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Philip Parris Lynott (, ; 20 August 1949 – 4 January 1986) was an Irish singer, bassist, and songwriter. His most commercially successful group was Thin Lizzy, of which he was a founding member, the principal songwriter, lead vocalist and bassist. He was known for his distinctive
plectrum A plectrum is a small flat tool used for plucking or strumming of a stringed instrument. For hand-held instruments such as guitars and mandolins, the plectrum is often called a pick and is held as a separate tool in the player's hand. In har ...
-based style on the bass, and for his imaginative lyrical contributions including
working class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...
tales and numerous characters drawn from personal influences and
Celtic culture Celtic culture may refer to: *the culture of Celts *the culture of Celts (modern) *the culture of Celtic nations: **Culture of Ireland **Culture of Scotland **Culture of the Isle of Man **Culture of Wales **Culture of Cornwall **Culture of Brittany ...
. Lynott was born in the West Midlands of England, but grew up in
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...
with his grandparents. He remained close to his mother, Philomena, throughout his life. He fronted several bands as a lead vocalist, including Skid Row alongside
Gary Moore Robert William Gary Moore (4 April 19526 February 2011) was a Northern Irish musician. Over the course of his career he played in various groups and performed a range of music including blues, blues rock, hard rock, heavy metal, and jazz fus ...
, before learning the bass guitar and forming Thin Lizzy in 1969. After initial success with " Whiskey in the Jar", the band had several hits in the mid-1970s such as " The Boys Are Back in Town", "
Jailbreak A prison escape (referred as a bust out, breakout, jailbreak, or prison break) is the act of an inmate leaving prison through unofficial or illegal ways. Normally, when this occurs, an effort is made on the part of authorities to recapture t ...
" and " Waiting for an Alibi", and became a popular live attraction combining Lynott's vocal and songwriting skills with dual lead guitars. Towards the end of the 1970s, Lynott embarked upon a solo career, published two books of poetry, and after Thin Lizzy disbanded, he assembled and fronted the band Grand Slam. In the 1980s, Lynott increasingly suffered drug-related problems, particularly an addiction to
heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and bro ...
. In 1985, he had a final chart success with Moore, " Out in the Fields", followed by the minor hit "Nineteen", before his death in 1986. He remains a popular figure in the rock world, and in 2005, a statue in his memory was erected in Dublin.


Early life

Phil Lynott was born in Hallam Hospital in
West Bromwich West Bromwich ( ) is a market town in the borough of Sandwell, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is north-west of Birmingham. West Bromwich is part of the area ...
, England, and christened at
St Edward's Church, Selly Park, Birmingham The Catholic Church of St Edward, Selly Park, Birmingham is a Roman Catholic parish located in Selly Park in the Archdiocese of Birmingham. History The church on Raddlebarn Road was designed in decorated gothic style by Henry Thomas Sandy of ...
. His mother, Philomena Lynott, was born in
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...
and his father, Cecil Parris, was from Georgetown,
British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies, which resides on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first European to encounter Guiana was ...
. Philomena met Parris, who had moved to England to seek work, in Birmingham in 1948 and they were in a relationship for a few months, until Parris was transferred to London. Shortly afterwards, Philomena found she was pregnant and, after Lynott was born, she moved with her baby to a home for unmarried mothers in Selly Park, where he was baptised on 4 September. Philomena subsequently moved to
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...
but stayed in touch with Parris who helped pay towards his son's support. She subsequently had two other children who were given up for adoption. Though he suffered no serious racism, Lynott felt different from his school-mates and was more self-conscious. Lynott first attended school in Moss Side, Manchester. In 1957, due to accounts of racism and Lynott being mixed race, his mother sent him to live with his grandparents, Frank and Sarah Lynott, in Crumlin, Dublin. The move was important as the presence of Frank gave him a father figure for the first time in his life. His mother stayed in Manchester and remained close to her son. She later took over the management of the Clifton Grange Hotel in Whalley Range with her partner, Dennis Keeley. The hotel, nicknamed "The Biz", became popular with showbusiness entertainers, and was later referred to in a song on Thin Lizzy's debut album. Lynott had a happy childhood growing up in Dublin and was a popular character at school.


