Thin Lizzy singer Phil Lynott would have been 64-years old last August. Next January 4 will mark 27-years since he passed away.
Thin Lizzy 2012
Californian guitarist Scott Gorham was an early member of Thin Lizzy, joining the band in 1974 before Lynott and Brian Downey had had any commercial success with the name. Scott is keeping the legacy of Thin Lizzy going.
This week Scott recalled his relationship with the late Phil Lynott for Noise11.com and talked about the type of guy Phil was. “We were such good friends for over 11 years,” Scott said. “We were constantly on the road and constantly hanging out with each other. He just had a great sense of humour. He was one of those guys who, whenever a support band was on with us, he was the first guy into their dressing room asking them what they needed, if they needed any help. He would be in there helping and making sure that their set was okay. He wanted everyone in the band to be pushed forward. He knew it wasn’t a one-man show. He wanted everybody in the limelight. He was a pretty generous guy and, like I said, we were really good friends. I miss him terribly, even to this day”.
One of Scott’s proudest moments was joining Phil’s mother for the unveiling of the Phil Lynott statute outside Bruxelles in Harry St, Dublin. “That was a pretty amazing day,” he said. “You do something like that and you realise how important somebody is to, not only a city, but a country. Phil waved the Irish flag in every country that we went to. He tried to educate the rest of the world to what Ireland was all about, what Ireland meant to him and what Ireland should mean to the rest of the world. He got lost in some of the interviews he did trying to educate certain DJs on the history of Ireland when they wanted to talk about music. He brushed that aside and went on with the history of Ireland. The Irish saw that in him and loved him for it. He was the guy who really stuck up for them in the world, hence the statue. They realised what a great believer in his country that he was. It was a well-deserved thing that he got the statue”.
The upcoming Thin Lizzy Australian tour with Kiss and Motley Crue is in part a tribute to Phil Lynott. “It’s been such a long time since we’ve been back to Australia. We are all extremely excited to get over there,” Scott said. “I think you are really going to love this version of Thin Lizzy. I know everyone around the UK, Europe and America have put the stamp of approval on it. I hope as many people in Australia will see the same thing and come out and see us and we can all have a great time together. We are so excited about coming over. We are going to have a great time”.
Thin Lizzy will perform with Kiss, Motley Crue and Australian support Diva Demolition on:
February 23, Perth, Perth Arena
March 5 and 6, Melbourne, Etihad Stadium
March 9 and 10, Sydney, Allphones Arena
March 12, Brisbane, Entertainment Centre
March 16, Mackay, Virgin Australia Stadium
Scott Gorham will keep you up to date with Thin Lizzy prior to the Australian tour at Noise11.com. Next week, Scott will talk about the Thin Lizzy setlist.
