Original Thin Lizzy drummer Brian Downey will mark the upcoming 40th anniversary of the Irish band’s 1978 release, “Live And Dangerous”, with a rare concert performance at Nells Jazz & Blues in London, England on November 24.
Compiled from a 1976 show at London’s Hammersmith Apollo and 1977 appearances in Philadelphia, PA and Toronto, ON, the double live album was the last to feature guitarist Brian Robertson, who left the band shortly after its release.
“Live And Dangerous” peaked at No. 2 on the UK album charts and enjoyed a 62-week run on its way to UK sales of more than 600,000 copies. The single, "Rosalie / Cowgirl's Song", reached No. 20 on the UK single charts.
Brian Downey’s Alive And Dangerous, the drummer’s new band, will deliver the live album in its entirety at the fall gig, alongside guitarist Brian Grace, and former Low Rider members Matt Wilson (lead vocals, bass) and Phil Edgar (lead guitar).
“After the Thin Lizzy reunion shows finished in 2013 I was asked to join, what turned out to be Black Star Riders, but it just didn’t feel right for me,” says Downey. “In January 2016, following an appearance at the Vibe For Philo in Dublin, I approached Brian Grace and that’s when we discussed getting a band together. After a few rehearsals, Brian suggested that we rehearse with Matt Wilson and Phil Edgar, both of whom had been in a band called The Low Riders (their name was taken from a lyric from the Thin Lizzy song Johnny The Fox).
“In January 2017, we jammed together at the Vibe For Philo, and it went so well, that we decided to form Brian Downey’s Alive And Dangerous and make it a full time proposition.”
Throughout several lineup changes, Downey and bassist/vocalist Phil Lynott were the only full-time members of Thin Lizzy until the group disbanded in 1983.
After Lynott's death in 1986, Downey played in a Thin Lizzy tribute lineup with guitarists John Sykes and Scott Gorham, keyboardist Darren Wharton and bassist Marco Mendoza. Following Sykes's departure in 2009, Gorham created another Thin Lizzy lineup with Downey, Mendoza, Wharton and two new members: Def Leppard guitarist Vivian Campbell and Ricky Warwick, former vocalist with The Almighty; they toured until 2013 when most of the members set out under the new Black Star Riders banner.
See also:
Black Star Riders issue Cold War Love lyric video
Black Star Riders add Black Label Society drummer to lineup
Black Star Riders release Dancing With The Wrong Girl video
Black Star Riders part ways with drummer
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