Career


Early years

Lynott was introduced to music through his uncle Timothy's record collection, and became influenced by
Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...
and The Mamas & the Papas. He joined his first band, the Black Eagles in 1965 as a lead singer, playing popular covers in local clubs around Dublin. He attended the Christian Brothers School in Crumlin, where he became friends with Brian Downey, who was later persuaded to join the band from the Liffey Beats. The group fell apart due to the lack of interest of manager Joe Smith, particularly after the departure of his two sons, guitarists Danny and Frankie. Lynott then left the family home and moved into a flat in Clontarf, where he briefly joined the group Kama Sutra. It was in this band that he learned his frontman skills, and worked out how to interact with an audience. In early 1968, he teamed up with bassist Brendan 'Brush' Shiels to form Skid Row. Downey was not interested in Shiels' request to be the drummer, so the job went to
Noel Bridgeman Noel A. 'Nollaig' Bridgeman (28 April 1946 – 23 March 2021) was an Irish musician, best known as the drummer and co-founder of the blues rock band Skid Row. Biography Bridgeman enjoyed a long career after emerging from the Irish blues boom in ...
. The band signed a deal with Ted Carroll, who would later go on to manage Thin Lizzy, and played a variety of covers including " Eight Miles High", "
Hey Jude "Hey Jude" is a song by the English rock music, rock band the Beatles that was released as a non-album single in August 1968. It was written by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. The single was the Beatles' fir ...
" and several numbers by
Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...
. Because Lynott did not play an instrument at this point in his career, he instead manipulated his voice through an echo box during instrumental sections. He took to smearing boot polish under his eyes on stage to draw attention to himself, which he would continue to do throughout Lizzy's career later on, and regularly performed a mock fight with Shiels onstage to attract the crowd. In mid-1968, guitarist Bernard Cheevers quit to work full-time at the
Guinness Guinness () is an Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in 1759. It is one of the most successful alcohol brands worldwide, brewed in almost 50 countries, and available in ov ...
factory in Dublin, and was replaced by Belfast-born guitarist
Gary Moore Robert William Gary Moore (4 April 19526 February 2011) was a Northern Irish musician. Over the course of his career he played in various groups and performed a range of music including blues, blues rock, hard rock, heavy metal, and jazz fus ...
. Despite increased success, and the release of a single, "New Faces, Old Places", Shiels became concerned about Lynott's tendency to sing off-key. He then discovered that the problem was with Lynott's tonsils; he subsequently took a leave of absence from the band. By the time he had recovered, Shiels had decided to take over singing lead and reduce the band to a three-piece. Feeling guilty of having effectively sacked one of his best friends, he taught Lynott how to play bass, figuring it would be easier to learn than a six-string guitar, and sold him a Fender Jazz Bass he had bought from Robert Ballagh for £36, and started giving him lessons. Lynott and Downey quickly put together a new band called Orphanage, with guitarist Joe Staunton and bassist Pat Quigley, playing a mixture of original material alongside covers of
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
, Free and
Jeff Beck Geoffrey Arnold Beck (born 24 June 1944) is an English rock guitarist. He rose to prominence with the Yardbirds and after fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, he switched to a mainly instrumental style, with a fo ...
. Still learning the bass, Lynott restricted himself to occasional rhythm guitar alongside singing lead. At the end of 2006, a number of Skid Row and Orphanage demo tapes featuring Lynott were discovered. These were his earliest recordings and had been presumed lost for decades.


