Phil Lynott
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Philip Parris Lynott was born in Hallam Hospital in the West Bromwich part of Birmingham, England on August 20, 1949. He was the son of a black South American father, named Parris and an Irish Catholic mother, Philomena (aka Phyllis) Lynott, whose surname he took. His father, nicknamed "The Duke" left his mother just three weeks after he was born and returned to his native Brazil. Philip was brought up in Crumlin, Dublin by his grandmother, Sarah. Surprisingly, both parents supposedly kept in touch for a number of years after his birth.
In the mid-sixties, Lynott began singing in his first band,the Black Eagles. It was around this time that he befriended Brian Downey. He formed Thin Lizzy around 1969 in Dublin. Lynott was the main songwriter for Thin Lizzy, as well as the front man, the bassist and the lead singer. Lynott was half black, and was inspired by Jimi Hendrix as an example of how a black man could be successful fronting a hard rock band.
In 1978, he featured in Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds, singing and speaking the role of The Parson.
In 1980, Phil Lynott launched a solo career and released some hits like "Old Town".He also had many collaborations with former bandmate Gary Moore and the two produced songs such as "Out in the Fields" and "Parisienne Walkways". In the same year he married Caroline, the daughter of British comedian, Leslie Crowther and mother of his first child Sarah. That year she also gave birth to their second baby daughter: Cathleen. The song "Yellow Pearl" (1982), was a big hit and became the theme tune to Top of the Pops. However, Lynott was not free of drug dependancy, and eventually died from the after-effects of a heroin overdose, in Salisbury Infirmary on January 4, 1986 at the age of 36.
Phil Lynott was also a published poet with the release of Songs for While I'm Away.
A life-size bronze statue of Lynott was unveiled on Harry Street, off Grafton Street, Dublin, at 6:40 pm on August 19, 2005. The ceremony was attended by former band members Gary Moore, Brian Robertson and Scott Gorham, and by Lynott's mother, Phyllis. The statue, designed by Paul Daly, depicts Lynott leaning on a bass guitar with his collar upturned and his necktie flapping in the wind.
Subsequent to the unveiling, for the first time in 19 years, Scott Gorham, Eric Bell, Brian Downey and Brian Robertson played together on a stage set by Gary Moore celebrating Phil's life and music.
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