Thin Lizzy
Thin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Thin Lizzy initially consisted of bass guitarist, lead vocalist and principal songwriter Phil Lynott, drummer Brian Downey, guitarist Eric Bell and organist Eric Wrixon, although Wrixon left after a few months. Bell left at the end of 1973 and was briefly replaced by Gary Moore, who himself was replaced in mid-1974 by twin lead guitarists: Scott Gorham, who remained with the band until their break-up in 1983, and Brian Robertson, who remained with the band until 1978 when Moore re-joined. Moore left a second time and was replaced by Snowy White in 1980, who was himself replaced by John Sykes in 1982. The line-up was augmented by keyboardist Darren Wharton in 1980. The singles "Whiskey in the Jar" (1972), "The Boys Are Back in Town" (1976) and "Waiting for an Alibi" (1979) were international hits, and several Thin Lizzy albums reached the top ten in the UK. The band's 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 sometimes heavy metal.
For the album, see Thin Lizzy (album).
Thin Lizzy
Dublin, Ireland
- 1969–1983
- 1994–present
Lynott led the group throughout their fourteen-year recording career of twelve studio albums, writing or co-writing almost all the band's material. He was 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.
After Lynott's death in 1986, various incarnations of the band emerged over the years based initially around guitarists Gorham and Sykes, 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, was formed to tour and produce new releases. Thin Lizzy have since reunited for occasional concerts.[2]
Rolling Stone magazine describes the band as distinctly hard rock, "far apart from the braying mid-70s metal pack".[3] AllMusic 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, Bruce Springsteen and virtually all of the Irish literary tradition."[4]
History[edit]
Pre-formation[edit]
Two of the founding members of Thin Lizzy, bass guitarist and vocalist Phil Lynott and drummer Brian Downey, met while at school in Dublin in the early 1960s. Lynott, born on 20 August 1949 in West Bromwich, England, to an Irish mother Philomena (1930–2019) and Guyanese father Cecil Parris (1925–2010), was brought up in Dublin from the age of three.[5] Downey was born on 27 January 1951 in Dublin. Lynott joined local band the Black Eagles as vocalist in 1963, and Downey was recruited as drummer in 1965.[6] In 1967, Lynott was asked to join Skid Row by bass guitarist Brush Shiels,[7] who brought teenage Belfast guitarist Gary Moore into the band early in 1968.[8] 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.[9] Lynott then formed Orphanage with Downey on drums after Downey's previous band, Sugar Shack, had split.[10]
Guitarist Eric Bell, 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, between September and October 1966.[11] Bell then moved to Dublin and joined Irish showband the Dreams,[12] 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.[13]
Other Thin Lizzy releases and tributes[edit]
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.[152] In 2004 and 2006, two further greatest hits compilations were released, with 2004's double CD Greatest Hits climbing to No. 3 in the UK album chart.[153]
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.[154]
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.[155]
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, and Johns also mixed the record. It reached no. 98 in the UK chart.[153] Gorham has suggested there will be further archival releases in the future.[156]
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.[157]
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.[158]
Current members