Thin Lizzy

Towards the end of 1969, Lynott and Downey were introduced to guitarist Eric Bell via founding member of
Them Them or THEM, a third-person plural accusative personal pronoun, may refer to: Books * ''Them'' (novel), 3rd volume (1969) in American Joyce Carol Oates' ''Wonderland Quartet'' * '' Them: Adventures with Extremists'', 2003 non-fiction by Wels ...
, keyboardist
Eric Wrixon Eric Wrixon (29 June 1947 – 13 July 2015) was a musician from Belfast, Northern Ireland, and a founding member of Them and Thin Lizzy. He came up with the band name "Them" (from the 1954 sci-fi film ''Them!''), but as he was a minor his parents ...
(Bell had played in a later line-up of Them). Deciding that Bell was a better guitarist, and with Lynott now confident enough to play bass himself, the four formed Thin Lizzy. The name came from the character "Tin Lizzie" in the comic '' The Dandy'', which in turn came from the nickname for the Ford Model T car. The H was deliberately added to mimic the way the word "thin" is pronounced in a Dublin accent. Lynott later discovered the saying attributed to
Henry Ford Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American industrialist, business magnate, founder of the Ford Motor Company, and chief developer of the assembly line technique of mass production. By creating the first automobile that ...
, "Any colour you like as long as it's black," which he felt was appropriate for him. Wrixon was felt by the others to be surplus to requirements and left after the release of the band's first single, "The Farmer", in July 1970. During the band's early years – and despite being the singer, bassist and chief songwriter – Lynott was still fairly reserved and introverted on stage, and would stand to one side while the spotlight concentrated on Bell, who was initially regarded as the group's leader. During the recording of the band's second album, '' Shades of a Blue Orphanage'' (1972), Lynott very nearly left Thin Lizzy to form a new band with
Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock music, but their musical style has changed over the course of its existence. Originally formed as ...
's Ritchie Blackmore and Ian Paice, called Baby Face. "Ritchie turned up in the studio one day to jam," recalled Downey. "I was asked to play drums to Phil and Ritchie jamming… Me and Eric looked at each other like, 'Well, that's the end of the band then.' It lasted a week, then Phil came back as if nothing had happened. He wanted to be the leader of his own band, not the singer in someone else's." Due to being in dire financial straits Lizzy did, however, soon record an album of Deep Purple covers under the name
Funky Junction Funky Junction were an Irish rock band formed in 1972 specifically to record a single album of songs made famous by British band Deep Purple, which was released as ''Funky Junction Play a Tribute to Deep Purple'' in January 1973. Among the band's ...
. Lynott did not sing on the album as he felt his voice was not in the same style as Ian Gillan. Towards the end of 1972, Thin Lizzy got their first major break in the UK by supporting Slade, then nearing the height of their commercial success. Inspired by Noddy Holder's top hat with mirrors, Lynott decided to attach a mirror to his bass, which he carried over to subsequent tours. On the opening night of the tour, an altercation broke out between Lynott and Slade's manager Chas Chandler, who chastised Lynott's lack of stage presence and interaction with the audience and threatened to throw Lizzy off the tour unless things improved immediately. Lynott subsequently developed the onstage rapport and stage presence that would become familiar over the remainder of the decade. Thin Lizzy's first top-ten hit was in 1973, with a rock version of the traditional Irish song " Whiskey in the Jar", featuring a cover by Irish artist and friend Jim Fitzpatrick.* However, follow-up singles failed to chart and, after the departure of Bell, quickly followed by Moore replacing him and, briefly, Downey, Thin Lizzy were near collapse by mid-1974. It was not until the recruitment of guitarists Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson and the release of ''
Jailbreak A prison escape (referred as a bust out, breakout, jailbreak, or prison break) is the act of an inmate leaving prison through unofficial or illegal ways. Normally, when this occurs, an effort is made on the part of authorities to recapture t ...
'' in 1976 that Thin Lizzy became international superstars on the strength of the album's biggest hit, " The Boys Are Back in Town". The song reached the top 10 in the UK, was No. 1 in Ireland and a hit in the US and Canada. However, while touring with Rainbow, Lynott contracted
hepatitis Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver tissue. Some people or animals with hepatitis have no symptoms, whereas others develop yellow discoloration of the skin and whites of the eyes ( jaundice), poor appetite, vomiting, tiredness, abdominal ...
and the band had to cancel touring. Lynott befriended Huey Lewis while Lewis's band, Clover, was supporting them on tour. Lewis was impressed with Lynott's frontman abilities and was inspired to perform better, eventually achieving commercial success in the 1980s. Lynott's songs, including "Cowboy Song" and "Massacre", were particularly influenced by the band's US touring. He had a particular affinity for Los Angeles. Having finally achieved mainstream success, Thin Lizzy embarked on several consecutive world tours. The band built on ''Jailbreak''s success with the release of a string of hit albums, including ''
Johnny the Fox ''Johnny the Fox'' is the seventh studio album by Irish hard rock band Thin Lizzy, released in 1976. This album was written and recorded while bassist/vocalist Phil Lynott was recovering from a bout of hepatitis that put him off the road halfw ...
'' (1976), '' Bad Reputation'' (1977), '' Black Rose: A Rock Legend'' (1979), and the live album '' Live and Dangerous'' (1978), which features Lynott in the foreground on the cover. However, the band was suffering from personnel changes, with Robertson being replaced temporarily by Moore in 1976, and then permanently the following year, partly due to a personal clash with Lynott. By the early 1980s, Thin Lizzy were starting to struggle commercially, and Lynott started showing symptoms of drug abuse, including regular
asthma Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, co ...
attacks. After the resignation of longtime manager Chris O'Donnell, and with Gorham wanting to quit, Lynott decided to disband Thin Lizzy in 1983. He had started to use heroin by this stage in his career, and it affected the band's shows in Japan when he was unable to obtain any. He managed to pick himself up for the band's show at the Reading Festival and their last gig (with Lynott as frontman) in
Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...
on 4 September.


