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Phil Lynott
Birth name	Philip Parris Lynott
Born	20 August 1949(1949-08-20) West Bromwich, England
Died	4 January 1986 (aged 36) Salisbury, Wiltshire, England
Genre(s)	Rock, Hard rock, Heavy metal
Occupation(s)	Musician, vocalist, producer
Instrument(s)	Bass, keyboards, Guitar, harmonica, Irish Harp, Percussion
Associated acts	Thin Lizzy, Skid Row, Grand Slam, Gary Moore

Philip Parris Lynott (20 August 1949 – 4 January 1986) was an Irish singer, instrumentalist, and songwriter, who first came to prominence as the frontman of Thin Lizzy.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Music career 3 Death 4 Solo discography 4.1 Albums 5 References 6 See also 7 External links

Lynott was born in Hallam Hospital (now Sandwell General Hospital) in West Bromwich (then in Staffordshire), England, the son of a black Brazilian father, Cecil Parris, and an Irish mother, Philomena (aka Phyllis) Lynott, whose surname he adopted. His father left his mother just three weeks after he was born and returned to his native Brazil.^[1]

Phil was initially brought up in Moss Side, Manchester. Then, whilst still quite young, he moved to Crumlin, Dublin, to live with his grandmother, Sarah. His parents reportedly kept in touch for a number of years after his birth, but Lynott did not meet his father until the late 1970s.

In the mid 1960s, Lynott began singing in his first band, the Black Eagles. Around this time, he befriended Brian Downey.

After a short stint in Brush Shiels' Skid Row with Gary Moore, Phil formed Thin Lizzy around 1969 in Dublin. He was inspired by Jimi Hendrix as an example of how a black man could be successful fronting a hard rock band. Lynott was the main songwriter for Thin Lizzy, as well as the lead singer and bassist. Their first top ten hit was in 1973, with the traditional Irish song "Whiskey in the Jar".

In 1978, he was featured in Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds, singing and speaking the role of The Parson. In 1979, under the name of "The Greedies", he recorded a Christmas single, "A Merry Jingle", featuring other members of Thin Lizzy as well as Steve Jones and Paul Cook of the Sex Pistols.

In 1980, though Thin Lizzy were still enjoying considerable success, Phil Lynott launched a solo career with the album, Solo in Soho: this was a Top 30 UK album and yielded two hit singles that year, "Dear Miss Lonelyhearts" and "King's Call". The latter was a tribute to Elvis Presley, and featured Mark Knopfler on guitar. His second solo venture, The Phil Lynott Album was a chart flop, despite the presence of the single "Old Town". The song "Yellow Pearl" (1982), was a Top 20 hit and became the theme tune to Top Of The Pops.

Also in 1980, he married Caroline Crowther, the daughter of British comedian Leslie Crowther, who died in 1996. The couple had two children - Sarah, who was born before the marriage, and Cathleen.

In 1983, Thin Lizzy disbanded. Later that year, Lynott recorded a rock'n'roll medley single, "We Are The Boys (Who Make All The Noise)" with Roy Wood, Chas Hodges, and John Coghlan, and collaborated with former bandmate blues/rock guitarist Gary Moore on "Out in the Fields" (a No. 5 UK hit in 1985, his highest-charting single ever) and "Parisienne Walkways" (a UK no. 8 hit).

In 1984, he formed a new band, Grand Slam - with Doish Nagle, Laurence Archer, Robbie Brennan, and Mark Stanway.

It was rumoured that Phil would team up with Northern Ireland hit maker Clodagh Rodgers to perform a duet in the 1986 A Song for Europe TV contest with the hope of representing the UK in the subsequent Eurovision Song Contest. His last single, "Nineteen", released a few weeks before his death, was produced by Paul Hardcastle. It bore no relation to the producer's chart-topping single of the same title some months earlier.

Lynott's last years were dogged by drug and alcohol dependency, and on the night of 25 December 1985, he was rushed to hospital suffering from a heroin overdose. He died of heart failure and pneumonia on 4 January 1986 at the age of 36. According to album notes, recording of Thin Lizzy's debut album began on 4 January 1971, exactly fifteen years before his death.

A life-size bronze statue of Phil Lynott was unveiled on Harry Street, off Grafton Street, Dublin in 2005. The ceremony was attended by former band members Gary Moore, Brian Robertson, Brian Downey, and Scott Gorham, and by Lynott's mother. The attending Thin Lizzy members paid tribute with a live performance. His grave in St. Fintan's cemetery in Sutton is regularly visited by family, friends, and fans.

In November 2005, American actor Gary Dourdan revealed in a radio interview that he has carried out preliminary work with a view to playing Phil Lynott in a film biography.

In 2006, a Thin Lizzy tribute band played at the Nerve Centre, Derry in memory of Phil Lynott. During the gig, Phil Lynott's mum Philomena Lynott came onto the stage and sang vocals on "Dancin' in the Moonlight" in memory of her son.

The same year, Lynott's mother allowed Micky Waters, bass guitarist of The Answer, to be the first to play her son's bass since his death. The bass was also used in the band's music video for the single "Keep Believin'".

In April 2007, 'The Rocker: A Portrait of Phil Lynott' was released on DVD in the UK.

• Solo in Soho (1980)
• The Philip Lynott Album (1982)

• Hale, Mark (1993). "1694 Philip Lynott", Headbangers, First edition, second printing, Ann Arbor, Michigan: Popular Culture, Ink, 201. ISBN 1-56075-029-4. 

• List of people on stamps of Ireland
• List of drug-related deaths

• The Roisin Dubh Trust - Official Website
• The Official Vibe For Philo - Rock event honouring Phil Lynott every Jan. 4th
• Article about Phil Lynott statue and 'My Boy' movie

v • d • e Thin Lizzy
John Sykes • Scott Gorham • Marco Mendoza • Tommy Aldridge Phil Lynott • Brian Downey • Eric Bell • Gary Moore • Brian Robertson • Snowy White • Darren Wharton • Michael Lee • Randy Gregg • Midge Ure • Dave Flett
Studio albums	Thin Lizzy • Shades of a Blue Orphanage • Vagabonds of the Western World • Nightlife • Fighting • Jailbreak • Johnny the Fox • Bad Reputation • Black Rose: A Rock Legend • Chinatown • Renegade • Thunder and Lightning
Live albums	Live and Dangerous • Life • BBC Radio One Live in Concert • The Peel Sessions • Boys Are Back in Town: Live in Australia • One Night Only
Key Singles/Songs	"Whiskey in the Jar" • "The Rocker" • "The Boys Are Back in Town" • "Jailbreak"
Other articles	Thin Lizzy band members