"I JUST WANTED TO BE RESPECTED FOR BEING IN A KICKASS BAND."

1976 was a pivotal year for Thin Lizzy. Guitarist Scott Gorham, one half of the band's classic twin-guitar sound, takes a trip down memory lane to the year that was...

- Mick Wall Portrait

Los Angeles-born guitarist Scott Gorham joined Thin Lizzy in 1974 at the same time as guitarist Brian Robertson, marking the beginning of the classic Lizzy line-up that found worldwide success two years later with the Jailbreak and Johnny The Fox albums. He remained with the band until its breakup in 1983, and was the longest serving member after founders Phil Lynott and Brian Downey.

The first time we met was at the aftershow for the final night of three at the Hammersmith Odeon on the Johnny The Fox tour, in November 1976. Guests included George Best, Alex ‘Hurricane’ Higgins, Johnny Rotten, several Sun Page 3 girls, various TV stars, and Huey Lewis, then of Clover. Lizzy attracted a high level of celebrity to their shows. Well, I guess we did, because I remember shaking hands with a lot of people I probably didn’t think I’d ever meet. Then you’re having a conversation with them, then you become friends with them. But all the parties and all the people that you meet, when it came down to the music, it was all business. That’s the part that I’m really proud of.

1976 was Lizzy’s big breakout year, starting with Jailbreak, in March, which went gold here and in the US, and the big single from it The Boys Are Back In Town, which hit the Top 10 both here and in the US. Yeah, that year was the explosion.

Did you know as you were making it that Jailbreak could be the one?

No. Our first two albums were dismal failures. For the third, Jailbreak, we literally had everyone saying to us: “You’d better do it on this one or there’s the door.” Record company, management, I even think what few fans we had at that point were saying it. So we doubled our efforts. We demoed and demoed and demoed and wrote and wrote. That’s why Jailbreak and