ROCK LEGEND NEWS - 2003

Following some debate on the Forum, here's the details surrounding a mysterious new bootleg ....

A few years ago, a hoax bootleg called Unfinished Sympathy was advertised. Based upon previous debate on web boards, it was supposedly an attempt by some Lizzy fans with rare unreleased material to goad other fans who were looking for these tracks.

Now a new bootleg CD called Circle of Fools has appeared containing very similar artwork to Unfinished Sympathy.

It contains many unreleased and unobtainable tracks including one that no one here at RL has ever heard of - In The Delta.

Fact or fiction?

                                                                                                                                 Some news from The Trust's site....

From a Whisper to a Scream produced and directed by David Heffernan, has been re-released as Out of Ireland - From A Whisper To A Scream for the European market. This acclaimed 2000 TV series is now available on DVD and is a must for anyone interested in the development of the Irish Music Industry since the 1950's. There is of course a large part of the series dedicated to Philip Lynott.

Some news from Brian Downey's site....

Blues Up Front will be playing The Cobblestone, 77 North King Street, Dublin 7, on Friday 12th December and on Sunday 21st December. Showtime 9:30pm

Alan Byrne’s book - Statement on www.roisindubh.com

"I finally have a concrete schedule for the Lizzy book. The book is going to the printers on the 8th Jan 04 and will be shipped later that month. The CD-ROM will follow in due course. The initial print run has already been exceeded by pre-orders which is great and we'll be waiting until the last minute basically before a final count is done and a new print run will be decided. There have a been a few late changes as well regarding the format and content of the book but its all been done to better the project obviously as opposed to hindering its impact."

Best of luck Alan

Do you think Limehouse Lizzy should be playing in Dublin on 3rd Jan ... the same night as the Pre-Vibe?

Let's hear your views on the Forum!

Post Vibe Update: From the message board, it appears that the Limehouse gig didn't 'actually' clash with the Pre-vibe. The boys started after midnight, early on the morning of 4th January.

Members of Laurence Archer's Grand Slam have been confirmed for all three nights at the Vibe - the Semi-Acoustic Warm Up, the Pre-Vibe and the Vibe itself. It’s going to be all acoustic this year with varied sets on different nights. It is not yet known whether Laurence Archer will accompany the boys.

Tentative news from blabbermouth.net....

An official announcement is expected to come later this week.

The 50 Greatest Live Albums Ever is a feature in the December/Christmas issue of Classic Rock and the great news is that Live And Dangerous comes out at Number 1!

There is half page article on it with the other half being a rarely seen colour picture of Phil.

Later in the magazine is a combined review of Lizzy's The Boys Are Back In Town and Gary Moore's Monsters Of Rock DVD's. This also features a rarely seen colour picture of the Lizzies with Gary.

If you believe in a thing called love, you may have noticed that guitarist Dan Hawkins of The Darkness is usually seen in a Thin Lizzy T-shirt. The link to Lizzy continues with their new Xmas card which sports some Jim Fitzpatrick original artwork.

The BBC have released a second DVD of performances from the Old Grey Whistle Test one of which is the semi-legendary performance of Don’t Believe A Word by Gary Moore And Friends - Philip Lynott, Scott Gorham, Cozy Powell and Don Airey.

The line up for next year's Vibe is beginning to take shape with the announcement that the Eric Bell Band are to be the special guests. Also confirmed are Parris from Holland, The Southbound Band, Aimon/Leanne Harte Ensemble with Ditch Cassidy and the Hugh Buckley Group.

The new Snowy White solo album, That's The Way It Is, is set for release early in 2004. Playing on the album with Snowy are Richard Bailey and Juan van Emmerloot on drums and percussion, Walter Latupeirissa and Kuma Harada on bass, Max Middleton on piano, James Lascelles on hammond, Ray Carless on saxophone and Dawn Knight on chorus vocals.