Later years

In 1978, Lynott began to work on projects outside of Thin Lizzy. He was featured in '' Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds'', singing and speaking the role of Parson Nathaniel on "The Spirit of Man". He performed sessions for a number of artists, including singing backing vocals with
Bob Geldof Robert Frederick Zenon Geldof (; born 5 October 1951) is an Irish singer-songwriter, and political activist. He rose to prominence in the late 1970s as lead singer of the Irish rock band the Boomtown Rats, who achieved popularity as part o ...
on Blast Furnace and the Heatwaves' "Blue Wave" EP. Lynott took a keen interest in the emergence of punk rock in the late 1970s, and subsequently became friends with various members of the Sex Pistols, The Damned and Geldof's band The Boomtown Rats. This led to him forming an ''ad-hoc'' band known as "The Greedies" (originally "The Greedy Bastards", but edited for public politeness). The band started playing shows in London during Lizzy's downtime in 1978, playing a mixture of popular Lizzy tracks and Pistols songs recorded after
John Lydon John Joseph Lydon (; born 31 January 1956), also known by his former stage name Johnny Rotten, is an English singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer of the late-1970s punk rock, punk band the Sex Pistols, which lasted from 1975 until 197 ...
's departure. In 1979, The Greedies recorded a Christmas single, "A Merry Jingle", featuring other members of Thin Lizzy as well as the Pistols'
Steve Jones Steve or Steven Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Steve Jones (English presenter) (born 1945), English musician, disk jockey, television presenter, and voice-over artist * Steve Jones (musician) (born 1955), English rock and roll guita ...
and Paul Cook. The previous year, he had performed alongside Jones and Cook on
Johnny Thunders John Anthony Genzale (July 15, 1952 – April 23, 1991), known professionally as Johnny Thunders, was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He came to prominence in the early 1970s as a member of the New York Dolls. He later played wit ...
' debut solo album '' So Alone''. Lynott became friends with
Midge Ure James Ure (born 10 October 1953) is a Scottish musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. His stage name, Midge, is a phonetic reversal of Jim, the diminutive form of his actual name. Ure enjoyed particular success in the 1970s and 1980 ...
of the Rich Kids, who deputised for Thin Lizzy during 1979 shortly after joining
Ultravox Ultravox (earlier styled as Ultravox!) were a British new wave band, formed in London in April 1974 as Tiger Lily. Between 1980 and 1986, they scored seven Top Ten albums and seventeen Top 40 singles in the UK, the most successful of which was ...
. Lynott persuaded Thin Lizzy's management to sign Ultravox. In 1980, though Thin Lizzy were still enjoying considerable success, Lynott launched a solo career with the album, '' Solo in Soho'': this was a Top 30 UK album and yielded two hit singles that year, "Dear Miss Lonelyhearts" and "King's Call". The latter was a tribute to
Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...
, and featured Mark Knopfler on guitar. His second solo venture, ''
The Philip Lynott Album ''The Philip Lynott Album'' is the second and final solo album by Irish rock singer Philip Lynott, released in 1982. Not included on the album was the B-side to the "Together" single, "Somebody Else's Dream" and the B-side to the "Old Town" s ...
'' (1982) was a chart flop, despite the presence of the single " Old Town". The song " Yellow Pearl" (1982), was a No. 14 hit in the UK and became the theme tune to ''
Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...
