"Do Anything You Want To" | ||||
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Single by Thin Lizzy | ||||
from the album Black Rose: A Rock Legend | ||||
B-side | "Just the Two of Us" | |||
Released | 8 June 1979 (UK) [1] | |||
Genre | Hard rock | |||
Length | 3:51 | |||
Label | Vertigo | |||
Songwriter(s) | Phil Lynott | |||
Producer(s) | Tony Visconti and Thin Lizzy | |||
Thin Lizzy singles chronology | ||||
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Official video | ||||
"Do Anything You Want To" on YouTube |
"Do Anything You Want To" is a song by the Irish hard rock band Thin Lizzy. It was the second single released from their 1979 album Black Rose: A Rock Legend . It was recorded at Pathe Marconi EMI Studios in Paris, France. [2]
The song opens with an African-style drum beat by Brian Downey--which gives way to a twin-guitar melody characteristic of Thin Lizzy's harmonics. [3] The lyrics employ rhyme and alliteration-- such as in the first three lines which include the words: 'investigate', 'insinuate', 'intimidate', 'complicate', 'wait', 'hesitate', 'state', 'fate' and 'awaits.' [4] The song fades out with lead singer Phil Lynott impersonating Elvis Presley. Guitarist Scott Gorham suggested: "I think he just wanted to use his American accent there." [2]
The single reached No. 14 in the British charts and remained in the charts for nine weeks. [5] It reached No. 25 in Ireland-- charting for two weeks. [6] An accompanying video was filmed at Molineir Studios, directed by David Mallet. Mallet said that the video cost £12–15,000 to film adding: "Most of the shoots I did with Lizzy back then only lasted a day-- maybe eight or ten hours worth of footage." [7] The video was the band's first attempt at a short film rather than a simple video of a band performance. [7] The video featured Hot Gossip dancers Perri Lister, Dominique Wood and Carole Fletcher.[ citation needed ]
This track has been featured on several Thin Lizzy compilation albums including: The Adventures of Thin Lizzy released in 1981, Dedication: The Very Best of Thin Lizzy released in 1991, and Wild One: The Very Best of Thin Lizzy released in 1996. It was subsequently included on the Vagabonds, Kings, Warriors, Angels box set in 2002, as well as the Greatest Hits and Definitive Collection set.
"Just the Two of Us," (the single's B-side) is a Lynott/Gorham composition that was not included on the Black Rose album. It was only available as part of the single until the release of Vagabonds Kings Warriors Angels .
Chart (1979) | Peak position |
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Ireland (IRMA) [8] | 25 |
UK Singles (OCC) [9] | 14 |
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.
Philip Parris Lynott was an Irish musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the co-founder, lead vocalist, bassist, and primary songwriter for the hard rock band Thin Lizzy. He was known for his distinctive pick-based style on the bass and for his imaginative lyrical contributions, including working class tales and numerous characters drawn from personal influences and Celtic culture.
Fighting is the fifth studio album by Irish rock band Thin Lizzy, released in 1975. Following the release of four studio albums, the band finally forged an identifiable sound featuring the twin guitars of Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson. This sound draws from hard rock, folk, pop and rhythm and blues. It set the stage for the big commercial breakthrough of the follow-up album, Jailbreak. The album was also their first album to chart in the UK, hitting No. 60.
Johnny the Fox is the seventh studio album by Irish hard rock band Thin Lizzy, released in 1976. This album was written and recorded while bassist/vocalist Phil Lynott was recovering from a bout of hepatitis that put him off the road halfway through the previous Jailbreak tour. "Don't Believe a Word" was a British hit single. Johnny the Fox was the last Thin Lizzy studio album on which guitarist Brian Robertson featured as a full member of the band, as the personality clashes between him and Lynott resulted in Robertson being sacked, reinstated, and later sacked again.
Black Rose: A Rock Legend is the ninth studio album by Irish rock band Thin Lizzy. Released in 1979, it has been described as one of the band's "greatest, most successful albums". It was the first time that blues rock guitarist Gary Moore remained in Thin Lizzy long enough to record an album—after previous brief stints in 1974 and 1977 with the band. The album peaked at No. 2 on the UK charts-- making it the band's highest-charting album in the UK. It was their fourth consecutive album to be certified Gold by the BPI.
