THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

125-Thin Lizzy-The Boys Are Back in Town.

1976-Number 8 single.

Best Bit-At 3.23. Lock up your daughters, just in case.

Thin Lizzy were formed in Dublin, Ireland, in 1969 by Phil Lynott, (1949-1986) and Brian Downey, who had both known each other from their school days, and they had also both been members of a band called ‘Orphanage.’ The original line up was completed when the pair were introduced to Eric Wrixon, (1947-2015) and Eric Bell, who had both previously been members of the Rock band ‘Them’ (see also best songs 762.) In total there were 10 different official members between 1969-1983, with Lynott, and Downey being the only two constants. The band took their name from a robot character in the British children’s comic ‘The Dandy,’ which was called ‘Tin Lizzie,’ which they adjusted to ‘Thin Lizzy’ as a playful reference to the local Dublin accent, in which “thin” would be pronounced as ‘t’in.’ The discography of Thin Lizzy consists of 12 studio Albums released between 1971-1983, and 33 singles issued between 1970-1991, with two of those singles ‘Whiskey in the Jar,’ and ‘The Boys Are Back in Town,’ both reaching Number 1 in their native Ireland. In the UK, 15 of their singles have made the top 40, with ‘Whiskey in the Jar’ charting the highest at Number 6 in 1972, while in America on Billboard only this song has charted, when reaching Number 12.

Philip Parris Lynott was born on August 20th, 1949, in West Bromwich, Staffordshire, England, he died on January 4th, 1986, at the age of 36, having been addicted to drugs and alcohol for many years. Lynott’s mother, Philomena (1930-2019) was Irish, and his father Cecil Parris (1926-2012) was from British Guiana, due to accounts of racism, and Lynott being of mixed race, his mother sent him to live with his grandparents, in Crumlin, Dublin, at the age of eight. Such is the esteem that Phil Lynott is held in, particularly in Ireland, that in 2005 a life-size bronze statue of Lynott by Dublin sculptor Paul Daly was unveiled on Harry Street, off Grafton Street, in Dublin.

‘The Boys Are Back in Town’ was the first single released from Thin Lizzy’s sixth studio Album ‘Jailbreak’ from 1976, and was written by Phil Lynott, with production by John Alcock. There are many theories regarding the inspiration behind ‘The Boys Are Back in Town,’ although none have ever been verified, but the most likely is the one about the ‘Quality Street Gang.’ Lynott’s mother Philomena was the proprietor of the Clifton Grange Hotel, in Manchester, England, in the 1970’s, where many known criminals operating in the Manchester area would congregate, it has been claimed the ‘Gang’ had ties with organised football hooliganism connected to Manchester United Football Club, as well as being involved in countless other criminal activities. On a lighter note it is said that the ‘Gang’ were named after the Quality Street confectionery, because most of the gangs members were overweight.

‘Guess who just got back today, them wild-eyed boys that had been away. Haven’t changed that much to say, but man, I still think them cats are crazy.’