


Bell later moved to Dublin and joined an Irish showband named The Dreams, but left in 1969 with a view to forming a rock band. Guitarist Eric Bell, born in Belfast on 3 September 1947, began his career playing in local bands such as The Deltones, Shades of Blue and The Bluebeats, and the last incarnation of Them to feature Van Morrison, between September and October 1966. Lynott then formed Orphanage with Downey on drums after Downey's previous band, Sugar Shack, had split. After a disappointing television appearance in June 1969, Shiels fired Lynott, although they remained on good terms and Shiels subsequently taught Lynott to play bass guitar.

In 1967, Lynott was asked to join Skid Row by bass guitarist Brush Shiels, who brought teenage Belfast guitarist Gary Moore into the band early in 1968. Lynott joined a local band, The Black Eagles, as vocalist in 1963, and Downey was recruited as drummer in 1965. Downey was born on 27 January 1951 in Dublin. Lynott, born on 20 August 1949 in West Bromwich, England, to an Irish mother Philomena (1930–2019) and Guyanese father Cecil Parris (1925–2010), was brought up in Dublin from the age of three. Two of the founding members of Thin Lizzy, bass guitarist and vocalist Phil Lynott and drummer Brian Downey, met while at school in Dublin in the early 1960s. AllMusic critic John Dougan has written that "As the band's creative force, Lynott was a more insightful and intelligent writer than many of his ilk, preferring slice-of-life working-class dramas of love and hate influenced by Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and virtually all of the Irish literary tradition." History Pre-history Rolling Stone magazine describes the band as distinctly hard rock, "far apart from the braying mid-70s metal pack".

As well as being multiracial, the band drew their early members not only from both sides of the Irish border but also from both the Catholic and Protestant communities during The Troubles. Thin Lizzy featured several guitarists throughout their history, with Downey and Lynott as the rhythm section, on the drums and bass guitar. Lynott, Thin Lizzy's de facto leader, was composer or co-composer of almost all of the band's songs, and the first Black Irishman to achieve commercial success in the field of rock music. Thin Lizzy have since reunited for occasional concerts. In 2012, Gorham and Downey decided against recording new material as Thin Lizzy so a new band, Black Star Riders, was formed to tour and produce new releases, such as their debut album All Hell Breaks Loose. Gorham later continued with a new line-up including Downey. After Lynott's death in 1986, various incarnations of the band emerged over the years based initially around guitarists Scott Gorham and John Sykes, though Sykes left the band in 2009. The singles " Whiskey in the Jar" (a traditional Irish ballad), " The Boys Are Back in Town" and " Waiting for an Alibi" were international hits. Lynott led the group throughout their recording career of twelve studio albums, writing most of the material. Two of the founding members, drummer Brian Downey and bass guitarist, lead vocalist and principal songwriter Phil Lynott, met while still in school. Their music reflects a wide range of influences, including blues, soul music, psychedelic rock and traditional Irish folk music, but is generally classified as hard rock or sometimes heavy metal. Thin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969.
