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DARK SECRETS: Thin lizzy - The Real Truth

"I first met Phil Lynott completely by accident during my first ever acid trip." Original Thin Lizzy guitarist Eric Bell on the birth of the band and his relationship with their "gentle and romantic" frontman

The story behind the 1969 formation of Thin Lizzy

Louder

“Automatically you go into blues when you do that”: Big Country's golden guitar rule that steered them clear of the blues

The band drew great inspiration from Thin Lizzy’s sonic template, but they made a concerted effort to avoid being labeled as a blues band

Guitar World

"To us, this was a decent album track, no more. We certainly did not think it could be a single!" Without the support of two American DJs, one of rock's classic singles might never have been released

Had Thin Lizzy's manager not had an ear for a good tune and some American DJs not picked up on it, Phil Lynott & Co. might never have released their signature song

Louder

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Now Playing: discover the 6 test room bangers soundtracking our March

The year Marches on...

What Hi-Fi?

"I think I just played the same song the whole night." Thin Lizzy legend Brian Robertson on his controversial time in Motorhead, and why Lemmy asked him to leave

"I knew it was going to be rough"

Metal Hammer

“Scott Gorham and Phil Lynott were taken aback that I wouldn’t party with them. I stayed in my room at the hotel. I got to the studio on time. I was trying to make a point”: Brian Robertson knows what Thin Lizzy lost when he left

Half of the classic-era twin guitar attack discusses how the iconic sound was built, his relationships with his bandmates after he left, his forensic approach to modding Kirk Hammett Les Pauls to look like Peter Green’s Greeny, and why he couldn’t play the real thing

Guitar World

“They say time heals all wounds, but not completely. Even 40 years later, I often find myself thinking about him”: The electrifying life and dark times of iconic Thin Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott, by one of the people who knew him best

Thin Lizzy guitarist Scott Gorham looks remembers his late bandmate Phil Lynott

Louder

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I’ll be listening to two iconic Thin Lizzy albums to celebrate their 50th birthday – you should too

1976 was a great year for Ireland’s best rock band

What Hi-Fi?

“I took Gem Archer’s job when he joined Oasis. Brian Robertson from Thin Lizzy came in on Saturdays and we’d just play”: How a job in the “party guitar shop” gave Pretenders guitarist James Walbourne his start in the industry

Walbourne reminisces about the guitar store that started it all – and why music shops and venues are crucial for up-and-coming musicians

Guitar World

“He had definite ideas about how he wanted to do certain songs. I’m similar, so we clashed”: Brian Robertson sets the record straight on his Thin Lizzy exit

Robertson left Thin Lizzy amid conflict with Phil Lynott and a serious hand injury – but came back as a session hand on future albums and tours

Guitar World

“The two Johns very began to hate doing TV shows that wanted us to mime. For a band that worshipped Deep Purple, Thin Lizzy and UFO, it became a really big problem”: The huge 80s hard rock hit that drove a wedge between the band that made it

The Final Countdown pushed Europe into the pop charts – and not everyone was happy about it

Louder

"I did my last school exam and played Glastonbury two days later. Two weeks after that we went into the chart at number 11": The story of the joyous breakthrough hit inspired by Thin Lizzy, Star Wars and Dutch cigars

From school to hellraising in short order – all enabled by a story of a whirlwind intergalactic romance

Louder

"All of a sudden, she started biting my tongue and wouldn't let go. There was blood everywhere. Then she went for my forehead": How Thin Lizzy made the albums that saved them, only to be plunged into chaos

Thin Lizzy went from being stone broke to recording the two albums that came to define their career, but bad luck always seemed to be lurking in the shadows

Louder

Watch Eric Bell, Richard Fortus, and a 45-piece orchestra star at Phil Lynott tribute show in Dublin

The all-star assembly gathered in Ireland to mark the 40th anniversary of Lynott’s passing

