Thin Lizzy

Thin Lizzy at the Manchester Apollo, 1983

L to R: Sykes, Lynott, Gorham, Wharton; Downey not visible.

Thin Lizzy are an Irish rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Two of the founding members, drummer Brian Downey and bass guitarist/vocalist Phil Lynott, met while still in school. Lynott assumed the role of frontman and led them throughout their recording career of twelve studio albums.

Thin Lizzy are best known for their songs "Whiskey in the Jar", "Jailbreak" and "The Boys Are Back In Town" from the album Jailbreak.

After Lynott's death in 1986, various incarnations of the band have emerged over the years based around guitarists Scott Gorham and John Sykes (Sykes left the band in 2009).

Thin Lizzy original lead guitarist, Eric Bell, came up with the band's name.  He was a fan of  John Mayall's Bluesbreakers band and noted that Eric Clapton was reading the comic "The Beano" on the cover of the  1966 album Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton. In a sister comic, The Dandy, there is a robot character named Tin Lizzie (like the Ford Model T car). Bell suggested it and a change from "Tin" to "Thin" to play on the Irish accent's propensity to drop the 'h'.