. The band's ...
commented that he had seen Thin Lizzy “probably 10 times over two years”, and that “the actual sound of them live was so empowering, it was better than drinking.”
[ https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/qa-the-cures-robert-smith-on-his-musical-influences-193136/amp/]
Alternative rock
Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commerci ...
group
The Hold Steady
The Hold Steady is an American rock band originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota, now based in Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2003. The band consists of Craig Finn (vocals, guitar), Tad Kubler (guitar), Galen Polivka (bass), Bobby Drake (drums), ...
have also cited Thin Lizzy as an influence.
Band members
Current members
*
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 ...
– guitars, backing vocals (1974–1983, 1996–)
*
Darren Wharton
Darren Leigh Wharton (born 25 December 1961) is a British keyboardist, singer and songwriter. He has fronted his own band, Dare, since 1985, but first came to attention as a member of Thin Lizzy. His son, Paris, is also a musician.
Biography
Wh ...
– keyboards, co-lead and backing vocals (1981–1983, 1996–2000, 2010–)
*
Ricky Warwick
Ricky Warwick (born 11 July 1966) is a Northern Irish musician and the lead singer of the rock bands Black Star Riders and Thin Lizzy. He is also the frontman for the Scottish hard rock band The Almighty, with whom he achieved chart success in ...
– lead vocals, occasional guitars (2010–)
*
Damon Johnson
Damon Rogers Johnson (born July 13, 1964) is an American guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter, currently a solo artist and member of Thin Lizzy. In the 1990s he co-founded Brother Cane, and later joined Alice Cooper's band as lead guitarist. He w ...
– guitars, backing vocals (2011–)
*
Scott Travis
Mark Scott Travis (born September 6, 1961) is an American metal musician, best known as the drummer for the English heavy metal band Judas Priest, the Irish rock band Thin Lizzy and the supergroup Elegant Weapons. He was also a longtime member ...
– drums, percussion (2016–)
*
Troy Sanders
Troy Jayson Sanders (born September 8, 1973) is an American musician, best known as a member of heavy metal band Mastodon, in which he plays bass and sings alongside guitarist Brent Hinds and drummer Brann Dailor. He is also active in Killer ...
– bass guitar (2019–)
Discography
*''
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 ...
'' (1971)
*''
Shades of a Blue Orphanage
''Shades of a Blue Orphanage'' is the second studio album by Irish rock band Thin Lizzy, released in 1972. The title is a combination of the members' previous bands: Shades of Blue and Orphanage.
"Sarah" was written for Phil Lynott's grandmother ...
'' (1972)
*''
Vagabonds of the Western World
''Vagabonds of the Western World'' is the third studio album by Irish hard rock band Thin Lizzy, released in 1973. It was the band's last album with original guitarist Eric Bell and the first to feature the artwork of Jim Fitzpatrick, whose work ...
'' (1973)
*''
Nightlife
Nightlife is a collective term for entertainment that is available and generally more popular from the late evening into the early hours of the morning. It includes pubs, bars, nightclubs, parties, live music, concerts, cabarets, theatre, ...
'' (1974)
*''
Fighting
Combat ( French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, or ...
'' (1975)
*''
Jailbreak'' (1976)
*''
Johnny the Fox'' (1976)
*''
Bad Reputation'' (1977)
*''
Black Rose: A Rock Legend'' (1979)
*''
Chinatown'' (1980)
*''
Renegade
Renegade or The Renegade may refer to:
Aircraft
*Lake Renegade, an American amphibious aircraft design
*Murphy Renegade, a Canadian ultralight biplane design
*Southern Aeronautical Renegade, an American racing aircraft design
Games
*'' Comman ...
'' (1981)
*''
Thunder and Lightning'' (1983)
References
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Official website tour newsThe Official Thin Lizzy website*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thin Lizzy
Irish hard rock musical groups
Irish heavy metal musical groups
Irish blues rock musical groups
Musical groups from Dublin (city)
Mercury Records artists
Decca Records artists
Deram Records artists
EMI Records artists
Parlophone artists
Warner Records artists
Vertigo Records artists
Musical groups established in 1969
Musical groups disestablished in 1984
Musical groups reestablished in 1986
Musical groups disestablished in 1986
Musical groups reestablished in 1990
Musical groups disestablished in 2013
Musical groups reestablished in 2016
Musical groups disestablished in 2017
Musical groups reestablished in 2019