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Thin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1969, the group originally consisted of bassist and vocalist Phil Lynott, guitarist Eric Bell, drummer Brian Downey and keyboardist Eric Wrixon. The band broke up in September 1983, at which point the lineup included Lynott and Downey, guitarists Scott Gorham and John Sykes, and keyboardist Darren Wharton. In 1996, ten years after Lynott's death, the group reformed as a touring outfit with new bassist Marco Mendoza, and Sykes taking over lead vocal duties. The most recent lineup, which performed in 2019, consisted of Gorham, Wharton, vocalist Ricky Warwick (since 2010), guitarist Damon Johnson (since 2011), drummer Scott Travis (since 2016), and bassist Troy Sanders, who has so far only featured that year.

History

1969–1983

Thin Lizzy were formed in December 1969, with four members joining from two bands: guitarist Eric Bell and keyboardist Eric Wrixon from Them, and bassist and vocalist Phil Lynott and drummer Brian Downey from Orphanage. Wrixon performed on the band's debut single "The Farmer", but left before it was released in July 1970. Bell left the band after a concert on New Year's Eve 1973, later citing "ill-health caused by the band's lifestyle" as the reason for his departure. The guitarist was replaced by Gary Moore, although he would only remain with the band for a matter of months. Andy Gee and John Du Cann took over for a tour in May, before Brian Robertson and Scott Gorham were enlisted later in the year as Bell's first full-time replacements.

The lineup of Lynott, Gorham, Robertson and Downey released five studio albums and one live album, all but two of which reached the top ten of the UK Albums Chart, before Robertson left in 1978 and was replaced by the returning Moore. Downey also briefly took a break from Thin Lizzy around the same time, with Mark Nauseef replacing him for a tour in late 1978. Moore left again in July 1979, and was temporarily replaced by Midge Ure. Dave Flett was brought in for a Japanese tour later in the year, as Ure moved over to keyboards, and in early 1980 Snowy White took Flett's place on a more permanent basis. Darren Wharton replaced Ure in April, initially as a touring member. White was replaced by John Sykes in September 1982, who featured on their last studio album Thunder and Lightning. Thin Lizzy broke up in 1983, with their final performance taking place on 4 September on the German Monsters of Rock Tour; Lynott later died of heart failure and pneumonia on 4 January 1986.

1996 onwards

Thin Lizzy reformed in 1996, with Sykes taking over lead vocals and Marco Mendoza joining on bass, alongside returning members Gorham, Wharton and Downey. Tommy Aldridge replaced Downey in 1998, and Wharton left in 2001 to focus on his own band Dare. Mendoza and Aldridge left in 2003 to join Whitesnake, with their places taken by Guy Pratt and Michael Lee, respectively. Pratt was replaced later in the year by Randy Gregg. Mendoza had returned to the band by early 2005, as had Aldridge by early 2007. Mendoza was replaced by Francesco DiCosmo later in 2007. After more touring, Sykes departed Thin Lizzy in mid-2009, with DiCosmo and Aldridge leaving at the same time; speaking about the future of the band, Gorham claimed that "we will be back up to full speed soon".

Gorham reformed Thin Lizzy in 2010 with former members Mendoza, Downey and Wharton, in addition to new guitarist Vivian Campbell and lead vocalist Ricky Warwick. Campbell was replaced by Richard Fortus after returning to Def Leppard in mid-2011, before Damon Johnson became his permanent replacement later in the year. The band was put on hiatus in December 2012, when all members formed Black Star Riders, before returning in 2016 with Mikkey Dee initially announced on drums. Without performing with the band, Dee was replaced three months later by Judas Priest's Scott Travis, as Aerosmith's Tom Hamilton also replaced Mendoza. In April 2019, Mastodon's Troy Sanders took over from Hamilton on bass.