Guitar World

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Louder

Phil Lynott, 40 years gone: A celebration by his bandmates and friends - only in the new issue of Classic Rock

Also in our first issue of 2026: Sammy Hagar, Alter Bridge, Steve Cropper, Black Stone Cherry, Jim Steinman, Francis Rossi, Karnivool, Marcus King, Elles Bailey, Airbourne, Heavy Pettin and more

Guitar World

“They stole our name, which means Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora were listening to our records. But the main reason people know us is Gary Moore, and that doesn’t bother me at all”: The tale of the original Irish Skid Row

Bassist Brush Shiels looks back on his lifelong friendship with Moore, why he won’t sue the American hair metal band, and how Peter Green was responsible for their first album sounding so bad

Guitar World

“I wasn’t credited with any songwriting. That was a pity. But I didn’t make a fuss. I figured Peter was still pretty fragile”: Snowy White on his uncredited role on Peter Green’s comeback LP and how David Gilmour introduced him to the Whammy pedal

The ex-Thin Lizzy guitarist toured the world with Roger Waters, played with Gary Moore, but now he’s retired from the stage, he admits he was never entirely comfortable with pop status

MusicRadar

“In the ’80s, everybody came out with a power ballad – and we had a great one. It was never a No.1 record, but it’s a song that defines that whole era”: How an incredibly unlucky band finally got a break with a soft rock classic

But was that song really about a nun who sells dope to school kids?

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Guitar World

“Each of them impacted the instrument in their own way, as luthiers, hitmakers, session players, or air guitar-inspiring soloists”: Remembering the guitarists we lost in 2025

2025 has been a big year for the guitar, but we've also had to sadly say goodbye to dozens of guitar greats, from many eras, and every imaginable genre. Here, we recognize those guitarists, and their contributions to the instrument

The Independent UK

10 hard-rocking Christmas songs, from AC/DC to Christopher Lee

IN FOCUS: If you’re sick of hearing the same old festive cheese at this time of year, allow Kevin E G Perry to suggest an alternative playlist of full-throttle seasonal songs guaranteed to blow away the Christmas cobwebs

Guitar World

“He said, ‘Have you heard Metallica’s version of Whiskey in the Jar?’ I said, ‘No.’ He said, ‘What planet are you living on?’” Thin Lizzy’s Eric Bell on reinventing an old Irish standard as a rock track and performing it with the “cartoon” Metallica

Original Thin Lizzy guitarist Eric Bell explains the roots and finer points of his Whiskey in the Jar guitar solo and phrasing and how he got the tone on the record

Louder

The first two albums recorded by what became their definitive line-up: Now a seven-CD countdown to Thin Lizzy's lift-off

74-75: Night Life / Fighting finds Phil Lynott, Brian Downey, Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson pointing Thin Lizzy in the right direction

Guitar World

“Initially, Gary was very frosty. I said, ‘On this track, you used the “Greeny” Les Paul, didn’t you?’ And his eyes lit up”: Inside the final Gary Moore gear auction – from the amps behind his sound to the red Strat that unleashed his blues power

With the last of Moore’s guitars going under the hammer, we join Claire Tole-Moir of Bonhams and Neville Marten, former Guitarist editor and friend to Gary, to examine his extraordinary collection

Guitar World

“I was going everywhere – on the toilet, the bath, the taxi, and walking down the street – going, ‘What do I hear coming in there after those chords?’” How Eric Bell wrote one of Thin Lizzy’s most iconic guitar solos

Originally an Irish traditional song, Whiskey in the Jar found new life in Thin Lizzy's – and, eventually, Metallica's – respective repertoires

Guitar World

“He used to call himself the worst bass player in the business, but he knew that wasn’t true”: The life (and tragically early death) of Phil Lynott, Thin Lizzy’s legendary bass-playing frontman

Phil Lynott was a troubled genius who rose from a tough background to take his place in the pantheon of rock gods

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