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By Jeb Wright
Eric Bell is a founding member of the band Thin Lizzy. After
surviving for years in Ireland by playing in club bands he met Phil
Lynott and formed the group that would catapult them to fame.
After three albums, the road and the rock n' roll lifestyle became more
than Bell could cope with and he stepped down. Only a couple of
years later, Thin Lizzy, the band he named, went on to international
success.
Today, Bell remains in the music business and continues to play live on a
regular basis. Recently, he took part in a Thin Lizzy reunion concert
hosted by ex-Lizzy guitar wizard Gary Moore. Bell's entrance on stage to
play "Whiskey in the Jar" is a highlight of the accompanying DVD titled One
Night in Dublin: A Tribute to Phil Lynott.
Jeb: Let's start with what is currently going on with
you. Fill us in with any musical endeavors that you are
currently up to.
Eric: At the moment I've got my own band called The Eric
Bell Band, which is a trio with Tony Williams on bass and Andy Golden on drums.
We play a few gigs around England and tour Europe now and again. I also play
some gigs around London with friends of mine. I've also been giving guitar
workshops in Ireland. I have done three so far. I'm hoping to record an album in
the near future.
Jeb: I watched the Gary Moore DVD tribute to Phil. The crowd
went nuts when you came on. Tell me how it felt to be part of the event.
Eric: It felt good to be at the show. The only thing I
felt a bit upset about was only playing one song. I should have played "The
Rocker" but it wasn't my show. It is always emotional at shows about Philip and
the history of Thin Lizzy as it just brings back all the memories about the
early days when the band first started and when Philip and I shared a house
together.
Jeb: Moore has said that there was a ton of bickering
going on with the guitar players. He said it was like going right back to 30
years ago. What was going on?
Eric: Guitar players are a funny lot. When you get lots of
people playing the same instrument it can become a bit bitchy sometimes. I know
Gary had to phone us all up and rehearse with all of us. I think the side of it
that was a bit too much for him was trying to keep us all happy.
Jeb: "Whisky in the Jar" got the crowd going nuts. Tell
me the history of that song and how you all originally came to do it.
Eric: "Whiskey" is a very old Irish folk song. Thin Lizzy
was rehearsing in a pub in London one day and we were trying to work on new
songs but nothing much was happening so we took a break Philip picked up a
6-string guitar and started singing folk songs just for a laugh. After about 5
minutes he started singing "Whiskey in the Jar" and I started playing guitar
with him and Brian started playing drums. This lasted for a few minutes and one
of our managers, Ted Carroll, came into the room. He had been out looking for a
new amp for me. We all stopped playing and looked at the amp. Ted asked us what
the song was that we were playing. He had heard it ,as he was coming up the
stairs to see us. We told him we were just messing about but Ted seemed to thing
it might be a hit record. We were talked into recording it and it did become a
very big hit.
Jeb: How has your guitar playing changed since your time in
Thin Lizzy?
Eric: Because I'm so close to my guitar playing its difficult
to see the changes sometimes. Philip's style of songwriting was, in a way, an
inspiration for my playing. I would have to play everything I knew on the guitar
and then that was my starting point --having to dig very deep for ideas. My idea
at the moment is to try and play as free as I can.
Jeb: Going way back, how did you meet Phil? When did
you know you had a great band?
Eric: I met Philip and Brian at a club in Dublin called
The Countdown Club. I had just left an Irish show band and was looking for
musicians to form a group. They were playing that night in a group called
Orphanage. When they took a break I spoke to Philip and we ended up saying we
would have a blow together to see how it sounded. At that point we had a
keyboard player as well called Eric Wrixon. We had our first rehearsal and it
was very rough but had a great feel. A few months later, we started drawing big
crowds at our gigs and we then knew there was something going on.
Jeb: Drugs and booze seem to have been the downfall of
Thin Lizzy. Phil even died prematurely due to his alcoholism. Where the problems
there even during the band's first three albums?