Snowy also starts a visit to Portugal on December 5th to film a promo video for his version of the Peter Green Song - Black Magic Woman. While in Portugal he will also be making a TV appearance playing four songs live.

Swedish Lizzy guru Jörgen Holmstedt is sending us a copy of Sweden Rock Magazine in which the Cover Story is a large Thin Lizzy article written by Jörgen!

Special thanks to Peter Neilsen for sending us the scan in advance.

Darren Wharton's web site has been updated....

Pay a visit for news about the the delay of his latest album, a new mailing list and a news page.

Eric Bell seeks promotion....

If you're a promotor then take a look!

Interview with Sykes ....

Go here to hear goldilocks himself ...

News on the next Vibe ....

Go here for news about the 18th Annual Vibe For Philo, Whiskey in the Jar

Eric Bell Band in France....

New Gig at "Festival Blues de Traverse à Cléon" with Dr. Feelgood.

Some news from Snowy White's site....

An opportunity to see Snowy play in the UK... A jam session with friends at: The Corn Hall, Diss, Suffolk on 13th December.

                                                                                                                                Some news about Alan Bryne's book and also the My Boy film can be found at the Trust's news page.

Some news from Brian Downey's site....

Brian will be playing with The Ben Prevo Band on the following dates:

09/28/03, Sunday at: The Mezzanine, Eustace Street, Dublin 2 Show starts 7:00pm

10/02/03, Thursday at: Ma Reillys, 26-28 Upper Rathmines Road, Dublin 6 Show starts at 9:30pm

10/05/03, Sunday at: The Mezzanine, Eustace Street, Dublin 2 Show starts 7:00pm

Some news from Sören Lindberg relating to the news below (1st Sept)....

The tour of Norway with Wild Willy's Gang is still going on, but with bassplayer Sid Ringsby replacing Morty Black for a couple of shows. The next confirmed gigs are; 1/10 Tonsberg, 2/10 Hamar and 3/10 Strommen.

Bad news for Five Fifteen! The announced gigs with Robbo and Five Fifteen have been cancelled due to the fact that bassplayer Mikko Maatta have broken his wrist during a bicycle accident. They're trying to re-schedule the gigs towards the end of november. The dates that's been cancelled are; 9/10 Turku, 10/10 Eskilstuna, 11/10 Uppsala and 14/10 Helsinki.

Update: Two more dates .... 10/10 Harvest, Kvinesdal and 11/10 Studentkroa, Notodden.

Three more dates for you Norwegian fans...17/10 Stjønsdal, 18-19/10 Trondheim.

Tracy, from the Snowy White Fan Club, has posted some news about a new compilation CD, Snowy White: Anthology which contains 32 tracks. Also, news is that the release of The Way It Is is scheduled for Feb 2004 so expect some live work from the former Lizzy guitar man during next year to promote the new release. Finally, rumour is that a DVD of a live show from 1996 may well be in the shops before Christmas.

                                                                                                                                Keep your eyes peeled for some forthcoming Vibe 2004 news.

News from Sören Lindberg....

Robbo is playing with Wild Willy's Gang in Scandinavia throughout September. The band consists of Willy Bendiksen - drums, Morty Black - bass, Eirikur Haukson - vocals, Ronni Le Tekro - guitar .... and of course Robbo. They will start up north with Hammerfest(3/9), Alta(4-5/9) and Lakselv(6/9). More dates will follow shortly!

UPDATE (8th September): Two more dates. Fredriksstad, 11 September and Rock-in, Oslo, 12-13 September

UPDATE (15th September): Two more dates. 19/9 Gjøvik; 20/9 Vinstra

The Eric Bell Band will be playing a gig on September 13th at The Farm, Anderby Road, Chapel ST. Leonard in Skegness, UK.

See Gary Moore's web page for news on his hand injury and also recent updates confirming the DVD and CD info below.

                                                                                                                                 Some exciting news from Jörgen Holmstedt who's been talking to Phil Osborne.

