The Summer of 1976 was dominated by disco on the radio, but rock and roll lived on at the same time with Thin Lizzy and their seminal hit \"The Boys Are Back In Town\" that peaked at #12 on the Hot100 during the hot, hot summer of the Bicentennial. Two hundred years of America and they were all dancing to celebrate.
Thin Lizzy, Steve Miller, Peter Frampton, Bob Seger, Fleetwood Mac, Foghat, Elvin Bishop and Gary Wright were battling it out on the charts alongside Wings, Lou Rawls, Candi Staton, Diana Ross, Tavares and The Brothers Johnson.
The clean crunchy guitar work of Brian Robertson and Scott Gorham was the cherry on this rock and roll confection that earwormed its way into our psyche.
The genesis of Thin Lizzy occured when bassist/vocalist/writer Phil Lynott
met drummer Brian Downey In a Dublin elementary school where the two became lifelong friends and the only constants of the group throughout its reign.
Originally named the Black Eagles, a cover band until Phil joined Skid Row and Brian joined Sugar Shack for a short time, but the two reconvened in 1969 forming Orphanage with guitarist Eric Bell who had been playing for the band Them with Van Morrison. The revolving door of group membership continued up to 1976 when they finally broke through with their hit single \"The Boys Are Back In Town\".
The band became known for their thoughtfully well written lyrics, beefy guitar licks, raised fists and anger. Lynott explains \"The aggression is what I have, I get that feeling whenever I hit the stage. I'm sure I would be locked up for doin' something if I didn't have rock and roll. It quiets me and we quiet the kids. I love that black leather, it feels so lovely on the skin. The power pose is to show that I am black, black Irish. The fist is the black power salute. I have to do it, I don't know, I hit the stage and I'm in another world.\"
The black Irish he is referring to is a distinction not made in Ireland. It refers to their immigrant heritage that provided them with swarthy looks, dark skin, black hair and brown eyes. You can read about the black Irish here https://www.irishcentral.com/roots/history/who-were-the-black-irish
After \"The Boys Are Back In Town\", Lynott started a solo career in 1978 then he fronted another band named Greedy Bastards while still a member of Lizzy that broke up in 1983 telling the press that \"No way, no way at all am I gonna let Thin Lizzy die. It's just on hold.\" Lynott died in 1986 from complications from a drug overdose that included pneumonia and heart failure.
The inspiration for the song came from Lynott's observations at his mother's blind pig in Manchester, England that attracted members of the Quality Street Gang. He learned all about them, the way they talked, fought and their mannerisms. You can read more about them here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quality_Street_Gang
And the name \"Thin Lizzie\"? Well that was a sly reference to a robot character in \"The Dandy\" called Tin Lizzie. In the local Dublin accent, \"Thin\" was pronounced \"t'in\". Henry Ford's Model T car was also nicknamed \"Tin Lizzie\".
