As reported by the Irish news site Independent.ie : A statue in honour of THIN LIZZY frontman Phil Lynott in Dublin, which has been badly damaged after vandals pushed it over (Garda/PA).
The life-size bronze sculpture just off Grafton Street has been removed after it almost split in two on impact.
Gardai said two men, thought to be aged in their 20s, carried out the vandalism at about 4.15am on Harry Street.
The statue sits near the front door of Bruxelles bar.
The suspects left the area on foot in the direction of Grafton Street and on to Wicklow Street.
Gardai said one was wearing a white shirt, a tie, trousers or jeans and had short dark hair while the second man wore a navy or dark jacket, had a tight haircut and heavy build.
Gardai in Pearse Street said they wanted to make a specific appeal for a number of people to come forward, including the group who lifted the statue after the attack, a man driving a white van who may have been making deliveries nearby and anyone else who saw the incident.
The statue, which was badly cracked across the midriff, has been removed for repairs.
THIN LIZZY recently announced its decision not to release their upcoming studio under the THIN LIZZY name out of respect to late LIZZY frontman Phil Lynott and the legacy Phil created. The band’s new name, as well as the details of the new CD, will be revealed over the Christmas period.
Says THIN LIZZY frontman Ricky Warwick via Facebook: “A massive thanks to all fans who have supported THIN LIZZY for the last two years. It’s been the biggest honor and privilege of my life to be part of this.
“Stay tuned for big announcements on Christmas on the album and new band name. 2013 is gonna be a very busy year!”
THIN LIZZY guitarist Damon Johnson told Metal Express Radio during a recent interview about the name change: “There’s other bands out there that are established with new lead singers and different members of the band. They’ve made new music without their most famous lineup. We thought for a while that’s exactly what we were going to do, and the songs were written under that umbrella: ‘We’ve got to make a THIN LIZZY record.’ That raised the bar incredibly high. It was a question for Brian [Downey, drums] and Scott [Gorham, guitar] all along.”
He continued: “We’re grateful for the massive support we’ve got from Phil‘s family, his widow and his daughters. They’ve been very supportive of everything that THIN LIZZY has done, particularly since Ricky joined. But I know they expressed some concern about the concept of brand-new original material. I get it, man, I totally get it.
“Once we made that decision, it took a lot of pressure off. It took a lot of pressure off Ricky.”
Regarding the sound of the new THIN LIZZY material, Johnson said: “Phil‘s such a part of these new songs. We felt, ‘Let’s make the record, put it out under a different name — and let the fans know this is THIN LIZZY 2013 under a different name.’
“People who are passionate about the sound that THIN LIZZY has, they’re gonna get a lot of that classic sound with this new record.”
THIN LIZZY‘s current lineup features Phil Lynott-era LIZZY members Scott Gorham, Brian Downey and Darren Wharton (keyboards), as well as Damon Johnson, formerly of BROTHER CANE and Alice Cooper‘s band, former THE ALMIGHTY singer/guitarist Ricky Warwick, and bassist Marco Mendoza.
Quality fan-filmed video footage of THIN LIZZY‘s December 13 concert at the Olympia Theatre in Dublin, Ireland can be seen below.
According to Guardian.co.uk, the mother of the late THIN LIZZY frontman Phil Lynott has objected to the Mitt Romneycampaign using the band’s music at last week’s Republican National Convention.Philomena Lynott, 81, said her son would not have approved of the Republicans playing the THIN LIZZY classic song “The Boys Are Back In Town” at Romney‘s nomination as presidential candidate.
She told the Irish music magazine Hot Press, “As far as I am concerned, Mitt Romney‘s opposition to gay marriage and to civil unions for gays makes him anti-gay — which is not something that Philip would have supported. He had some wonderful gay friends, as indeed I do, and they deserve equal treatment in every respect, whether in Ireland or the United States.
“Neither would Philip have supported his policy of taxing the poor and offering tax cuts to the rich, which Paul Ryan [Romney's running mate] is advocating. There is certainly no way that I would want the Lynott name to be associated with any of those ideas.
“There is nothing I can do about it except express my views, but I do want to be clear that I would not want Philip‘s music to be used in any way that could hurt a single person, and this is the effect of what happened with Paul Ryan using and abusing my son’s music in that way. A lot of fans and musicians are very angry about it and I can fully understand why.
“There is a black president of America, which to me — as it would have been to Philip, as a proud, black Irishman — is wonderfully symbolic.
“I have a lot of time for Barack Obama, so to hear ‘The Boys Are Back In Town’ being appropriated by Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan in their campaign against him is deeply upsetting.”
Other artists that have blasted the campaign include TWISTED SISTER frontman Dee Snider, RAGE AGAINT THE MACHINE guitarist Tom Morello, Somali-Canadian artist K’naan and SILVERSUN PICKUPS, who objected to the campaign’s use of their song “Panic Switch”.
When vice presidential nominee Ryan listed RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE as one of his favorites, despite their hardcore leftist leanings, Morello blasted the far-right Congressman in an op-ed piece for Rolling Stone.
According to Rock News Desk, the musician who played with Phil Lynott and Gary Moore in Irish 1960s band SKID ROW has explained his frustration over the US outfit once fronted by Sebastian Bach taking his name.
And he says long-standing stories about Moore having been paid by Jon Bon Jovi for the name are untrue.
Brush Shiels founded his blues-rock act in 1967, and gave Moore his first professional music role. They toured across the US and Canada and released three albums before splitting in 1972.
He’s continued using the Skid Row name and is poised to release a new record under the title. But he’s issued a plea for Jon Bon Jovi or his management to contact him and explain what happened when they decided to call Bach’s band Skid Row in 1986.
Shiels says: “Philo, Gary and myself toured America, playing with FRANK ZAPPA, THE ALLMAN BROTHERS, IGGY AND THE STOOGES. ROD STEWART and THE FACES never turned up so we topped the bill. Everybody knew us.
“A couple of years ago, I’m looking at MTV and Sebastian Bach, the ex-singer of the American band Skid Row. He said they paid Gary Moore $35,000 for the use of the name.
“Now, I know for a fact this is a complete lie. I got in touch with Seb, and he said as far as he was concerned it was the truth. But that couldn’t be the truth.
