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Although he wasn't an original member of
Thin Lizzy, Scott Gorham was the longest-lasting guitarist in
the band's lineup. While his melodic and finely structured dual
leads with whoever happened to be Lizzy's second guitarist at
the time (and the list is loooong) proved to be highly influential
and oft-copied by subsequent rock bands. Born on March 17, 1951,
Gorham grew up in Glendale, CA, where he picked up a guitar and
began playing in rock bands as a teenager. He befriended drummer
Bob Siebenberg, who then relocated in the early '70s to England
and found success with prog rock popsters Supertramp. He then
recommended Gorham fly out to England in 1974 to try out for Supertramp,
who at the time was considering adding another guitarist, but
by the time he arrived, the group decided they wanted to go with
a sax player instead.
Stuck in England, Gorham began playing pubs in the East End of
London with a group he'd put together called Fast Buck, while
a mutual acquaintance forwarded Gorham's name to Irish hard rockers
Thin Lizzy. Although the group (led by bassist/singer Phil Lynott)
had already scored a hit with a cover of "Whiskey in the Jar"
and released several albums, Lizzy remained quite obscure worldwide
and had problems holding onto guitarists.
Lynott decided that for Lizzy's next lineup, they would try something
different and enlist a pair of guitarists. Gorham got the gig
after a single tryout, and was joined by teenaged Scottish guitarist
Brian Robertson. It took Lizzy's new dual-guitar lineup (and overall
sound/direction) a little time to truly gel, as evidenced by the
quartet's first couple of unfocused albums together — 1974's Night
Life and 1975's Fighting. But by 1976's Jailbreak, everything
fell into place. The album spawned one of rock's most enduring
and instant anthems, "The Boys Are Back in Town," as the group
finally came to the conclusion that they were a rock band, turned
the amps up to ten, and let it rip. Robertson and Gorham would
begin to perfect their dual-lead approach with this album, as
it and the aforementioned single proved to be hits worldwide.
Further albums throughout the '70s cemented Lizzy's standing as
one of hard rock's top acts — their second release of 1976, Johnny
the Fox, 1977's Bad Reputation, and arguably their finest moment
(and one of rock's all-time best live albums) 1978's Live and
Dangerous. To sample Gorham's tasty guitar playing, Live and Dangerous
is the place to start, as he easily alternates between heartfelt
("Still in Love With You") and fiery six-string heroics ("Emerald").
Robertson left Lizzy shortly thereafter, replaced by an earlier
member, Gary Moore. Although the guitar team of Moore and Gorham
showed great promise on 1979's classic Black Rose, hard living
began to take its toll on bandmembers, as Moore abruptly left
mid-tour and was subsequently replaced by a revolving door of
guitarists. During the holiday season of 1979, Lynott and Gorham
joined forces with former Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones and
drummer Paul Cook for a one-off side project, dubbed the Greedy
Bastards — issuing the lone single "A Merry Jingle."
With both Gorham and Lynott struggling with drug addiction, Lizzy's
albums began to slip in quality by the dawn of the '80s (1980's
Chinatown, 1981's Renegade, and 1983's Thunder and Lightning),
and although they were often sighted as a major influence by the
up and coming New Wave of British Heavy Metal bands (Iron Maiden,
Def Leppard, etc.) as well as U.S. thrash metallists Metallica,
they couldn't keep pace. Lizzy decided to call it a day after
a farewell tour wrapped up at the end of 1983 (Gorham had previously
told Lynott that he had to quit the band because his health was
suffering), and while Gorham was able to successfully conquer
his demons, Lynott was not as lucky, dying in January of 1986.
After the breakup of Lizzy and Lynott's passing, Gorham guested
on other artist's albums, including his old pals Supertramp (the
album Brother Where You Bound), and as part of an all-star metal
lineup on the release N.W.O.B.H.M., among others. By the early
'90s, Gorham was ready to resurface with another new rock band,
21 Guns, who issued a pair of underappreciated albums (1992's
Salute and 1997's Nothing's Real) before splitting up. With Lizzy's
popularity rising once again in the late '90s (a whole new generation
of rock fans was turned on to the group when such acts as Metallica
and the Smashing Pumpkins covered their songs), Gorham and several
other ex-members decided to resuscitate the Thin Lizzy name and
tour the world once again, issuing a live set (One Night Only)
on the CMC International label in 2000.
This bio courtesy www.allmusic.com
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