Jörgen is a journalist and the guy who ran the Swedish Thin Lizzy Fan Club. As well as producing Thin Lizzy News he has also been the person behind the compilation of the Swedish Gary Moore album Blood Of Emeralds and the Thin Lizzy The Boys Are Back In Town Swedish release. He also does the sleeve notes for Gary Moore albums.

"I've decided to go official with the making of the Swedish Thin Lizzy documentary, and you are the first I'm informing about this.

The working title is Thin Lizzy Forever and the running length will be an hour. So far we have interviewed Brian Robertson, Gary Moore, Eric Bell, Scott Gorham and Jimmy Bain. We have about six or seven hours of footage in the can.

We have also filmed Brian Robertson performing the slow/fast Life arrangement of Don't Believe A Word with some well known Swedish artists who are big Lizzy fans. This was done especially for this project and this piece alone took a staggering nine months to get together, as this is an independent film done on a very small budget.

Much of this documentary will have an Swedish angle as the band was, and still is, massive in Sweden. This means that Swedish people who have worked for the band will be interviewed. Also Swedish friends of Lizzy will be talking to us.

Much work remains to be done, like a trip to Dublin for further interviews, but my colleague Jovan Radomir and I hope to be done within six months when we will offer the finished product to various Swedish television stations".

Following the recent controversy on the web board, Alan Byrne explains the story behind his book.

(i) Publishing Deal:

There was probably about eight or nine months of initial ground- work done before I even approached a publisher with this notion for a book on Phil Lynott. I was just sussing out the possibilities. Phil Lynott and Thin Lizzy, though respected, highly so in this country, Ireland, had been out of the public eye so long that very many publishers viewed the possibilities for the project with limited foresight.

I decided to try my hand locally, in Cork City that is and came across a publishing house by the name of Bradshaw's. They dealt primarily with poetry, still do, and as they seemed to be keen initially and were willing to cover expenses to a degree, it seemed ridiculous to turn it down. Big mistake, in hindsight as material was coming in very slowly, I hadn't really worked out a complete template of how I wanted to structure the project. In the beginning this project wasn't going to be anything other than a tribute.

I had read a book on the late Freddie Mercury called 'This Is The Real Life' and that was written by two guys called David Evans and David Minns. They had quite simply decided to interview a lot of Mercury's closest friends and recall the man they got to know away from the stage. An intimate recollection of sorts and this was the road I was initially going down when I started this project. I thought the balance might be interesting considering the normal reasons Thin Lizzy or Phil Lynott's name is mentioned in the papers these days.

Before I knew it I was running out of time and Bradshaw's out of patience, as they needed to see an early draft. The project was going to take far longer to complete than what was first thought and they couldn't afford to finance the project for another eighteen months. So, we parted company, I re-thought what type of book I wanted to write and before long agreed that if a Lynott book was going to be written then it should be a complete biography of not just Lynott but the band he led, Thin Lizzy. In a way if Bradshaw's could have financed the project then a lot of the people that have appeared in this book probably never would have considered the type of book I was writing from day one.

So, then the real test began, trying to track down these guys like Mark Nauseef, Gus Isadore, John Alcock, Robin George and David Mallet, all of whom played some vital roles. Then sometime in Summer of 2001 I heard about some guy who was just about to publish a book on Lynott, 'Rockin' Vagabond' it was called. I don't even know how well it did, if at all but I do know the guy who wrote it died shortly afterwards. It was also around this time that another publisher was interested, whose name for the life of me I can't remember but the bottom line was that after agreeing the preliminaries the deal offered was too sketchy to follow up on. Plus I felt that there was still a little way to go with interview candidates and once again burrowed for another eight months.

In the end it paid off because in the summer 2002 terms were finally agreed with SAF Publishing, who are based in London England. I signed the contract sometime in August, submitted the final manuscript the following November and what came after that I'll discuss later on a bit. Their track record is good, they specialise in music bio's, having previously published books on the late George Harrison, Procul Harum and lately Morrisey.

