Set up in 1969 by Phil Lynott, Thin Lizzy was a rock band’s most famous song is ‘The Boys are Back in Town.’ The band was initially made up of Eric Bell, Brian Downey, Phil Lynott and Eric Wrixon. Phil Lynott was Ireland’s first real rock success after being born to an Irish working class family.
Phil was born on August 20 1949 to Irish Catholic mother and a South American father. His heritage would have been very unusual in Ireland at this time. Phil was born in England to his unmarried mother which would have been frowned upon in Irish society at this time. Phil grew up with his grandparents as Philomena worked in England to support the family.
During his teens Phil joined a band called the Black Eagles who were very popular locally. Phil remained in this band until he was 18 and joined Skid Row. When guitarist Gary Moore joined the band, the band went in a different direction and in 1969 released their first single, “new Faces, Old Places.”
Sometime later when both Phil and Gary were out of work, they bumped into each other and decided to start a band which was called Orphanage. At the end of 1969 Phil and Gary were approached by Eric Bell about the possibility of starting a new band. By 1970 Thin Lizzy was born with Phil playing base guitar mainly.
By 1972 the band had moved to London and was recording a third album, Vagabonds of the Western World. The single ‘Whiskey in the Jar’ reached the British top ten and marked the start of a 10 year run of success for the band.
Unfortunately the last years of Lynott’s life were dogged by drug and alcohol addiction. A heroin overdose in 1985 saw Lynott brought into hospital in Salisbury. He died soon after at the age of 36. The member of Phil is kept alive by a tribute statue on Grafton Street, a 10 minute walk from the Thrifty location in Dublin City Center.