Throughout the decades, Thin Lizzy has, somehow, managed to survive – and even thrive – when times got tough, with the band reinventing itself amid a rotating roster of guitarists and band members.
However, it's been four decades since their last studio material, and, with no live dates in sight, one might safely assume that Thin Lizzy's days are over... but not just yet. In a recent interview with Guitarist, Gorham foreshadows a potential resurrection of Lizzy, claiming he’s waiting for the right calibre of player.
“I can’t just pick somebody off the line. For me, there’s gotta be something special about them. I don’t want to break the chain of great guitar players coming through Thin Lizzy. I know they’re out there. So hopefully, it’s not gonna take too long for something to happen.”
His comments come amid ongoing speculation about Lizzy’s future, following Gorham’s departure from Black Star Riders in 2021 – a hard rock, “twin-guitar attack” band formed in memory of Lizzy’s legacy.
After a nerve-racking audition in 1974 that cemented his role in Thin Lizzy, Gorham went on to share the stage with a number of guitar greats. During Lizzy’s reign, he paired with the likes of John Sykes, Snowy White, Brian Robertson and blues virtuoso, Gary Moore, to name a few – so it's no surprise Gorham faces uncertainty about relighting Lizzy’s flame.
Moreover, the death of Lizzy guitarist John Sykes, in December 2024 continues to spark bouts of déjà vu within Gorham.
“I got so many requests: ‘Hey, Scott, let’s do an interview.’ ‘No thanks, it’s too soon.’ The same thing happened when Phil died. I didn’t want to go through all that again. I kinda wish I hadn’t been such a prick about it and done some of these interviews, for John’s sake.”
After all, it was Sykes who, after the tragic death of Irish pioneer Phil Lynott in early 1986, pitched the idea of sparking up Lizzy once more to Gorham.
He recalls: “We both sang background, but I’d never heard John sing solo. I had no idea he had three solo albums. I listened to them and I thought, ‘Hey, where’s he been keeping this?’ So I said, ‘Okay, I think we can give this a shot. I’m still not sure if this is the right thing to do, but let’s see what happens.’
“I remember being in that studio and nobody wanted to pick up a guitar, in case this was not going to work out. I finally said, ‘Fuck it, I’ve flown 6,000 miles, let’s get into this. We’ll start out with Jailbreak, okay?
“If it’s shit, then we’ll just pack up,” Gorham continues. “So we played Jailbreak and at the end, we looked at each other and said, ‘Actually, that sounded pretty damn good.’ Before we knew it, we had a full set that everybody felt confident in.”
The Sykes-fronted outfit lasted until 2009, despite some fans never accepting the switch.
As for the band's future, Gorham is keeping his standards high and options open for the next pioneer to play alongside him.
Be sure to check out a guide to each Lizzy guitarist as well as the first unheard Thin Lizzy tracks in over 40 years – and, for the ultimate Lizzy content, pick up the latest copy of Guitarist from Magazines Direct.
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