Thin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1969, the group originally consisted of bassist and vocalist Phil Lynott, guitarist Eric Bell, drummer Brian Downey and keyboardist Eric Wrixon. The band broke up in September 1983, at which point the lineup included Lynott and Downey, guitarists Scott Gorham and John Sykes, and keyboardist Darren Wharton. In 1996, ten years after Lynott's death, the group reformed as a touring outfit with new bassist Marco Mendoza, and Sykes taking over lead vocal duties. The most recent lineup, which performed in 2019, consisted of Gorham, Wharton, vocalist Ricky Warwick (since 2010), guitarist Damon Johnson (since 2011), drummer Scott Travis (since 2016), and bassist Troy Sanders, who has so far only featured that year.
Thin Lizzy were formed in December 1969, with four members joining from two bands: guitarist Eric Bell and keyboardist Eric Wrixon from Them, and bassist and vocalist Phil Lynott and drummer Brian Downey from Orphanage. [1] Wrixon performed on the band's debut single "The Farmer", but left before it was released in July 1970. [2] Bell left the band after a concert on New Year's Eve 1973, later citing "ill-health caused by the band's lifestyle" as the reason for his departure. [3] The guitarist was replaced by Gary Moore, although he would only remain with the band for a matter of months. [4] Andy Gee and John Du Cann took over for a tour in May, before Brian Robertson and Scott Gorham were enlisted later in the year as Bell's first full-time replacements. [5]
The lineup of Lynott, Gorham, Robertson and Downey released five studio albums and one live album, all but two of which reached the top ten of the UK Albums Chart, [6] before Robertson left in 1978 and was replaced by the returning Moore. [7] Downey also briefly took a break from Thin Lizzy around the same time, with Mark Nauseef replacing him for a tour in late 1978. [8] Moore left again in July 1979, [9] and was temporarily replaced by Midge Ure. [10] Dave Flett was brought in for a Japanese tour later in the year, as Ure moved over to keyboards, and in early 1980 Snowy White took Flett's place on a more permanent basis. [11] Darren Wharton replaced Ure in April, initially as a touring member. [12] White was replaced by John Sykes in September 1982, who featured on their last studio album Thunder and Lightning . [13] Thin Lizzy broke up in 1983, with their final performance taking place on 4 September on the German Monsters of Rock Tour; Lynott later died of heart failure and pneumonia on 4 January 1986. [14]
Thin Lizzy reformed in 1996, with Sykes taking over lead vocals and Marco Mendoza joining on bass, alongside returning members Gorham, Wharton and Downey. [15] Tommy Aldridge replaced Downey in 1998, and Wharton left in 2001 to focus on his own band Dare. [16] Mendoza and Aldridge left in 2003 to join Whitesnake, [17] with their places taken by Guy Pratt and Michael Lee, respectively. [18] Pratt was replaced later in the year by Randy Gregg. [19] [20] [21] Mendoza had returned to the band by early 2005, [22] as had Aldridge by early 2007. [23] Mendoza was replaced by Francesco DiCosmo later in 2007. [24] After more touring, Sykes departed Thin Lizzy in mid-2009, with DiCosmo and Aldridge leaving at the same time; speaking about the future of the band, Gorham claimed that "we will be back up to full speed soon". [25]
Gorham reformed Thin Lizzy in 2010 with former members Mendoza, Downey and Wharton, in addition to new guitarist Vivian Campbell and lead vocalist Ricky Warwick. [26] Campbell was replaced by Richard Fortus after returning to Def Leppard in mid-2011, [27] before Damon Johnson became his permanent replacement later in the year. [28] The band was put on hiatus in December 2012, when all members formed Black Star Riders, [29] before returning in 2016 with Mikkey Dee initially announced on drums. [30] Without performing with the band, Dee was replaced three months later by Judas Priest's Scott Travis, as Aerosmith's Tom Hamilton also replaced Mendoza. [31] In April 2019, Mastodon's Troy Sanders took over from Hamilton on bass. [32]
Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
---|---|---|---|---|
Phil Lynott | 1969–1983 (died 1986) |
|
| |
Brian Downey | 1969–1983 |
| all Thin Lizzy releases to date, except The Boys Are Back in Town (1997) and One Night Only (2000) | |
Eric Bell | 1969–1973 |
|
| |
Eric Wrixon | 1969–1970 (died 2015) |
| "The Farmer" (1970) | |
Gary Moore |
|
|
| |
Scott Gorham | 1974–1983 | all Thin Lizzy releases from Nightlife (1974) onwards | ||
Brian Robertson |
|
| ||
Snowy White | 1980–1982 |
| ||
Darren Wharton | 1980–1983 |
|
| |
John Sykes | 1982–1983 |
|
|
Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
---|---|---|---|---|
Andy Gee | 1974 |
| none | |
John Du Cann | 1974 (died 2011) | |||
Mark Nauseef | 1978 |
| The Boys Are Back in Town (1997) | |
Midge Ure | 1979–1980 |
| The Continuing Saga of the Ageing Orphans (1979) – two tracks | |
Dave Flett | 1979 |
| none |
Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
---|---|---|---|---|
Scott Gorham | 1996–2019 |
| all Thin Lizzy releases from Nightlife (1974) onwards | |
Darren Wharton |
|
|
| |
Ricky Warwick | 2010–2019 |
| all Thin Lizzy releases from Live in London 2011: 22.01.2011 (2011) onwards | |
Damon Johnson | 2011–2019 |
| Live 2012 (2012) | |
Scott Travis | 2016–2019 |
| none | |
Troy Sanders | 2019 |
|
Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
---|---|---|---|---|
Brian Downey |
|
| all Thin Lizzy releases to date, except The Boys Are Back in Town (1997) and One Night Only (2000) | |
John Sykes |
|
|
| |
Marco Mendoza |
|
|
| |
Tommy Aldridge |
|
| One Night Only (2000) | |
Michael Lee | 2003–2007 (died 2008) | none | ||
Guy Pratt | 2003 |
| ||
Randy Gregg | 2003–2005 | |||
