List of Thin Lizzy members

Thin Lizzy were formed in December 1969, with four members joining from two bands: guitarist Eric Bell and keyboardist Eric Wrixon from Them, and bassist and vocalist Phil Lynott and drummer Brian Downey from Orphanage.[1] Wrixon performed on the band's debut single "The Farmer", but left before it was released in July 1970.[2] Bell left the band after a concert on New Year's Eve 1973, later citing "ill-health caused by the band's lifestyle" as the reason for his departure.[3] The guitarist was replaced by Gary Moore, although he would only remain with the band for a matter of months.[4] Andy Gee and John Du Cann took over for a tour in May, before Brian Robertson and Scott Gorham were enlisted later in the year as Bell's first full-time replacements.[5]

The lineup of Lynott, Gorham, Robertson and Downey released five studio albums and one live album, all but two of which reached the top ten of the UK Albums Chart,[6] before Robertson left in 1978 and was replaced by the returning Moore.[7] Downey also briefly took a break from Thin Lizzy around the same time, with Mark Nauseef replacing him for a tour in late 1978.[8] Moore left again in July 1979,[9] and was temporarily replaced by Midge Ure.[10] Dave Flett was brought in for a Japanese tour later in the year, as Ure moved over to keyboards, and in early 1980 Snowy White took Flett's place on a more permanent basis.[11] Darren Wharton replaced Ure in April, initially as a touring member.[12] White was replaced by John Sykes in September 1982, who featured on their last studio album Thunder and Lightning.[13] Thin Lizzy broke up in 1983, with their final performance taking place on 4 September on the German Monsters of Rock Tour; Lynott later died of heart failure and pneumonia on 4 January 1986.[14]

Thin Lizzy reformed in 1996, with Sykes taking over lead vocals and Marco Mendoza joining on bass, alongside returning members Gorham, Wharton and Downey.[15] Tommy Aldridge replaced Downey in 1998, and Wharton left in 2001 to focus on his own band Dare.[16] Mendoza and Aldridge left in 2003 to join Whitesnake,[17] with their places taken by Guy Pratt and Michael Lee, respectively.[18] Pratt was replaced later in the year by Randy Gregg.[19][20][21] Mendoza had returned to the band by early 2005,[22] as had Aldridge by early 2007.[23] Mendoza was replaced by Francesco DiCosmo later in 2007.[24] After more touring, Sykes departed Thin Lizzy in mid-2009, with DiCosmo and Aldridge leaving at the same time; speaking about the future of the band, Gorham claimed that "we will be back up to full speed soon".[25]

Gorham reformed Thin Lizzy in 2010 with former members Mendoza, Downey and Wharton, in addition to new guitarist Vivian Campbell and lead vocalist Ricky Warwick.[26] Campbell was replaced by Richard Fortus after returning to Def Leppard in mid-2011,[27] before Damon Johnson became his permanent replacement later in the year.[28] The band was put on hiatus in December 2012, when all members formed Black Star Riders,[29] before returning in 2016 with Mikkey Dee initially announced on drums.[30] Without performing with the band, Dee was replaced three months later by Judas Priest's Scott Travis, as Aerosmith's Tom Hamilton also replaced Mendoza.[31] In April 2019, Mastodon's Troy Sanders took over from Hamilton on bass.[32]