Copyright Jim Fitzpatrick
Happy Birthday to Phil Lynott – had he lived, it would be his 62nd birthday today. It would be very easy to grumble on about what was a sad demise and a profound waste of life of a charismatic and talented musician, but I am quite sure that Phil would have no truck with all of that and anyway I would like to focus on the good stuff.
When I was growing up, I guess Phil might have seemed a rather bizarre choice of Irish hero: he was black, his father had scarpered before he was born and he was decidedly Irish in a way that was decidedly uncool. He was interested in folk music, celtic art, mythology and poetry at a time when we as a nation were not keen on admitting an interest in anything so downright Gaelic. He drew friends and collaborators from the unlikeliest places and was a fantastically colourful dandy in the Vatican state that I grew up in. Some of the songs were macho and sexist, yet everybody’s mammy had a soft spot for him because he was the most charming and unaffected of rockers – very bashful despite the on-stage posing.
From the early to mid seventies he wrote pop and rock music with a lyrical quality and a deft touch with melody. He was a fixture on Top Of The Pops – who else would be cock sure enough to install a mirrored scratchplate on his bass so that he could blind us all with his brilliance? We were proud of him and we were in his eyes his “supporters” – Phil was always a bit of a Manchester United fan.
With Live And Dangerous, Thin Lizzy launched the template for the heavy rock live album oft copied but truly never bettered – all the guff about studio overdubbing is rendered superfluous when you listen to the result.The Boys Are Back In Town remains one of the most played songs on US radio, but his musical legacy has been blighted by his own fractious relationship with record companies and collaborators who have found it all too easy to rehash the catalogue rather than explore.
In an obituary, Fintan O’Toole wrote that Phil was a nicer bloke than Geldof or Bono and that he had wasted more talent than they could ever dream of. Two clips can summarise what he was about and maybe where he could be, and twenty five years after his death, that is really all we have along with the indelible memories for those fortunate enough to have seen him in his prime.
Always wished The Greedies could have done more than novelty single: Phil on bass & vocals with Steve Jones’ power chords was very special.
Phil always played with musicians from varying genres – I think that goes back to the early days where he played in folk clubs and you took your turn with whoever was there. He was interested in new music and also collaborated with Midge Ure, Rusty Egan and Steve Strange. I think towards the end of his creative period he was getting concerned that Lizzy were going to get left behind – not sure why because the punks always liked them.
“the punks always liked them.”
I still did a double take a couple of years back when I saw a punk with a Thin Lizzy tattoo next to a tattoo of my favourite (Dublin-based) anarcho-reggae-punk band Striknein DC. I guess it was an Irish thing.
I was never a huge Thin Lizzy fan when they first emerged in the 70s – they were always on my radar but I think I admired more than enjoyed Mr Lynott’s work. Over the years, however, I grown to like him more and more and it’s safe to say that I consider The Boys Are Back In Town to be one of the greatest rock songs ever recorded.
One of the things that’s turned me on to Thin Lizzy in recent years is the obvious debt owed to them by Stuart Murdoch and Belle and Sebastian. Their live version of The Boys Are Back In Town is an absolute gem and I’m A Cuckoo is nothing short of a Thin Lizzy tribute.
So, yes, I think I miss Phil Lynott but I never really knew that before …
Thanks for posting those ToffeeBoy – the cover is very faithful and a bit of a surprise that it is played with such vim! The Happy Mondays did an unrecognisable “cover” which really wasn’t worth the bother.
Vim’s a good word for it! To me, it’s the sound of a band thoroughly enjoying themselves, playing a song they clearly love.
I think the ease of playing Boys Are Back In Town is one of its attractions for a band looking for cover material!
A very talented man who made some absolutely fabulous records. Lizzy’s rocked up version of “Whiskey in the Jar” has long been one of my favourites, and I recently treated myself to a couple of anthologies – a Lizzy one and a solo one! Which I suppose makes me a kind of retrospective fan. It’s great to discover the man’s work for myself, although sad to think that there will be no more.
When I was a lad I used to hate Whiskey, but now I’m not so sure. Eric Bell was a great guitarist in those days and the song has a bit of spontaneity about it. Lynott’s solo stuff is underrated – he just couldn’t drag himself away from the Lizzy cohorts for long enough to survive the collapse of the band
For several years I claimed that my favourite ever line in a song was “Tonight there’s going to be a jailbreak somewhere in this town” until someone explained that the jailbreak was a lad’s night out, not a literal jailbreak. Apologies to all Thin Lizzy fans for my scoffing….
Tis me…
I knew it was you! Not sure about the lads night out interpretation – Lynott was obsessed with the US and a lot of the other songs on that album were kind of romantic rather than ‘lock up your daughters’ material. He got a very hard time in the US from promoters and radio stations because he was black but didn’t complain. It is a pity he couldn’t call on the support of those around him at the time.
An aside: Is it just me, or is the image (captioned “Copyright Jim Fitzpatrick”) not displaying for everyone else, too? I’ve had the same problem with some images on my blog, too, and it’s puzzling me. I did upgrade to FF6 recently, but IE is the same – for my blog. But I can see the picture of Lynnot (he seems to be pondering a chess problem) on IE. Now I really am confused.
Zala (have you sorted this?) – after being away from my normal computer for a few days – all my images on wordpress had disappeared.. and these photo’s on the spill weren’t showing either.
Only way I recovered everything was to empty my computers browser cache and cookies… switch off-then on again and re-sign in (everywhere). Pain – but I have a lot of images.
http://en.forums.wordpress.com/topic/why-arent-my-images-showing-up?replies=3
hope you found an easier way.
saneshane.
Shane – thank you for the reply. I did sort it out, only yesterday, by clearing my cookies (only). I was just thinking that I ought to post a response to myself here when I saw your reply!
glad it’s sorted… that’s the problem with Maki being on holiday (you have to find tech answers yourself)
Great write up. My second favourite song is Waiting For An Alibi
Thanks – he’s just blinded me with that mirrored scratchplate again! Who’s that on the drums – Brian Downey was never a blonde!
I can’t get to see the vid from this connection, but remember the appearance well: seem to recall the Boomtown Rats drummer sat in for a reason long-since forgotten.
I take it that’s you again wyngate! That is now ringing a bell with me – the man in question is Simon Crowe.
Sorry, mm (& wyngate), no, ’tis I, one DsD, black sheep of the parish of Spill. I’m halfway home from holiday, so back in signal range, but not yet with full posting capability. Hope to be home in time to participate in this week’s Challenge ………………
Definitely not me! Bob Geldof and the bloke in the pyjamas (Johnny Fingers) are the only Boomtown Rats I could name. In fact I could name more members of Thin Lizzy.
Sorry to butt in here but personal favorite of theirs…(For you Spotifiers, that is…)
http://open.spotify.com/track/7KHE3hjN6yKaGph6WxUAtv
Vagabond of the Western World for the rest of you. Just superb.
GJ