Francesco DiCosmo | 2007–2009 | |||
Vivian Campbell | 2010–2011 |
| Live in London 2011: 22.01.2011 and 23.01.2011 (2011) | |
Richard Fortus | 2011 | High Voltage Recorded Live: July 23rd 2011 (2011) | ||
Tom Hamilton | 2016–2017 | bass guitar | ||
Ian Haugland | 2016 |
|
Period | Members | Releases |
---|---|---|
December 1969 – July 1970 |
|
|
July 1970 – December 1973 |
|
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January – April 1974 |
|
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May – June 1974 |
| none – live performances only |
June 1974 – July 1978 |
|
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August – December 1978 |
|
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December 1978 – July 1979 |
|
|
July 1979 |
| none – live performances only |
July – September 1979 |
| |
September – December 1979 |
| |
April 1980 |
| |
April 1980 – August 1982 |
| |
September 1982 – September 1983 |
|
|
Band inactive September 1983 – March 1996 | ||
March 1996 – early 1998 |
| none – live performances only |
Early 1998 – early 2001 |
|
|
Early 2001 – March 2003 |
| none – live performances only |
March – late 2003 |
| |
Late 2003 – February 2005 |
| |
February 2005 – January 2007 |
| |
January – November 2007 |
| |
November 2007 – July 2009 |
| |
Band inactive July 2009 – May 2010 | ||
May 2010 – April 2011 |
|
|
April – November 2011 |
|
|
November 2011 – March 2013 |
|
|
Band inactive March 2013 – July 2016 | ||
July 2016 – January 2017 |
| none – live performances only |
Band inactive January 2017 – April 2019 | ||
April–July 2019 |
| none – live performances only |
Thin Lizzy are an Irish rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. The band 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.
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.
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".
One Night Only is a live album by rock band Thin Lizzy, released in 2000. Thin Lizzy had reformed in 1994 for a series of gigs marking ten years since the band split in 1984. Latter-day Lizzy guitarist John Sykes now took the lead vocal while Marco Mendoza was recruited on bass. The venture was popular enough to be repeated but by the time this album came out, original drummer Brian Downey had decided the affair was too disorganised and retired from the group leaving none of the original trio remaining. Keyboardist Darren Wharton also quit around the time of this album's release. The band, led by Sykes and Scott Gorham, subsequently continued performing with various lineups. This album features ex-Ozzy, Whitesnake, and Black Oak Arkansas drummer Tommy Aldridge.
Greatest Hits is a double-CD compilation of Thin Lizzy songs released in 2004.
John James Sykes 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.
Tommy Aldridge 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, Whitesnake, Ted Nugent, Thin Lizzy, Vinnie Moore and Yngwie Malmsteen.
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".
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.
BBC Radio One Live in Concert is a live recording from 1983 by Irish rock band Thin Lizzy, released in 1992. This show at the Reading Festival in 1983 came at the end of their farewell tour, and was originally intended to be the band's last concert.
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.
Marco Mendoza is an American bass guitarist who has worked in diverse genres. He became a professional rock musician in 1989 and debuted on Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward's solo album Along the Way. He has performed on a number of notable releases throughout his career, including Live... in the Still of the Night by Whitesnake, One Night Only by Thin Lizzy and Live in Concert at Lollapalooza by Journey.
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.
Damon Rogers Johnson is an American guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter, currently a solo artist, a member of Brother Cane and guitarist in Lynyrd Skynyrd. In the 1990s he co-founded Brother Cane, and later joined Alice Cooper's band as lead guitarist. He became a member of Thin Lizzy in 2011 and was also the lead guitarist and co-songwriter for hard rock group Black Star Riders from 2012 to 2018. Johnson has also released several solo albums and his songs have been recorded by many artists including Stevie Nicks and Carlos Santana.
"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.
"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.
Francesco DiCosmo is an American rock musician, best known for his work with Evanescence, Thin Lizzy, and Chris Poland of Megadeth, and is an experienced live bassist and singer, and session musician playing bass guitar, keyboards, and guitar. He has also recently formed his AllStar Band with drummer/vocalist Chad Cancino and guitarist/keyboardist Torbjorn Andersson, and also works as a composer for film and TV.
Black Star Riders is a hard rock band formed in December 2012. The band began when members of the 2011–2012 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 on an occasional basis, Black Star Riders is a full-time band, described as "the next step in the evolution of the Thin Lizzy story". The band's first album, All Hell Breaks Loose, was released on May 21, 2013, and the follow-up album, The Killer Instinct was released on February 20, 2015. The band's third album, Heavy Fire, was released on February 3, 2017, and reached number six on the UK Albums Chart.
All Hell Breaks Loose is the debut studio album by hard rock band Black Star Riders, released in May 2013. Black Star Riders evolved from the touring version of Thin Lizzy, assembled by guitarist Scott Gorham after the death of Thin Lizzy's leader Phil Lynott.
"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.