''. In 1983, following the disbanding of Thin Lizzy, Lynott recorded a rock'n'roll medley single, "We Are the Boys (Who Make All the Noise)" with Roy Wood, Chas Hodges and John Coghlan. Lynott regularly collaborated with former bandmate Moore on tracks including the singles "
Parisienne Walkways "Parisienne Walkways" is a song by guitarist Gary Moore that reached number 8 in the UK Singles Chart in May 1979. The song is featured on Moore's album '' Back on the Streets'' and features a vocal from Thin Lizzy frontman, Phil Lynott, who ...
" (a No. 8 UK hit in 1979) and " Out in the Fields" (a No. 5 UK hit in 1985, his highest-charting single). In 1984, he formed a new band, Grand Slam, with Doish Nagle, Laurence Archer, Robbie Brennan and Mark Stanway. The band toured The Marquee and other clubs, but suffered from being labelled a poor version of Thin Lizzy owing to the inclusion of two lead guitar players, and split up at the end of the year due to a lack of money and Lynott's increasing addiction to heroin. During 1983–1985, Lynott co-wrote songs with British R&B artist Junior Giscombe, although nothing was officially released and most remain as demos. However, one song, "The Lady Loves to Dance", was mastered with producer
Tony Visconti Anthony Edward Visconti (born April 24, 1944) is an American record producer, musician and singer. Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of performers. His first hit single was T. Rex's " Ride a White Swan" in 1970, the first of man ...
and nearly released before being pulled by the record company, Phonogram. Lynott was particularly upset about not being asked to participate in
Live Aid Live Aid was a multi-venue benefit concert held on Saturday 13 July 1985, as well as a music-based fundraising initiative. The original event was organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise further funds for relief of the 1983–1985 fami ...
, which had been organised by his two friends, Geldof and Ure, the latter of whom had briefly stood in as a guitarist for Thin Lizzy. Geldof later said this was because the Band Aid Trust could only accommodate commercially successful artists selling millions of albums, which neither Lynott nor Thin Lizzy had done. In 1984, Lynott appeared as team captain (against
Alvin Stardust Bernard William Jewry (27 September 1942 – 23 October 2014), known professionally as Shane Fenton and later as Alvin Stardust, was an English rock singer and stage actor. Performing first as Shane Fenton in the 1960s, Jewry had a moderately s ...
) on the 1980s BBC quiz show '' Pop Quiz'', hosted by Mike Read. His last single, "Nineteen", co-written by Laurence Archer and Mark Stanway and produced by Paul Hardcastle, was released a few weeks before his death. It bore no relation to the producer's chart-topping single of the same title some months earlier. "This was a guy whose records I used to play when I was at school," said Hardcastle. "He was a hero of mine – I couldn't work out why he wanted to work with ''me''. He said to me, 'You're at the top of your game technically right now, so can you help me?'" The producer played the bassline on Lynott's Fender. "He walked in on me playing it and I thought, 'Shit!' said Hardcastle. "But he said, 'That's fokken great – we're keeping that on there." Throughout December 1985, Lynott promoted "Nineteen", performing live on various television shows. The same month, he gave his final interviews in which he promulgated his possible plans for the near future; these included more work with Moore and even the possibility of reforming Thin Lizzy, something which he had privately discussed with Gorham previously. He recorded some material with Archer, Lewis, and members of the News in 1985, which was not released.


