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. After Bell left at the end of 1973 the band soon switched to twin lead guitarists: Scott Gorham, who remained with the band until their break-up in 1983, and Brian Robertson, who was replaced in 1978 by Gary Moore. Moore was replaced in turn by Snowy White in 1980, and 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.
Jailbreak is the sixth studio album by Irish hard rock band Thin Lizzy. It was released on 26 March 1976, by Vertigo Records. The album proved to be the band's commercial breakthrough in the US, and the only Thin Lizzy album with a certification in that country. The singles taken from the album include "Jailbreak" and "The Boys Are Back in Town"; the latter is Thin Lizzy's biggest US hit, and won the 1976 NME Award for Best Single.
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.
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.
Live and Dangerous is a live double album by the Irish rock band Thin Lizzy, released in June 1978. It was recorded in London in 1976, and Philadelphia and Toronto in 1977, with further production in Paris. It was also the last Thin Lizzy album to feature guitarist Brian Robertson, who left the band shortly after its release.
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.
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.
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.
Dedication: The Very Best of Thin Lizzy is a compilation album released by rock group Thin Lizzy in 1991. The only previously unreleased track was "Dedication", which was reconstructed after band leader Phil Lynott's death, using an old 8 track demo recording of a Grand Slam song originally recorded around 1985 and written by guitarist Laurence Archer. This track was the subject of a High Court case, as following Lynott's death Thin Lizzy released this track as a lost Thin Lizzy track, removing Archer's guitar and the writing credit from the track. Archer is now credited for writing this track.
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.
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.
Grand Slam are an Irish rock band originally formed in 1984 by Phil Lynott, after the breakup of his earlier ensemble Thin Lizzy. Grand Slam was active for a year, and Lynott died in 1986, but the band was revived in 2016 by original member Mark Stanway.
"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.