Chinatown is the tenth studio album by Irish band Thin Lizzy, released in 1980. It introduced guitarist Snowy White who would also perform on the next album as well as tour with Thin Lizzy between 1980 and 1982; he replaced Gary Moore as permanent guitarist. White had previously worked with Cliff Richard, Peter Green and Pink Floyd. Chinatown also featured eighteen-year-old Darren Wharton on keyboards, and he joined Thin Lizzy as a permanent member later that year.
Greatest Hits is a double-CD compilation of Thin Lizzy songs released in 2004.
"The Boys Are Back in Town" is a song by Irish hard rock band Thin Lizzy. The song was 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 at No. 272 on the 2021 edition of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" list.
The Adventures of Thin Lizzy is a compilation album by the rock band Thin Lizzy, released in the United Kingdom and Ireland in 1981. It features songs released as singles from 1972 to 1980.
Brian Michael Downey is an Irish drummer. He was a founding member of the rock band Thin Lizzy and the only other constant in the band aside from leader Phil Lynott until their disbandment in 1983. Downey also co-wrote several Thin Lizzy songs. Allmusic critic Eduardo Rivadavia has argued that Downey is "certainly one of the most underrated [rock drummers] of his generation".
"The Rocker" is a song by Irish rock group Thin Lizzy, included on their 1973 album Vagabonds of the Western World. It was also released as a single in a 2:41 edited format, the original album track stretching to 5:17, most of the extra length being taken up by an extended guitar solo by Eric Bell. There is an accompanying performance on Dutch TV programme TopPop to the song which features Gary Moore recorded in 1974 during his first of two spells with the band.
Wild One: The Very Best of Thin Lizzy is a 1996 compilation album by Irish rock band Thin Lizzy. It was released ten years after the death of frontman Phil Lynott in 1986 as a tribute to him.
Vagabonds Kings Warriors Angels is a 2001 4-disc set by Irish rock group Thin Lizzy, which also contains a book chronicling the life of the band and music in some detail, with rare photos and a discography. The set was packaged in a longbox format with the booklet fixed inside like a book.
"Waiting for an Alibi" is a song by the Irish rock band Thin Lizzy and the first single from the band's 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 left soon after.
"Sarah" is a pop song released in 1979 by Irish rock group Thin Lizzy, included on their album, Black Rose: A Rock Legend. The song was written by the band's frontman Phil Lynott and guitarist Gary Moore about Lynott's newborn daughter. The song was also issued as a single, and appeared on several compilation albums including Wild One: The Very Best of Thin Lizzy. The song was never performed live by Thin Lizzy, but it was adopted as a live favourite by Lynott's post-Thin Lizzy project, Grand Slam, and featured on Live in Sweden 1983, a recording of Lynott's solo band.
"The Sun Goes Down" was a single released by Irish hard rock band Thin Lizzy, the last single to be released before they split in 1983. It is featured on the group's album from that year, Thunder and Lightning, and it has been referred to as a ballad.
"Cold Sweat" is a song by Irish rock band Thin Lizzy, and is the fifth track on their final studio album Thunder and Lightning. It was co-written by guitarist John Sykes and Phil Lynott, and became the biggest single from the album, entering the UK charts at No. 28, and peaking at No. 23 in Ireland.
Still Dangerous is a live album by Irish rock band Thin Lizzy. It was compiled from two live concerts by the band at the Tower Theater in Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania, U.S., just outside of Philadelphia, at 20 and 21 October 1977 during the tour in support of their Bad Reputation album. No overdubs were made to any tracks so the album is completely live. The tracks "Cowboy Song", "The Boys Are Back in Town", "Massacre" and "Emerald" were previously released on the album Live and Dangerous, while "Opium Trail" and "Bad Reputation" were issued on the Killers Live EP in 1981.
"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, and No. 5 on the Irish Singles Chart.
"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 Renegade.