Original tenure (1969–1983)

Official members

Image	Name	Years active	Instruments	Release contributions
	Phil Lynott	1969–1983 (died 1986)	bass lead vocals guitar keyboards	all Thin Lizzy releases from "The Farmer" (1970) to The Boys Are Back in Town (1997) UK Tour '75 (2008) Live '77 (2009) Still Dangerous (2009)
	Brian Downey	1969–1983	drums percussion	all Thin Lizzy releases to date, except The Boys Are Back in Town (1997) and One Night Only (2000)
	Eric Bell	1969–1973	guitar backing vocals	all Thin Lizzy releases from "The Farmer" (1970) to Vagabonds of the Western World (1973) Life (1983) – one track only The Peel Sessions (1995) – three tracks only
	Eric Wrixon	1969–1970 (died 2015)	keyboards backing vocals	"The Farmer" (1970)
	Gary Moore	1974 1977 1978–1979 (died 2011)	guitar backing vocals	Nightlife (1974) – one track only Black Rose: A Rock Legend (1979) Life (1983) – two tracks only The Peel Sessions (1995) – two tracks only The Boys Are Back in Town (1997)
	Scott Gorham	1974–1983		all Thin Lizzy releases from Nightlife (1974) onwards
	Brian Robertson	1974–1977 1977–1978		all Thin Lizzy releases from Nightlife (1974) to Live and Dangerous (1978) Live (1980) Killers Live (1981) Life (1983) – two tracks only UK Tour '75 (2008) Live '77 (2009) Still Dangerous (2009)
	Snowy White	1980–1982		all Thin Lizzy releases from Chinatown (1980) to Renegade (1981) Life (1983) – three tracks only
	Darren Wharton	1980–1983	keyboards backing vocals	all Thin Lizzy releases from Chinatown (1980) to BBC Radio One Live in Concert (1992) One Night Only (2000) all Thin Lizzy releases from Live in London 2011: 22.01.2011 (2011) onwards
	John Sykes	1982–1983	guitar vocals (lead 1996–2009, backing 1982–1983)	Thunder and Lightning (1983) Life (1983) BBC Radio One Live in Concert (1992) One Night Only (2000)

Touring members

Image	Name	Years active	Instruments	Release contributions
	Andy Gee	1974	guitar backing vocals	none
	John Du Cann	1974 (died 2011)
	Mark Nauseef	1978	percussion drums	The Boys Are Back in Town (1997)
	Midge Ure	1979–1980	keyboards backing vocals guitar (1979)	The Continuing Saga of the Ageing Orphans (1979) – two tracks
	Dave Flett	1979	guitar backing vocals	none

Recent years (1996 onwards)

Most recent lineup (2019)

Image	Name	Years active	Instruments	Release contributions
	Scott Gorham	1996–2019	guitar backing vocals	all Thin Lizzy releases from Nightlife (1974) onwards
	Darren Wharton	1996–2001 2010–2019	keyboards backing vocals	all Thin Lizzy releases from Chinatown (1980) to BBC Radio One Live in Concert (1992) One Night Only (2000) all Thin Lizzy releases from Live in London 2011: 22.01.2011 (2011) onwards
	Ricky Warwick	2010–2019	lead vocals guitar	all Thin Lizzy releases from Live in London 2011: 22.01.2011 (2011) onwards
	Damon Johnson	2011–2019	guitar backing vocals	Live 2012 (2012)
	Scott Travis	2016–2019	drums percussion	none
	Troy Sanders	2019	bass guitar backing vocals

Former members

Image	Name	Years active	Instruments	Release contributions
	Brian Downey	1996–1998 2010–2013	drums percussion	all Thin Lizzy releases to date, except The Boys Are Back in Town (1997) and One Night Only (2000)
	John Sykes	1996–2009	guitar vocals (lead 1996–2009, backing 1982–1983)	Thunder and Lightning (1983) Life (1983) BBC Radio One Live in Concert (1992) One Night Only (2000)
	Marco Mendoza	1996–2003 2005–2007 2010–2013	bass guitar backing vocals	One Night Only (2000) all Thin Lizzy releases from Live in London 2011: 22.01.2011 (2011) onwards
	Tommy Aldridge	1998–2003 2007–2009	drums percussion	One Night Only (2000)
	Michael Lee	2003–2007 (died 2008)		none
	Guy Pratt	2003	bass backing vocals
	Randy Gregg	2003–2005
	Francesco DiCosmo	2007–2009
	Vivian Campbell	2010–2011	guitar backing vocals	Live in London 2011: 22.01.2011 and 23.01.2011 (2011)
	Richard Fortus	2011		High Voltage Recorded Live: July 23rd 2011 (2011)
	Tom Hamilton	2016–2017	bass guitar
	Ian Haugland	2016	drums percussion

