Philip Lynott was born in Hallam Hospital in the West Bromwich part of Birmingham, England, on August 20, 1949. He was the son of a black South American father, named Parris and an Irish mother, Philomena. His father, nicknamed The Duke, left his mother just three weeks after the he was born and returned to his native Brazil.Prior to forming Thin Lizzy, Philip worked briefly in an obscure band called the BLACK EAGLES as well as being a part of SKID ROW with, among others, ROBBIE BRENNAN (later in GRAND SLAM), GARY MOORE, and BRUSH SHIELS. Phil was also a part of ORPHANAGE with BRIAN DOWNEY and TERRY WOODS, both of whom pop up in the story later.THIN LIZZY first came about in late 1969, when ERIC BELL (guitarist, former member of Van Morrison's early band THEM) approached BRIAN DOWNEY (drums) about forming a band. Philip Lynott (bass and vocals) was also invited to join. ERIC WRIXON (keyboards, also a former member of THEM) rounded out the initial lineup of THIN LIZZY.After the release of one unsuccessful Parlophone single (Lynott's The Farmer, 1970), Wrixon left the group. Interestingly the band is listed as THIN LIZZIE on that single, as they were on advertising posters from that time period. Even earlier posters had them listed as TIN LIZZIE. The trio then signed with Decca and produced two unexciting albums, the first, Thin Lizzy, was released in 1971. About the time the album hit the record stores, the boys were busy recording a 4 song EP, often referred to as New Day and featuring original material. It was apparently released only in England, in August 1971, but never made it into the Top 50. Following the almost un-noticed release of their second album Shades Of A Blue Orphanage in 1972, they recorded and released their now classic hit single Whiskey in the Jar (their rocked-up version of a traditional Irish folk tune) which topped the Irish charts and reached the number 6 spot in England, despite being intended as the B-side of the single. The band had intended Phil's Black Boys On The Corner to be the A-side but the record company thought differently. In late 1998 the group METALLICA released a cover of this song, which also proved to be very successful and brought renewed interest in the Thin Lizzy recording.Phil was found unconscious in his home on Christmas Day 1985 and passed away on January 4th, 1986 with his mother Philomena by his side.This is Phil's last recorded TV interview, December 1985.
Layout by:
