Bands A-Z

Thin Lizzy

Thin Lizzy were built around Phil Lynott, a Black Irish kid from Dublin who sang, played bass, and wrote songs about cowboys, outcasts, and going home. With the twin lead guitars of Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson (and later Gary Moore and John Sykes), they turned hard rock into something melodic and romantic, best heard on "The Boys Are Back in Town" and "Jailbreak." Lynott died in 1986 at just 36, and the band's blend of twin-guitar harmony and streetwise songwriting went on to shape heavy rock and metal for decades after.

Start here

Jailbreak (1976). The breakthrough that made them stars, and the clearest example of the twin-guitar sound working at full strength. It has "The Boys Are Back in Town" and the title track "Jailbreak," plus "Cowboy Song" and "Emerald," which close the record on a high.

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Biography

Thin Lizzy were 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 dual 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.

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Studio albums

Discography

Official studio albums and EPs.

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