History Music / ThinLizzy

* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Musically as opposed to personally, Scott Gorham. His guitar style, especially when soloing, is very strange, being almost devoid of the usual clichés, and relies on imagination and quirky phrasing rather than speed. This is why he was usually not the star guitarist in the band, but also why he was more essential than those who were; he was also, after founders Lynott and Downey, its third-longest-serving member. Robertson commented that when he and Gorham joined, he was stunned by the oddness of Gorham's guitar style, which was in part a result of how recently he had started playing (he'd originally been a bassist), and that the reason why minor-key songs such as "Sha-La-La" have major key solos is due to the fact that Gorham, at the time, had difficulties taking solos in minor keys.

* PlayingCardMotifs: The band first deployed this on the artwork for ''Bad Reputation'', and it was also used on the ''Live and Dangerous'' gatefold sleeve as well as reissues of the classic-era albums (spades for Phil, clubs for Brian Downey, hearts for Scott Gorham, and diamonds for Brian Robertson).

* DarkerAndEdgier: ''Johnny the Fox'' was considered at the time to be angrier and heavier than their previous album - the typical sophomore album effect due to the success of ''Jailbreak'' - the reasoning was that Phil was ill at the time he wrote it and therefore not in the best of minds.
** This is much more evident on the eighties albums ''Chinatown'' and ''Thunder and Lightning''.
* DaylightHorror: "The Sun Goes Down" mentions a demon "whose soul belongs in Hell", and that "when all is said and done, [[TitleDrop the sun goes down]]".

Thin Lizzy was a unique combination of hard rocking songs about fighting & cool characters, epic guitar parts & harmonies, and sensitive, thoughtful and wide-ranging songwriting. Thin Lizzy are unfortunately still under-appreciated and lesser known compared to their world-famous '70's and '80's contemporaries (they're still mainly only known for two songs, "Whiskey In The Jar" and "The Boys Are Back In Town"), but in their heyday they developed a reputation for being one of the best live bands in the world and once played to a gigantic crowd on the steps of the Sydney Opera House; their LiveAlbum ''Live and Dangerous'' is widely regarded as one of the best live albums ever recorded.[[labelnote:*]]Despite the long-running controversy over just how "live" the album is - see LoopingLines below. [[/labelnote]] They were also one of the few '70s rock bands who weren't dismissed by PunkRock bands; the punks appreciated Lizzy's directness and grit.