During that time they also recorded three songs that appeared on their next album, Nightlife, released in November 1974. In the last days of 1973 and in the middle of a UK tour an exhausted and somewhat disillusioned Eric Bell left the band and was replaced temporarily on guitar by ex-Skid Row member Gary Moore who finished the tour with them and remained until April 1974. When Vagabonds Of The Western World was re-released on CD in 1991 both singles and their b-sides were included and a further 2CD-set reissue in October 2010 also contained a wealth of bonus and BBC Radio material – John Peel, Bob Harris and In Concert sessions recorded around that time. ‘Randolph’s Tango’ and its b-side was also omitted but one wonders how much better the album would have faired had it contained the band’s only hit to date. It spawned another single, ‘The Rocker’, that failed to help promote it, but it was the curious absence of ‘Whiskey In The Jar’ from the original album that might have been more damaging – despite its success the band never deemed it representative enough of their music and distanced themselves from it. Although it didn’t make enough immediate impact to chart, Vagabonds was altogether a highly impressive album that garnered positive reviews in the press. And as a trio, their sound was tight and sparse with a minimum of extra instrumentation. Phil Lynott’s vocals were always a cut or two above most rock vocalists of the day – being less histrionic and more expressive – a perfect vehicle for his thoughtful, soulful lyrics. This was also expressed in Jim Fitzpatrick’s sleeve design, which combined a pop-art, vaguely sci-fi themed front cover with a shamrock on the back. Work soon began though on the band’s third album, Vagabonds Of The Western World, which although not their most successful commercially, has stood the test of time exceptionally well and captures a moment in the band’s development when they managed to absorb their distinct Irish roots into a hard-edged, powerful rock format and deliver a unique and compelling sound. A month later, determined to capitalise on their breakthrough, a second single, ‘Randolph’s Tango’, came out and unfortunately failed to make anywhere near the same impression. Both records had a distinct Irish folk feel about them rather than the hard rock sound that they subsequently fashioned but neither made a dent on the charts, although they now had an impressive repertoire of songs, a growing reputation as a superb live band and were starting to pick up more and more ‘underground’ radio play.Īll they needed was a lucky break, which duly came along in November 1972 when Thin Lizzy’s reverb-drenched, riff-loaded arrangement of an old Irish folk ballad, ‘Whiskey In The Jar’, was released as a single and reached No. Their debut album, Thin Lizzy, was released in April 1971 followed by constant gigging and a second album, Shades of a Blue Orphanage, a year later. Parlophone Ireland signed them up for one low-key, Lynott-penned single called ‘The Farmer’, after which they became a trio when Wrixon left, and then signed to Decca and moved to London. The band started out in Dublin in 1969 when one night Eric Bell (guitar, vocals) and Eric Wrixon (keyboards), both ex-members of Van Morrison’s band Them, went to see a band called Orphanage play and were so impressed with the band’s rhythm section of Phil Lynott (bass, vocals) and Brian Downey (drums), that they approached them after their gig and suggested the four of them form a group.
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