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Despite a huge hit single in the mid-'70s ("The Boys Are Back in Town") and becoming a popular act with hard
rock/heavymetal fans, ThinLizzy are still, in the pantheon of '70s rock bands, underappreciated. Formed in the late '60s by
Irishsinger/songwriter/bassist Phil Lynott,Lizzy, though not the first band to do so, combined romanticized working-
classsentiments with their ferocious, twin-lead guitar attack. Asthe band's creative force, Lynott was a more insightful
andintelligent writer than many of his ilk, preferring slice-of-life working-classdramas of love and hate influenced by Bo ...read more
Despite a huge hit single in the mid-'70s ("The Boys Are Back in Town") and becoming a popular act with hard
rock/heavymetal fans, ThinLizzy are still, in the pantheon of '70s rock bands, underappreciated. Formed in the late '60s by
Irishsinger/songwriter/bassist Phil Lynott,Lizzy, though not the first band to do so, combined romanticized working-
classsentiments with their ferocious, twin-lead guitar attack. Asthe band's creative force, Lynott was a more insightful
andintelligent writer than many of his ilk, preferring slice-of-life working-classdramas of love and hate influenced by Bob
Dylan,Bruce Springsteen, and virtually all of the Irish literary tradition. Also, as a black man,Lynott was an anomaly in the
nearly all-white world of hard rock, and as such imbued much of his work with a sense of alienation; he was theoutsider, the
romanticguy from the other side of the tracks, a self-styled poet of the lovelorn and downtrodden. His sweeping vision
andwriterlyimpulses at times gave way to pretentious songs aspiring to clichéd notions of literary significance, but Lynott's
limitlesscharismamade even the most misguided moments worth hearing.
After a few early records that hinted at the band's potential, Lizzy released Fighting in 1975, and the band (Lynott,
guitaristsBrianRobertson and Scott Gorham, and drummer Brian Downey) had molded itself into a pretty tight recording and
performingunit. Lynott's thick,soulful vocals were the perfect vehicle for his tightly written melodic lines. Gorham and
Robertsongenerally played lead lines in harmonictandem, while Downey (a great drummer who had equal amounts of power
and style)drove the engine. Lizzy's big break came with their nextalbum, Jailbreak, and the record's first single, "The Boys Are
Back inTown." A paean to the joys of working-class guys letting loose, thesong resembled similar odes by Bruce Springsteen,
withthe exception of the Who-like power chords in the chorus. With the support of radioand every frat boy in America,
"Boys"became a huge hit, enough of a hit as to ensure record contracts and media attention for the nextdecade ("Boys" is
nowused in beer advertising).
Never the toast of critics (the majority writing in the '70s hated hard rock and heavy metal), Lizzy toured relentlessly,building
anunassailable reputation as a terrific live band, despite the lead guitar spot becoming a revolving door (Eric Bell,Gary Moore,
BrianRobertson, Snowy White, and John Sykes all stood next to Scott Gorham). The records came fast andfurious, and
despite attempts to repeatthe formula that worked like a charm with "Boys," Lynott began writing more ambitioussongs and
wrapping them up in vaguely articulatedconcept albums. The large fan base the band had built as a result of"Boys" turned
into a smaller, yet still enthusiastic bunch of hardrockers. Adding insult to injury was the rise of punk rock,which Lynott
vigorously supported, but made Lizzy look too traditional and toomuch like tired old rock stars.
By the mid-'80s, resembling the dinosaur that punk rock wanted to annihilate, Thin Lizzy called it a career. Lynott
recordedsolo recordsthat more explicitly examined issues of class and race, published a now-out-of-print book of poetry, and
sadly,became a victim of hislongtime abuse of heroin, cocaine, and alcohol, dying in 1986 at age 35. Since the mega-
popularalternative rock bands of the mid-'90sappropriated numerous musical messages from their '70s forebears, the work of
PhilLynott and Thin Lizzy will hopefully continue to be seenfor the influential rock & roll it is.
In 1999, Thin Lizzy reunited with a lineup featuring guitarists Scott Gorham and John Sykes, and keyboardist Darren
Wharton,which was rounded out by a journeyman rhythm section of bassist Marco Mendoza and drummer Tommy Aldridge.
The quintet's ensuing European tour produced the live album One Night Only, which was released in the summer of 2000 to
set the stage for a subsequent American concert tour. « hide |
Similar Bands: Blue Oyster Cult, Phil Lynott, Gary Moore, Nazareth, Black Star Riders Contributors: manosg, AleksiS, rockandmetaljunkie, Nagrarok, bigdctherock, Gassman3268, Mikesn, Alex101, tom79, spankyoplank, ogan, Ire, KILL, rockandmetaljunkie, Nagrarok,
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