Encore 1:
Rosalie | Bad Reputation

Encore 2:
Black Rose

Thin Lizzy were undoubtedly the first, and some still say the best rock band to emerge from Ireland. When U2's Bono and The Edge where still doing their homework, Phil Lynott and his band were conquering the world with their unique sound.

The band were founded one night in December 1969 in Dublin, Ireland, when Belfast guitarist Eric Bell met up with Phil Lynott and drummer Brian Downey, who were already playing in a band together, having met at school. Commercial success wasn't immediate, in fact it wasn't until late 1972 when the band was on a high-profile tour of the UK with Slade, that Decca decided to release Thin Lizzy's version of a traditional Irish ballad, "Whiskey in the Jar", as a single. Although not happy with the release, feeling that the song did not represent their sound or their image, the single topped the Irish charts, and reached no. 6 in the UK in February 1973.

Bell left the band on New Year's Eve 1973 was replaced by a young Gary Moore, who lasted a bare 4 months. It was at this point, unhappy with the band's sound, that Lynott and Downey decided that the band should go for twin lead sound that was to become their signature.

Though others had earlier used similar techniques, Thin Lizzy are widely recognised as one of the first hard rock bands to employ double lead guitar harmony - a technique pioneered by Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac and Wishbone Ash in the UK, whilst independently in the USA by Lynyrd Skynyrd and The Allman Brothers Band. And so the definitive line-up of Lynott, Downey, Gorham and Robertson came about. Through the next 5 years Thin Lizzy produced a string of hits, and more notably the live album 'Live and Dangerous'. Despite this success, there were changes to the line-up, Robertson leaving replaced by again by Gary Moore, and then Moore himself leaving in the middle of a US tour, nothing seemed to be able to stop their success.

Unfortunately after 1980, despite producing three albums (Chinatown being the only one of note), commercial success started to wane. More line-up changes and this lack of success eventually led to the breakup of the band in 1983, and then sadly in 1986 the passing of founder Phil Lynott.

Since then there have been several attempts reactivate the band, some with more success than others. Each has received criticism for using the Thin Lizzy name without Lynott being present, but each of the line-ups has only ever played hits from Thin Lizzy's back catalogue, and none has composed any new material.

We missed the first support band, The Supersuckers, having stayed in a close-by bar to have a chuckle at the local soccer team Newcastle United being humiliated in a TV live game by the mighty Stevenage Borough. For those not following soccer, a similar scenario in say American Football terms, would be the Green Bay Packers losing a game to a mediocre college side. However, I digress, having chuckled enough we arrived at the venue just in time to catch support number two, The Union. I have to admit to not being a great fan of support bands, unless they are a known band. The Union though more than surprised me. A four piece fronted by vocalist/guitarist Peter Shoulder, Chris Childs on bass, Phil Martin on drums and formed by ex-Thunder guitarist Luke Morley. Producing a great blues/rock sound, it was a pleasure sitting through their short 30 minute set, and I'll certainly look out for them again.

Right on schedule came the main event. Behind black screens a flashing Thin Lizzy logo slowly started to form, and once fully constructed, a voice from the dark screamed 'Are you ready?' and so into the first song of the set. This was the first break in tradition, as for years the first number has always been 'Jailbreak', perhaps this was the new line-up putting its own mark on things.

As stated earlier in the piece, those appearing as Thin Lizzy in their various guises have produced no new material, so you know what you're going to get, a catalogue of the band's greatest hits, and so it was to prove. 'Are You Ready' was followed by 'Waiting For An Alibi' and then 'Jailbreak '. The less well known 'Do Anything You Want To' from the 'Black Rose' album was a nice inclusion. After 'Don't Believe A Word' and 'Dancing In The Moonlight', two heavier songs 'Massacre' and the very dark 'Angel Of Death' from the 'Renegade' album. Co-penned by keyboardist Darren Wharton this presumably explained its inclusion. An excellent version of the ballad 'Still In Love With You' followed, and the song, a personal favourite of mine, highlighted the superb playing of Vivian Campbell. His style certainly suits Thin Lizzy songs, and you wonder where his future may lie, with this set up or back with Def Leppard, or maybe both. What came next was something a lot of us thought we'd never here at a Thin Lizzy gig again, 'Whiskey In The Jar', which had the audience singing along loudly. To complete the set, 'Emerald', 'Wild One', 'Sha La La La' which ended with a great Brian Downey drum solo, and then of course 'The Cowboy Song' with an immediate lead into 'The Boys Are Back In Town'. To end nearly two hours of entertainment we had two encores. The first had two songs 'Rosalie', with plenty of audience participation, and 'Bad Reputation'. The band then returned a second time to finish the evening with 'Black Rose'.

Pros and cons of the evening. Well on the pro side, great songs played by an excellent line up. When I had checked out some Almighty stuff on YouTube, I had wondered whether Ricky Warwick was quite the singer for these songs. I needn't have worried. Vivian Campbell and Scott Gorham's playing was on top form. The rhythm section, well you know what you're getting with the brilliant Marco Mendoza, and when teamed with Brian Downey need I say more. Finally Darren Wharton, often just in the background with the original band, but given more of an opportunity in this line-up.

Cons, I don't think there were any. Just a quibble would be the interaction between Campbell and Gorham. In previous incarnations the twin leads always interacted with each other, often standing side by side to play their riffs. It didn't seem to happen on this night with Campbell tending to stay in his area of the stage. As I say just a minor quibble and something which I'm sure they'll work out the more time they spend on stage together.