With Thin Lizzy now officially a thing of the past, Philip Lynott is preparing to start anew with Grand Slam. At this transitional point in his public career Tony Clayton-Lea sought out the private Lynott to ask him his views on a wide range of issues including music, politics, religion, sex, drugs, Ireland, parenthood and rock'n'roll stardom. The result is probably the frankest and most revealing interview Philip Lynott has ever given.
Brown eyes gaze out at me from a brown face. A dark, throaty Dublin brogue asks, *yaknowharImean?* I answer *Yes.*
For fifteen years now, Philip Lynott has been a major ambassador for Irish rock music. From the '70s to the '80s his band Thin Lizzy were one of the most successful acts working in the hard rock genre. They were also one of the best, because, in amongst the bruising bass, pulverising drums and twin guitars lay a strong melodic core, lyrics that said something and a voice like the aural equivalent of a pint of the black stuff.
Throughout his career, Philip Lynott has always been an ace face. Yet there is more to him than meets the eye. Tall, dark and handsome, Philip has the appealing combination of Irish wit and Dublin suss to complement his looks.
Never one to rest on his musical laurels, he has released two solo albums - Solo In Soho and Fantastic Attitude - which although not achieving great commercial success, allowed him to experiment with varying styles beyond the boundaries of the pre-ordained Lizzy sound. Indeed, it was the freedom of artistic expression gained by working on these two LPs that highlighted for him the musical and stylistic rut the latterday Thin Lizzy had degenerated into. One morning, Philip Lynott woke up, peered out of his bedroom window, and decided to call it a day...
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