Poetry books

Lynott's first book of poetry, "Songs for While I'm Away", was published in 1974. It contained 21 poems which were all lyrics from Thin Lizzy songs, except one titled "A Holy Encounter". Only 1,000 copies of the book were printed. In 1977, a second volume was released, titled "Philip". In 1997, both books were brought together in a single volume, again titled "Songs for While I'm Away". This compendium edition featured illustrations by Tim Booth and Jim Fitzpatrick, and the original introductions by Peter Fallon and
John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...
. A documentary of the same name, featuring interviews with people who knew Lynott and worked with him, and some of his admirers such as U2's Adam Clayton, was released in 2020.


Personal life

Born in England and raised in Ireland, Lynott always considered himself to be Irish. His friend and Thin Lizzy bandmate Scott Gorham said in 2013: "Phil was so proud of being Irish. No matter where he went in the world, if we were talking to a journalist and they got something wrong about Ireland, he'd give the guy a history lesson. It meant a lot to him." In the early 1980s, he purchased several properties in
Howth Howth ( ; ; non, Hǫfuð) is an affluent peninsular village and outer suburb of Dublin, Ireland. The district as a whole occupies the greater part of the peninsula of Howth Head, which forms the northern boundary of Dublin Bay, and include ...
,
County Dublin "Action to match our speech" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Dublin.svg , map_alt = map showing County Dublin as a small area of darker green on the east coast within the lighter green background of ...
, one of which, White Horses, was a 50th birthday present for his mother. On 14 February 1980, Lynott married Caroline Crowther, a daughter of British comedian
Leslie Crowther Leslie Douglas Sargent Crowther, CBE (6 February 1933 – 29 September 1996) was an English comedian, actor, TV presenter, and game show host. Biography Crowther was born on Monday, 6 February, 1933 in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, son of ...
. He met her when she was working for Tony Brainsby in the late 1970s. They had two children: Sarah (born 19 December 1978), for whom the eponymous 1979 song was written, and Cathleen (born 29 July 1980), for whom the eponymous 1982 Lynott solo song was written. The marriage fell apart during 1984 after Lynott's drug use escalated. Lynott also had a son, born in 1968, who had been put up for adoption; in 2003 Macdaragh Lambe learned that Lynott was his biological father, and this was confirmed by Philomena Lynott in a newspaper interview in July 2010. Lynott was a
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...
fan and supported
Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...
. He was good friends with United and Northern Ireland footballer
George Best George Best (22 May 1946 – 25 November 2005) was a Northern Irish professional footballer who played as a winger, spending most of his club career at Manchester United. A highly skilful dribbler, Best is regarded as one of the greatest pla ...
, and the pair regularly socialised at the Clifton Grange Hotel. Lynott later became a shareholder of the club.


