Thin Lizzy

No Irish band in the 1970s made a mark like Thin Lizzy. Their charismatic creative force Phil Lynott was actually born in England, but his Irish accent revealed his roots and he inspired not only many Irish bands - U2 included - but many British heavy metal acts. Eric Bell and Eric Wrixon, who'd played with Them, met Phil Lynott and drummer Brian Downey playing in Dublin with the band Orphanage. They pooled their forces into Thin Lizzy and, with a no-holds barred musical approach, quickly built an avid following, though Wrixon soon left. The band moved to London and had a breakthrough hit with a novelty rock cover of the old folk song Whiskey In The Jar (1972). Although hampered by regular personnel changes, the band then came back powerfully with the 1976 album Jailbreak and its anthemic single The Boys Are Back In Town. Other storming hits followed but they had dried up by the end of the decade and the band split in 1982. Lynott went on to make two solo albums although drug addiction took its toll and he died in 1986. The others have sporadically re-formed Lizzy in his absence.