Timelines

Original tenure

Recent years

Lineups

Bibliography

• Byrne, Alan (20 September 2015), Are You Ready? Thin Lizzy: Album by Album, London, England: Soundcheck Books, ISBN 978-0992948085, retrieved 4 November 2017
• Doherty, Harry; Gorham, Scott (12 November 2012), Thin Lizzy: The Boys Are Back in Town, Bury St. Edmunds, England: Omnibus Press, ISBN 978-1780384320, retrieved 4 November 2017
• Thomson, Graeme (25 February 2016), Cowboy Song: The Authorised Biography of Philip Lynott, London, England: Hachette UK, ISBN 978-1472121042, retrieved 4 November 2017

References

1. Byrne 2015, p. 3
2. Hudson, Alex (15 July 2015). "R.I.P. Thin Lizzy/Them Founder Eric Wrixon". Exclaim!. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
3. Nisbet, Craig (26 January 2016). "Thin Lizzy founder Eric Bell details Exile". Classic Rock. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
4. Wall, Mick (10 September 2014). "How The Blues Saved Gary Moore". Classic Rock. TeamRock. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
5. Byrne 2015, p. 59
6. "Thin Lizzy Full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
7. O'Neill, Christina (6 June 2016). "Damon Johnson praises former Thin Lizzy guitarist Brian Robertson". Classic Rock. TeamRock. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
8. Prato, Greg. "Brian Downey: Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
9. Perrone, Pierre (8 February 2011). "Gary Moore: Virtuoso guitarist who had his biggest hits with Phil Lynott and Thin Lizzy". The Independent. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
10. Leonard, Michael (30 January 2012). "The Boys are Back: Thin Lizzy's Great Guitarists". Gibson. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
11. Doherty & Gorham 2012, pp. 264–270
12. Byrne 2015, pp. 168–169
13. Thomson 2016, p. 212
14. Swanson, Dave (4 September 2015). "The Story of Phil Lynott's Final Thin Lizzy Show". Ultimate Classic Rock. Loudwire. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
15. Doherty & Gorham 2012, p. 337
16. "Dare". Lords of Metal. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
17. "Whitesnake 2003 Lineup Confirmed!". Blabbermouth.net. 15 December 2002. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
18. "Thin Lizzy Confirm Touring Lineup". Blabbermouth.net. 5 March 2003. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
19. "Thin Lizzy unveil Phil Lynott drawings in Dublin". Hot Press. 9 December 2003. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
20. "Thin Lizzy Live 2003". RockUnited.com. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
21. Iozzia, David. "An Interview with Randy Gregg". Dave's on Tour. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
22. "Thin Lizzy: European Dates 'On Hold', Tour To End in Ireland". Blabbermouth.net. 12 February 2005. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
23. "Thin Lizzy Confirms U.K. Dates With Deep Purple, Styx". Blabbermouth.net. 31 January 2007. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
24. "Thin Lizzy: Irish Dates Added". Blabbermouth.net. 9 November 2007. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
25. "Thin Lizzy Parts Ways With Guitarist/Vocalist John Sykes". Blabbermouth.net. 1 July 2009. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
26. "Thin Lizzy's New Lineup Officially Announced". Blabbermouth.net. 11 May 2010. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
27. "Thin Lizzy Recruits Guns N' Roses Guitarist For Upcoming Tour". Blabbermouth.net. 3 April 2011. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
28. "Thin Lizzy Names Damon Johnson Permanent Member". Blabbermouth.net. 5 November 2011. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
29. "It's Official: Thin Lizzy Members Launch Black Star Riders". Blabbermouth.net. 20 December 2012. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
30. "Reactivated Thin Lizzy Taps Motörhead's Mikkey Dee, Announces Tour Dates". Blabbermouth.net. 19 January 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
31. "Aerosmith's Tom Hamilton, Judas Priest's Scott Travis Join Thin Lizzy's Touring Lineup". Blabbermouth.net. 19 April 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
32. Munro, Scott (26 April 2019). "Mastodon's Troy Sanders joins Thin Lizzy". Classic Rock. Retrieved 16 May 2019.

External links

• Thin Lizzy official website

• Thin Lizzy members
• Lists of members by band