Illness and death

Lynott's last years were heavily affected by drug and alcohol dependency, leading to his collapse on 25 December 1985 at his home in Kew. He was discovered by his mother, who was not aware of his dependence on
heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and bro ...
. She contacted his wife, Caroline, who knew about it and immediately identified the problem as serious. After Caroline drove him to a drug clinic at
Clouds House Clouds House, also known simply as Clouds, is a Grade II* listed building at East Knoyle in Wiltshire, England. Designed by Arts and Crafts architect Philip Webb for Percy Wyndham and his wife Madeline, it was first completed in 1886, but an 1 ...
in East Knoyle, near Shaftesbury, he was taken to
Salisbury Infirmary The Salisbury Infirmary was a hospital at Fisherton Street in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England, from 1767 until 1993. History The Salisbury Infirmary had a long history as a hospital. The first Lord Feversham, who died in 1763, left a sum of £50 ...
where he was diagnosed as suffering from septicaemia."Farewell, Phil", '' Sounds'', 11 January 1986, p. 3 Although he regained consciousness enough to speak to his mother, his condition worsened by the start of the new year and he was put on a ventilator. He died of
pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severit ...
and
heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, ...
due to septicaemia on 4 January 1986 at the age of 36. Lynott's funeral was held at St Elizabeth's Church,
Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, Californi ...
, on 9 January, with most of Thin Lizzy's ex-members in attendance, followed by a second service at Howth Parish Church,
Fingal Fingal ( ; ) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is one of three successor counties to County Dublin, which was disestablished for administrative purposes in 1994. ...
, on 11 January.
Leslie Crowther Leslie Douglas Sargent Crowther, CBE (6 February 1933 – 29 September 1996) was an English comedian, actor, TV presenter, and game show host. Biography Crowther was born on Monday, 6 February, 1933 in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, son of ...
was present. He was buried in St Fintan's Cemetery in
Sutton, Dublin Sutton ( ga, Cill Fhionntain – Fintan's cell or church) is a residential suburb on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. It occupies the tombolo which links Howth Head to the mainland, some of the lower slopes of Howth Hill, and a little of th ...
.


Legacy

Thin Lizzy regrouped for a one-off performance in 1986, with Bob Geldof taking lead vocals, and subsequently reformed as a touring act in 1996. In 2012, the members of Thin Lizzy decided to record new material, but chose to do so under the name of Black Star Riders as they and Lynott's widow felt uncomfortable about new Thin Lizzy recordings without Lynott. Each year since 1987, Lynott's friend Smiley Bolger has hosted a festival for him on the anniversary of his death, called the Vibe for Philo. A number of musicians perform at the festival, including Thin Lizzy tribute bands and, occasionally, former Thin Lizzy members. On 4 January 1994, a trust in Lynott's name was formed by his family and friends to provide scholarships for new musicians, and to make donations to charities and organisations in his memory. In 2005, a life-size bronze statue of Lynott by Dublin sculptor Paul Daly was unveiled on Harry Street, off Grafton Street in Dublin. The ceremony was attended by Lynott's mother Philomena, and former band members Moore, Bell, Robertson, Downey, Gorham and Darren Wharton, who performed live. Both Lynott's and Thin Lizzy's back catalogues have been re-released in expanded editions. In April 2007, the 1996 film ''The Rocker: A Portrait of Phil Lynott'', which consisted mainly of archive footage, was released on DVD in the UK. In August 2010, '' Yellow Pearl'' was released. This is a collection of songs from Lynott's solo albums, B-sides and album tracks. Philomena struggled to come to terms with her son's death and visited his grave on a regular basis. In September 2012, she, Scott Gorham and Lynott's widow objected to
Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts ...
's use of "The Boys Are Back in Town" during his election campaign. In an interview with Irish rock magazine '' Hot Press'', Philomena said, "As far as I am concerned, Mitt Romney's opposition to gay marriage and to civil unions for gays makes him anti-gay – which is not something that Philip would have supported." On 27 November 2019, the Central Bank of Ireland issued 3,000 €15 silver commemorative coins as part of the 'Modern Irish Musicians' series, commemorating the 70th anniversary of Lynott's birth in 1949. On 17 December 2020 a plaque was unveiled at his childhood home on Leighlin Road, Crumlin. A bronze
portrait bust A bust is a sculpted or cast representation of the upper part of the human figure, depicting a person's head and neck, and a variable portion of the chest and shoulders. The piece is normally supported by a plinth. The bust is generally a po ...
of Lynott was installed in his birth town of West Bromwich, and unveiled on what would have been his 72nd birthday on 20 August 2021. It was designed by local artist Luke Perry and crowdfunded by Thin Lizzy fans. However, it has been criticised for its lacking a likeness to Lynott. In 2019 a plaque had been put up at Sandwell Hospital where Lynott was born.


