The remaining members of Thin Lizzy will retire the band name as a show if respect for Phil Lynott, a founding member, principal songwriter, lead vocalist and bassist of the Irish rock band Thin Lizzy who passed away in 1986.
The band have confirmed that they will be recording their first studio album since 1983's "Thunder And Lightning," and also the first since the death of Phil Lynott.
The current lineup featuring longtime members Scott Gorham, Brian Downey and Darren Wharton, along with Ricky Warwick on vocals, Marco Mendoza ( ex-Whitesnake) on bass and former Alice Cooper guitarist Damon Johnson have been playing live successfully for the last two years but have decided not to use the Thin Lizzy name for the new album or for any live perofrmances after their European Tour in November/ December 2012.
Scott Gorham released the following statement articulating the bands reasons for giving up the Thin Lizzy name.
"Out of respect to Phil Lynott and the legacy he created, we have decided that we should not release a new album under the Thin Lizzy name. It was a very difficult decision as we put a lot of time and effort into re-building the Thin Lizzy brand over recent years. Releasing a new album was the only way to continue this success. We all know how much Phil meant to this band and the fans. We have written 20 songs that we all feel very strongly do the band and Thin Lizzy name credit. We believe Phil would have been proud of them. We always knew a new record was a touchy subject with some people and, as such, really want the quality of these songs to be heard by everyone without any judgment or prejudice. To that end, we have decided not to release these songs under the name Thin Lizzy. We want to thank everyone for their support and encouragement over the years and to all our fans. We will release this material soon and you will be hearing some great new music with the classic Thin Lizzy sound intact. We will announce future plans early in the New Year."
"Our plan always was to put out new music to keep the name Thin Lizzy alive and fresh with all the band's fans – old and new," added Ricky Warwick. "Nobody respects Phil as much as I do, and singing his songs for the past 2 years has been an incredible honor and something I will never forget. Our plan was to always keep the band on top of their game, with great shows and great production to honor all that was Phil Lynott and his iconic body of work. Without a new album to gain new press and keep the momentum we have built up over the past two years, we are worried the Thin Lizzy brand, and all it stands for, will
diminish to a point we would never want to see. Therefore our regular touring as Thin Lizzy will cease at the end of this year after our European tour. I do want to stress that this does not necessarily mean we will never play together again as Thin Lizzy. If there are options for other parts of the World, in territories that this line up has never visited then, we may still play odd shows in 2013 and beyond if people want to see us."
"From all the band and associated personnel, we THANK EVERYONE OF OUR FANS & SUPPORTERS for making these past 2 years so incredible and we look forward to seeing you all on the Nov / Dec Tour"
You catch the boys back in your town for the last time as Thin Lizzy on the follwing dates;
Fri/Nov-09 Athens, Greece Fuzz Club
Sat/Nov-10 Thessaloniki, Greece Principal Theatre
Sun/Nov-11 Istanbul, Turkey Kucukciftlik Park
Tue/Nov-13 Budapest, Hungary Petofi Csarnok
Thu/Nov-15 Pratteln, Switzerland Z7
Fri/Nov-16 Koln, Germany Kantine
Sun/Nov-18 Prague, Czech Republic Lucerna
Tue/Nov-20 Sala, Sweden Sala Folkerts Park
Wed/Nov-21 Oslo, Norway Rockefeller
Thu/Nov-22 Bergen, Norway Rick's Theater
Sat/Nov-24 Linkoping, Sweden Cupolen
Sun/Nov-25 Aalborg, Denmark Skraaen
Mon/Nov-26 Odense, Denmark Posten
Tue/Nov-27 Esbjerg, Denmark Tobakken
Thu/Nov-29 Bournemouth, England Academy
Fri/Nov-30 Southend, England Cliffs Pavilion
Sat/Dec-01 Exeter, England University
Mon/Dec-03 Norwich, England UEA
Tue/Dec-04 Bristol, England Colston Hall
Wed/Dec-05
Middlesborough, England Empire
Fri/Dec-07 Liverpool, England Academy
Sat/Dec-08 Edinburgh, Scotland Picture House
Sun/Dec-09 Nottingham, England Rock City
Tue/Dec-11 Birmingham, England HMV Institute
Thu/Dec-13 Dublin, Ireland Olympia Theatre
If only INXS would put their name to bed. After a number of failed attempts to hold onto a lead singer after the death of Michael Hutchence in 1997 the remaining original band members have struggled to do anything much at all. It has been akin to watching them flog a dead horse. As proved by longtime members of Thin Lizzy it would be so much kewler if they just got on with it under a new name. Why they thought anyone could ever replace Michael Hutchence is beyond my comprehension.
