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Happy St Patrick’s Day to all our Irish readers.

I thought I’d mark the day by talking about one of Ireland’s favourite sons, Phil Lynott of Thin Lizzy.

Although always associated with Ireland, Phil Lynott was actually born on August 20, 1949 in West Bromwich, England. His mother was Irish, however, and he moved to Dublin when he was four.

Lynott was in several bands in the 1960s, including the Black Eagles, Kama Sutra, Skid Row (featuring guitarist Gary Moore, bassist Brendan ‘Brush’ Shiels and drummer Noel Bridgeman), and Orphanage, with guitarist John Stanton, bassist Pat Quigley and former Black Eagles’ drummer Brian Downey. Thin Lizzy was formed by Lynott and Downey in 1969, along with guitarist Eric Bell and keyboard player Eric Wrixon. Bell and Wrixon had both previously played for Them. Lynott took on the role of lead singer, bassist and main songwriter.

In 1972, Thin Lizzy recorded an album of Deep Purple covers as Funky Junction. Lynott was reluctant to do the sessions, but did so because the band were short of money.

The big break came in early 1973 when Thin Lizzy’s “Whiskey in the Jar” hit number six on the UK charts and number one in Ireland. This was Thin Lizzy’s first top ten hit and would be their biggest.

Thin Lizzy – “Whiskey in the Jar”

The band next hit the top ten in 1976 with the all time classic “Boys are Back in Town.” This made number eight in the UK, number 12 in the US and number one in Ireland. It was one of only two Thin Lizzy singles to enter the US charts – “Cowboy Song” made number 77 in 1976. Both songs were from the album “Jailbreak,” which was a top 20 hit in the US and top 10 in the UK.

Thin Lizzy – “The Boys are Back in Town”

In 1980, Phil Lynott recorded a solo album, “Solo in Soho,” which made the UK top 20 and produced two hit singles – “Dear Miss Lonelyhearts” and “King’s Call.” The album featured several talented guest artists, including Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits, Midge Ure of Ultravox, and Huey Lewis, who would record an excellent cover of “Tattoo” on his album “Picture This” in 1982. Huey Lewis had previously played harmonica on Thin Lizzy’s 1978 album “Live and Dangerous.” To this day, Lewis pays tribute to Lynott in concert.

Lynott’s next solo album was “The Philip Lynott Album” in 1982. This didn’t do well, but did produce the hit singles “Old Town,” which would later be covered by The Corrs, and “Yellow Pearl,” which became the theme song for Top of the Pops. “Yellow Pearl” was co-written with Midge Ure.

In 1984, Lynott formed the band Grand Slam. Grand Slam were a solid live band, but split up in 1985 due to lack of commercial success.

Sadly, Lynott’s drug problems got the better of him and he collapsed on Christmas night 1985 at his home in Kew. He was suffering from kidney and liver infection and died of heart failure and pneumonia on January 4 1986 aged just 36. What a waste!

Let’s close with one of Thin Lizzy’s most popular hits, Jailbreak.

Thin Lizzy – “Jailbreak”

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