Eric: Yeah, Lizzy was a smokers band. It was also the
times we lived in then. The first three albums, especially the first one, you
couldn't see anything in the studio for the cloud of hash and grass smoke. We
also dabbled in acid and some beer and spirits but, as I said, lots of people
did back then.
Jeb: You were there for the first three albums. Many
Thin Lizzy fans think these albums are special as they have a unique feel to
them -- mainly due to your style of playing. What do you feel you contributed to
Thin Lizzy?
Eric: On the first three albums I was very lucky because I
was given so much freedom to be able to play anything I wanted. Being the only
guitarist, I wasn't in that position to have to play harmonies with another
player. I really did experiment a lot in the studio and would try many different
approaches. Most of my ideas I would hear in the studio as we played and I would
just go for it.
Jeb: "The Rocker" is one of the best tracks Thin Lizzy
ever came up with. This song is where Phil really found the classic sound. Do
you agree or disagree? Is there a story behind this song?
Eric: When I would be messing around on guitar, Philip
would ask me, "Is that yours Er?" He was asking me if something was my idea that
I was playing or if it was someone else's. A lot of the time the ideas would be
mine and Philip would write a song around it. He heard me playing the chords to
"The Rocker" and wrote the lyrics and middle eight.
I remember one day in the car when we were traveling to
some show -- he carried a book with him in which he wrote words and he passed it
to me. In it he had just started writing the words to "The Rocker." One of our
managers, Ted Carroll, had a record shop called The Rock On Stall and both his
record shop and Ted are mentioned in
the song.
Jeb: Thin Lizzy was making it but had not yet fulfilled
their potential after the third record. Was the road difficult to take? What was
a typical day in the life of Eric Bell like on the road?
Eric: After a while being on the road was very tiring.
When "Whiskey" was a hit we started flying all over Europe to mime on lots of
television stations which really wore me out.
A day in my life was waking up with a hangover, missing
breakfast at the hotel we would be staying at, getting into the car, which the
driver would drive as fast as possible to the next show, doing a long sound
check, going back to the hotel, trying to eat something, playing the gig,
getting drunk or whatever and then going to bed. The next day I start all over
again.
Jeb: Why did you leave?
Eric: I left because of my health and also the way we played
music was starting to change. We were becoming pop stars instead of musicians.
I thought about leaving for a few months before I did. I didn't talk to anyone
about it. These days the management would have put me in a rest home for a few
weeks to get better but not in those days.
Jeb: After you left Thin Lizzy broke big and by 1976
were on top of the world. How did you take what happened? Was there any anger or
depression that your band went on without you and hit the big time?
Eric: No, I didn't feel anything bad about Lizzy getting
bigger. I was only glad to get out in one piece. I thought they deserved all
they got, especially Philip and Brian Downey as they worked very hard to get it.
Jeb: What projects did you do outside of Thin Lizzy?
Eric: I didn't do anything after Thin Lizzy for a while as I
was just trying to get my health back. I joined Noel Redding's band and was with
him for two years.
Jeb: Did you stay in touch with Phil?
Eric: No, I didn't stay in touch with Philip until the office
phoned me up and asked me to play at Hammersmith Odeon on the Live Life album. I
met Philip there and we started talking.
Jeb: Were you surprised to hear Phil had passed away?
Eric: I wasn't really surprised when I heard Philip had died.
He really lived the life; the rock and roll life style. He thought he was
indestructible and he had a very strong constitution but I think there's only a
certain amount the body can take before it breaks down.
Jeb: Have you always remained in the music business or did
you do other work? If so, what work have you done?
Eric: Apart from a few months selling second hand clothes in
an open-air market in London to make ends meet, I've always been in the
business.
Jeb: What does the future hold for you? What still
makes your musical spirit come alive?
Eric: I really don't know about the future. I would like to
record a great album and play good gigs. Who knows? The spirit of music is
still very strong within me. I still listen to all the records that made me want
to play guitar and think of all the players that have passed away. I still fly
the flag for them all.
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