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Black Rose - A Rock Legend (Phil Lynott Thin Lizzy Feature)
Wednesday, 05 January 2011 Written by Daniel Lynch
Black Rose - A Rock Legend (Phil Lynott Feature)

Yesterday marked the 25th anniversary of the death of Ireland’s first true rock star Phil Lynott. Most famous for his work in Thin Lizzy, Lynott stood out as one of the most unique performers and musicians of his era and his legacy remains to this day. One of the few black Irishmen in Dublin, he was instantly recognisable to Dubliners and it was this fame, rather than any great musical ability which won him a place in Brush Shiel’s Skid Row which also featured Gary Moore on guitar.

After Skid Row Lynott learnt to play bass guitar and formed Thin Lizzy with Eric Bell and Brian Downey and released 3 albums from 1971-73. Success was limited for the trio with Whiskey in the Jar their only hit. Following Bell’s departure from the band Lynott recruited Scott Gorham a day before his UK work visa expiry would have forced him to return to his home in California and an 18 year old Glaswegian by the name of Brian Robertson, who happened to be in town to audition as drummer for a completely different band.  What is classed by many as the golden era of Thin Lizzy began with Nightlife soon followed by 3 other albums including Jailbreak which boasted the band’s signature track ‘The Boys Are Back In Town.’ Double live album ‘Live and Dangerous,’ still regarded as one of the finest live performances ever recorded by a rock band cemented the band’s status as a force to be reckoned with, but success brought excess to the band.

ImageBrian Robertson left under a cloud after injuring his hand in a bar fight forced him to pull out of a US tour. Meanwhile, Lynott and Gorham became ensnared in heroin usage and the music began to slip in standard. Following the fantastic Black Rose album, Gary Moore, who had replaced Robertson, left the band and his place was taken, rather questionably by Snowy White and the average ‘Renegade’ album was released. It seemed that Lizzy’s heyday had been and gone by the early 80s but the addition of John Sykes breathed new life into the band whose next release ‘Thunder and Lightening’ was a stark reminder of how potent Lynott could be on top of his game. In 1983 however, Thin Lizzy finally split up and this is seen by many as the beginning of the end for Lynott. By 1983 Thin Lizzy had released 12 studio albums and 3 live albums - more than an album a year!

In addition to writing the majority of Thin Lizzy material ranging from the sublime love song to the catchy pop number and on to the hard hitting rocker, Lynott managed two solo albums and a string of collaborations with the likes of Mark Knopfler, Huey Lewis and Midge Ure. Lynott was the supreme story teller, including a different element of his own personality in songs through the use of different characters such as the love sick Romeo, the charmer Valentino or nameless addicts seeking help in songs such as ‘Got To Give It Up.’ Irresistible rhyming patterns and catchy lyrics were matched with soulful love songs and deeply personal lyrics to give Lynott’s writings a totally unique style. His awareness of the importance of and devotion to stage image, band promotion and persona were revolutionary and are still looked to as a benchmark by modern musicians.

Lynott passed in 1986 of heart failure and pneumonia at the age of 36. The man responsible for many of Thin Lizzy’s instantly recognisable album artwork, Jim Fitzpatrick, said of his friend ‘Phil didn’t die of a heart attack...he died of a lifestyle.’ As in the case of Hendrix and many others, Lynott had fallen into the excess of success but alongside his larger than life character on stage and in music circles he remained the devoted father and family man, known for stopping recording sessions to ring home to ensure his daughters were well in his absence.

In 2005 a statue was unveiled in Dublin to commemorate his life and is one of the few in the city not of a political or literary nature. However, Lynott rightly stands alongside the literary greats of Ireland as a master wordsmith in his own right. The statue has been affectionately nicknamed ‘The Ace with the bass,’ by locals and rightly so. For Phil Lynott will not be remembered for his tragic and untimely death, rather he will be celebrated for his remarkable contribution to music, both in Ireland and worldwide.

There will never be another like Philip Parris Lynott.

Wild one won’t you please come home,
You’ve been away too long, will you?
We need you here, we need you home,
Come back wild one, will you?
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