(ii) Writing Lynott/Lizzy Bio

Without back- tracking too much this project was previously intended, to be based solely on Phil Lynott. The effect his impression had amongst friends and ultimately his achievements on an artistic level. I had originally titled it 'Still Alive', because in effect he always will be alive on record. All you have to do is watch a few of the documentaries produced on Lizzy and you'll see this via his friends' recollections, slipping into their dreams and their consciousness.

It did seem after a period of time that if this project were to get to a publishing stage then I would have to re-think the whole process, so I did. I'm thankful now I did as I feel its after pushing the quality and depth to such a degree that even now I'm pretty happy with the final cut as it were.

Various names were bandied about, one came in which I really like, 'Mr. Rock 'n' Roll', can't remember who suggested it but it’s the way a few people described Phil. Again as it was now an in depth Lizzy bio this was rendered void. 'Still Alive And Dangerous' didn't seem to cut any ice with anyone so I just forgot about a title for ages until the time came to finalise one. In the end it became 'Thin Lizzy- Soldiers Of Fortune', which I really like.

The best part about the whole process though was meeting, speaking, writing and generally getting in contact with so many people who were of a near equal talent to Lynott. Some even more so in they're chosen fields. That I think in the end was my reward for this project.

(iii) Editing the project

At various stages through the project I constantly went back when new information ran out and tried to re-vamp as much as I could especially since I had the publishing deal confirmed. A few friends in the early part of the project took a look at how it was shaping up and made their suggestions, of which numerous were utilised and then I suppose the final way it was presented came down to me. That is of course up until the final submission to the publishers last November.

That did cause its own set of problems in that there was quite an amount of material that I knew was going to arrive after the deadline which I had to work out and deem suitable. I hadn't quite figured on the late response from some people however, which in turn would cause heavy delays, this I'll cover later on.

I spent the next few months editing together the new material and fortunately there was quite an amount left over which I've already planned for a further release.

There are three people assigned to editing the project and also myself. But as with any other editing team, it isn't as much so aimed at deleting as it is about making the flow of the text a whole lot better.

(iv) Publishing Delays

This is almost like a continuation of the last point in that there are a variety of reasons for the delays, all of it is inter-twined. For instance my submission was double the specified quantity in the contract, I refer here to text, not a bad complaint to make but still one which requires more work.

A decision was taken to delay the release from March of this year to the latter part of summer to back track over a variety of things that were over-looked. For example, a lot of the text had been written some time before the submission and it had dated badly. In some cases the time line was contradicted by interviewees, which meant that, well in my opinion, memory isn't quite a teller of truths, it will play games, no malice intended, that’s just the way it goes, so things like these had to be corrected. This task fell to me in June this year and I spent the next eight weeks revising the text. As a point of interest, there isn't any reference made to Philip Lynott's 'lost son' in this book, you wouldn't have wanted a book delayed even further would you?

To back up the book, the CD-ROM was delayed. As it is being used as a promotional tool it will be released nearer the time the book is on the shelves. I feel that is easily understandable, as a heavy delay in between availability mightn't have the desired effect.

So the delay overall is due to circumstances which are altogether for the better of the project, I can't see why anybody should be putting out a project which they feel they could have done better. I have long since cast aside the search for a 'definitive biography'. If that’s what people are after then all I can suggest is to pull out your record collection and listen to Phil Lynott and Thin Lizzy, that’s the only place where you'll find that divine definitive mix.

(v) Unused material

I've been wondering what to do about this for quite some time, but even now all of it hasn't been catalogued. It would be my intention in time to come to delve back into the Lynott magic, and perhaps drive from another alley. There is a substantial amount there and I have no doubt that over the next few years the market will be there to hear about the further unknown adventures of one Johnny The Fox. But that really is a story for another day, and even if it does come together it sure as hell won't take as long to write as 'Soldiers Of Fortune'.

