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.
William Scott Gorham 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 after passing an audition in 1974, joining the band at a time when the band's future was in doubt after the departures of original guitarist Eric Bell and his brief replacement Gary Moore. Gorham remained with Thin Lizzy until the band's breakup in 1983. He and guitarist Brian Robertson, both hired at the same time, marked the beginning of the band's most critically successful period, and together developed Thin Lizzy's twin lead guitar style while contributing dual backing vocals as well. Gorham is the band member with the longest membership after founders Brian Downey (drummer) and frontman and bass guitarist, Phil Lynott.
Bad Reputation is the eighth studio album by the Irish rock band Thin Lizzy, released in 1977. As the front cover suggests, most of the tracks feature only three-quarters of the band, with guitarist Brian Robertson only credited on three tracks. He had missed most of their previous tour, following a hand injury sustained in a brawl, and this album turned out to be his last studio effort with Thin Lizzy. On 27 June 2011, a new remastered and expanded version of Bad Reputation was released.
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.
Renegade is the eleventh studio album by Irish band Thin Lizzy, released in 1981. Though not his first appearance, this was the first album in which keyboard player Darren Wharton was credited as a permanent member, becoming the fifth member of the line-up. As such, he made a contribution as a songwriter on the opening track "Angel of Death". However, even though he had officially joined the band, his picture was omitted from the album sleeve. Renegade was the second and final album to feature guitarist Snowy White. By his own admission, White was more suited to playing blues than heavy rock and he quit by mutual agreement the following year. He went on to have a hit single with "Bird of Paradise" in 1983.
Life is a double live album by Irish rock band Thin Lizzy, released in 1983. This double album was recorded during their farewell tour in 1983, principally at the Hammersmith Odeon in London, UK. Phil Lynott had felt reluctantly that it was time to disband the group after the 1983 tour and to mark the occasion, former Thin Lizzy guitarists Eric Bell (1969–73), Brian Robertson (1974–78) and Gary Moore joined the band on stage at the end of these gigs to do some numbers. This was called "The All-Star Jam".
Greatest Hits is a double-CD compilation of Thin Lizzy songs released in 2004.
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.
Darren Leigh Wharton 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. In 2023, Wharton launched a second band alongside Dare, Darren Wharton's Renegade. His son, Paris, is also a musician.
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.
"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 in Love with You" is a song originally recorded by Thin Lizzy. The studio version was first released on their 1974 album Nightlife, and went on to be a live favourite, showcasing the guitarists, including Brian Robertson, Scott Gorham, Gary Moore and John Sykes. Live versions were released on the albums Live and Dangerous, Life, BBC Radio One Live in Concert, The Peel Sessions and One Night Only.
"Angel of Death" is a song by rock band Thin Lizzy featured on their Renegade album, released as a single in the United States. The tune peaked at No. 38 on the Mainstream Rock chart. The song was a collaboration between band leader Phil Lynott and Darren Wharton, who had joined the band as a keyboard player in 1980. Angel of Death was premiered live in August 1981 when its lyrics were rather different from the later released versions. The opening number of Thin Lizzy's live set during the Renegade world tour of 1981/2 when it heralded the band on stage with the sound of air-raid sirens, Angel of Death was also an integral part of the Thunder and Lightning live set in 1983.
"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.
"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.
"Yellow Pearl" is a song recorded by Thin Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott, originally for his 1980 solo album, Solo in Soho. It was written by Lynott and Midge Ure, who was a temporary member of Thin Lizzy at the time, as well as frontman of Ultravox. It was subsequently remixed and released again on Lynott's second album, The Philip Lynott Album. The remixed version was used as the theme music to the British music chart television programme Top of the Pops from 1981 to 1986.