Musical style and equipment

Lynott purchased a Fender Jazz Bass from Brush Shiels when starting Thin Lizzy. He used other basses early in the band's career, including a bi-amped
Rickenbacker Rickenbacker International Corporation is a string instrument manufacturer based in Santa Ana, California. The company is credited as the first known maker of electric guitars – a steel guitar in 1932 – and today produces a range ...
. His signature instrument was a black Fender Precision Bass, furnished with a mirror pickguard and used frequently on stage and in videos. In the later part of Thin Lizzy's career onwards, he used an
Ibanez is a Japanese guitar brand owned by Hoshino Gakki. Based in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan, Hoshino Gakki were one of the first Japanese musical instrument companies to gain a significant foothold in import guitar sales in the United States and Europe, ...
Roadstar RS900. When playing bass, Lynott always used an attacking style with a
plectrum A plectrum is a small flat tool used for plucking or strumming of a stringed instrument. For hand-held instruments such as guitars and mandolins, the plectrum is often called a pick and is held as a separate tool in the player's hand. In har ...
, favoring eighth notes or triplets. His bass lines could be heard in the foreground and on top of the beat, signalling a "pushed" chord played slightly before the first beat of the next bar. Lynott wrote the majority of Thin Lizzy's lyrics, often refining the words up until the last minute, when vocals were ready to be recorded. A variety of themes and characters were featured, drawing from the
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foo ...
heritage of Irish history. Death was a common theme, such as "Soldier of Fortune", "Massacre", "Killer on the Loose" and "Angel of Death". Early material in particular drew on personal experiences and family around Dublin. He began to include American themes into his lyrics, such as "Cowboy Song" and "Massacre", after Thin Lizzy began regularly touring the US. Several songs feature the character "Johnny", which Lynott used as an alter ego for himself. "The Boys are Back in Town" was written from the point of view of the band and the audience being in a gang together, which contributed to its success. Lynott's singing style set him apart among hard rock musicians, with a seemingly casual sense of off-the-beat phrasing "closer to folk or jazz."


Discography


Albums


Albums with Thin Lizzy


Singles


Collaborations


See also

*
Gary Moore Robert William Gary Moore (4 April 19526 February 2011) was a Northern Irish musician. Over the course of his career he played in various groups and performed a range of music including blues, blues rock, hard rock, heavy metal, and jazz fus ...
and Friends: '' One Night in Dublin: A Tribute to Phil Lynott'' ( Eagle Rock Entertainment, 2006)


See also

*
Black people in Ireland Black people ( ga, daoine goirme/daoine dubha), Africans and people of colour ( ga, daoine de dath) have lived in Ireland in small numbers since the 18th century. Throughout the 18th century they were mainly concentrated in the major cities and ...
* Bust of Phil Lynott * List of people on the postage stamps of Ireland


References


Footnotes


Sources

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External links

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Phil Lynott
at allmusic.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Lynott, Phil 1949 births 1986 deaths 20th-century Irish male singers Black Irish people English emigrants to Ireland Irish rock singers Irish heavy metal singers Irish rock guitarists Male bass guitarists Irish rock bass guitarists Irish male singer-songwriters Irish people of Guyanese descent Singers from Dublin (city) Thin Lizzy members Drug-related deaths in England Deaths from pneumonia in England Burials at St. Fintan's Cemetery, Sutton Vertigo Records artists Mercury Records artists Warner Records artists 20th-century bass guitarists People from Crumlin, Dublin Irish people of Afro-Caribbean descent Deaths from sepsis Grand Slam (band) members Blues rock musicians