The story of how Thin Lizzy almost missed out on their first hit
Music can often be cruel. Because of the pitfalls that come with being a rock star, we are often left pondering what could have been rather than what was. Phil Lynott of Thin Lizzy is an excellent example of this. Bassist, singer, and songwriter Lynott’s creativity knew no bounds. The unique tone that he was able to give Thin Lizzy, alongside catchy and emotive choruses, meant that the public became enamoured with the band.
Lynott passed away at the age of 36. Everyone who knew him was aware of the problems he faced with persistent drug and alcohol abuse, which steadily grew worse and worse before pushing him down a slippery slope that he couldn’t get back to the top of. Following issues with the band struggles with loneliness, and a failed reunion on the brink of Live Aid, Lynott locked himself away in his house in Richmond until his death.
While it’s sad to look at the passing of Lynott and the potential that the world missed out on, we can also celebrate the number of great tracks he put forward with Thin Lizzy. Of course, while we now recognise them for great songs such as ‘Running’ and ‘The Boys Are Back In Town’, it’s worth noting that none of these tracks would have come to fruition were it not for their first hit, ‘Whiskey In The Jar’.
Often, when people think of Thin Lizzy, they think of ‘Whiskey In The Jar’; it’s the band’s most famous song, but it’s also one of the tracks that Phil Lynott hated the most. “I hated it that for years that was the only song we were known for,” he said, “It was like a novelty song. Like ‘Yellow Submarine’. Would the fucking Beatles have played that?”
Lynott wasn’t alone in his hatred for the song. Scott Gorham recalls first auditioning for the band and loving the music they were making. He then recalls hearing ‘Whiskey In The Jar’ for the first time and being disappointed with the switch in styles.
“The whole thing was wild and raucous, with the guitars out front,” he said, discussing his audition, “Phil asked me to join that night, and gave me their records, because I’d never heard anything they had done. And here’s their one hit single, ‘Whiskey In The Jar’. I take it home, and I’m expecting to hear what I heard at rehearsal, right? Except what I’m hearing is ‘da-der-derblederble-derble…’ I’m going: ‘What the fuck is this?’”
The song might not be a favourite among the band, but its success meant they stayed signed to their record label and gained the notoriety necessary to make it big. Their hatred for the song meant that they almost missed out on their very first hit single, as they wanted the track to be a B-side to a more personal number.
When writing for their third album (the first two had been poorly received), Lynott penned the track ‘Black Boys On The Corner’. It was a single he was passionate about and one of the first times he spoke about being black. He was equally passionate about other songs he had written for the third album and, therefore, didn’t want to demote any of them to a B-side. Instead, he used ‘Whiskey In The Jar’, a take on an Irish folk song that he and guitarist Eric Bell used to play in pubs.
The label immediately loved the song and switched the tracks, making ‘Whiskey In The Jar’ the A-side and ‘Black Boys On The Corner’ the B-side. Lynott wasn’t happy with the decision. “Phil was furious,” recalled their managed Ted Carroll, “He’d put so much into ‘Black Boys’, seeing it as the band’s first big statement single. But we were in no position to argue. Lizzy were really in debt at the time and things were getting desperate. Decca wanted ‘Whiskey’ as the A-side, so we went with it.”
