THIN LIZZY (Live)

A last minute hitch resulted in Thin Lizzy’s mouth-watering co-headlining tour with Queensrÿche being knocked on the head. From this set back came the news that not only would Queensrÿche return to the UK next year with a full 3-hour production of the Operation: Mindcrime suite, but Thin Lizzy would celebrate 30 years of the classic Live and Dangerous album by playing the masterpiece in its entirety from start to finish.

Not only had had this news provided some compensation for the no show of Queensrÿche, but the late addition of Diamond Head to the bill was welcomed by many and full credit to the promoter for plugging the gap on such short notice.

Diamond Head have undergone something of a drastic change in the lineup department with only founder member, lead guitarist Brian Tatler remaining from the early days. New singer Nick Tart, however, does a pretty good job of filling the shoes of the departed Sean Harris contributing well to the frantic “It’s Electric” and “The Prince.” New material from the What’s In Your Head opus such as “This Planet And Me” mixed well with the established classic Diamond Head material.

However it is still the classics of old that people still want to hear and the driving “Heat of the Night” goes down a treat. Perhaps the highlight of the show was the classy, moody “To The Devil His Due” from the tragically overlooked Canterbury album where Tart really came into his own. It’s such a shame that Diamond Head imploded soon after Canterbury hit the streets and it leaves one to wonder just how big a name they would have become if they had been given the time to build on that superb album.

“Am I Evil” brought the show to an end with THAT monstrous riff which still sounds fantastic to this day and no doubt leaving the Headbangers in the front row with sore necks for days to come. Their best days may be behind them but Brian Tatler and his new band still have fire in their bellies and will be around for some time.

The last time Thin Lizzy played in Newcastle was on the triple bill with Styx and Deep Purple and their performance was hampered by some unfortunate technical problems which resulted in an uncharacteristically below par performance. Tonight’s show in the sonically superior City Hall was the perfect opportunity to put this right.

Kicking off with, what else but “Jailbreak” Lizzy were off to a flyer before heading straight into “Emerald”, but wait a minute, that’s not “Emerald”, it’s “Waiting For An Alibi”. So much for the Live and Dangerous set in its entirety. Nevertheless we were treated to a greatest hits set featuring the bulk of the aforementioned Live album.

How can you argue with such diamonds as “Don’t Believe A Word”, “Are You Ready” and the immense “Massacre” which features those glorious Lizzy harmonies to full effect and new boy Tommy Aldridge hammering away on drums in a far more flamboyant and energetic fashion than his predecessor Michael Lee. Also joining the line up is Francesco DiCosmo who replaces the much in demand Marcos Mendoza and while lacking the flair of Mendoza he does a solid enough job.

Thin Lizzy without Phil Lynott is still a moot point for some but there’s no denying that the sight and sound of the dual guitars of Scott Gorham and John Sykes still stir the soul. John Sykes also handles lead vocals and does a pretty fine job of it too, having Phil Lynotts’ phrasing to perfection, no doubt picked up from the hours spent together with Lynott in the studio and on the road. Sykes too gives the band a harder edge to the previous incumbents of the post.

As usual there are numerous musical highlights from the touching ballads of “Dancing In The Moonlight and “Still In Love With You” featuring a sublime solo from Sykes; to the bombastic epics of “Emerald” and “Black Rose” through to the Rockers such as “Suicide” and “Sha La La”, songs which simply can’t fail to hit the spot although it would be good to see Lizzy freshen up the set on future tours to include maybe more from the Sykes era Thunder and Lightning album and maybe also a couple from the Snowy White period too, as both have a fair few cracking songs to pick from.

The show ended with the uplifting “Rosalie”; the heavy weight riffing of “Cold Sweat” and the aforementioned “Black Rose” where Sykes dedicated the show to the memory of Lynott and provided a fitting end to an entertaining performance.

Thin Lizzy in full flight are still a joy to see live and with a setlist crammed full of timeless classics are a band that are not to be missed on tour whenever “The Boys Are Back In Town”!!