In the end the whole purpose of the project was to present as many people who had close associations with Thin Lizzy in the biography format who had never before taken part. These insights I feel are as important if not more so than those who participated in previous biographies but that is only my opinion on what a real supporter of music wants, not just Thin Lizzy's.

I want you to enjoy it, I loved almost every minute of doing it. But the peaks and troughs come hand in hand. Ultimately if the project brings home to anyone who reads it a sense of achievement by a man and a band who were against all the odds then I've successfully captured what I felt was the essence of a rock and roll band.

                                                                                                                                Sorry folks, I've been away on my hols so things have been stagnant on here ... but here's a quick update on recent Lizzy-related news.

Dan

First off, a big and belated HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the late great Phillip Lynott. Hard to believe, but Phillip would have been 54 last week!!

Secondly, a belated HAPPY BIRTHDAY to this site Thin Lizzy - A Rock Legend. We were 1 year old last week! See the editorial for some views.

[August 17, 2003]

Two new Gary Moore compilations are being released by EMI.

King Of The Blues (Live)

[August 10, 2003] 
Brian Robertson will tour Norway with Norwegian band Bad Habitz for about 4 weeks (starting September 3). After that he will be spending a couple of weeks on the road in Finland and Sweden with Finnish band Five Fifteen. Other news from the Robbo camp is that he is looking to put his own band The Clan together again. There will be a new lineup but guitarist Paul Guerin is still said to be involved.

He's been doing a number of acoustic dates of late, but Midge Ure will be playing a gig with his band in Cleethorps on August 2nd. Check out his news page for more details.

                                                                                                                                 Apparantly this is a new date:

Sunday November 9th Wulfrun Hall,
Wolverhampton, U.K.
Tickets cost £15.

But nothing so far on Coallier's site

"So, is Blue Murder to be or not to be? We are one step closer to the possibility and will keep you informed of the progress. The members of Blue Murder would like to thank all the fans for their continued support."

According to Northern Light, Zoom Club Records will release yet another Grand Slam live CD with most tracks taken from their show at The Marquee on December 4th 1984. It is to be titled Twilight Was Gleaming: Last Of Grand Slam

Is to be released on September 15th and will comes as a single and a limited double CD and features the following tracks:

Disc 1: Yellow Pearl – Nineteen - Sisters Of Mercy – Harlem – Breakdown - Here We Go - Cold Sweat - Gay Boys - Can’t Get Away – Dedication - Parisienne Walkways - Military Man.

Disc 2: Nineteen – Crime Rate – Military Man (alternate versions).

It's great that Zoom CLub are putting this stuff out. With any luck, they may actually send out copies to people who order them. Let's see.

According to Tony Franklin, the original Blue Murder bass player (left in pic), there are now proper discussions about future BM gigs.

However, he says that the proposed September gig(s) are not going to happen. But, according to Coallier's web page, Blue Murder are due to return to Europe in September.

Let's hope that if they do play in September, someone remembers to tell the bass player!

BIRMINGHAM BIRTHDAY BASH

Gary Moore's hand is still injured and all the Summer shows have been cancelled! Consolation comes with news that Virgin are issuing remastered CDs from the Moore backcatalogue ... and the recent Sheffield show (supporting Whitesnake) was filmed for DVD release. More on Moore....

Snowy's new CD is called The Way It Is and the tracks are:

1. No Stranger to the Blues
2. Bird of Paradise (new version)
3. Black Magic Woman
4. What I'm searching for
5. Angel Inside You (part 1)
6. Angel Inside You (part 2)
7. Falling
8. The Way It Is
9. A Piece of your Love
10. This Time Of My Life
11. Easy
12. Sweet Bluesmaker

Sunday August 17th will be the date of the BIRMINGHAM BIRTHDAY BASH, featuring Dutch tribute band Parris and special guest Philomena Lynott, at the "Old Railway". Tickets are £6.

Rumour has it that the next Vibe for Philo will be billed as Vibe 2004 - Jailbreak

Nothing on the Official Vibe For Philo site yet.