New THIN LIZZY Frontman Says PHIL LYNOTT 'Would Approve' Of Band's Current Lineup

Eric Mackinnon of RockAAA.com recently conducted an interview with new THIN LIZZY frontman Ricky Warwick (of THE ALMIGHTY fame). A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

On joining forces with DEF LEPPARD guitarist Vivian Campbell and ex-WHITESNAKE bassist Marco Mendoza, along with Phil Lynott-era THIN LIZZY members Scott Gorham, Brian Downey and Darren Wharton, to tour under the THIN LIZZY banner:

Warwick: "People keep saying to me, 'Those are really big shoes to fill' — but I'm not filling [Phil Lynott's] shoes. There will only ever be one Phil Lynott and that's it. We can't replace him. What we can do is go out there and play his songs with a passion, a spirit and an energy and try to make them as vibrant as we can. And that's what we are doing."

On respecting Lynott's lyrics and delivery style, while also trying to inject a little of his own character:

Warwick: "You have to put the Phil-isms into the songs. People need to hear them with the phrasing they know and love. I know when I go and see a band and they screw around with the lyrics or the arrangement too much it ruins it for me. So I'm trying to do 50 percent of that and then put 50 percent of my own personality into it — I have to try and get the balance somewhere along the line."

On the new THIN LIZZY lineup's first show, which took place on January 6 in Aberdeen, United Kingdom:

Warwick: "It couldn't have gone any better. I was shitting myself before the show, but in a good way: I just wanted to get up there and do my best. The crowd were into it and it was everything I hoped it would be.

"There were moments where I was a fan looking around thinking, 'There's Scott Gorham! There's Vivian Campbell! There's Brian Downey!' Then I found myself looking up at the THIN LIZZY sign and thinking, 'Wow. Oh my God — I'm in THIN LIZZY!' It's still freaking me out. I think it always will."

On whether he ever seriously considered refusing Gorham's offer to join the band:

Warwick: "As soon as I picked myself up off the floor, I had to do it. It was huge to be asked. It's life-changing; I was very happy already and I had a very blessed life with the solo stuff. I was doing fine, playing away, then this came out of the blue.

"I was never not going to do it. But I needed to talk to Scott, find out what he was trying to do and what he wanted me to do.

"Once I'd spoken to him, and thought about Phil's lyrics and the kind of guy he was, I knew he'd be up there digging it because we're all doing it for the right reasons. I thought about the lyrics for 'You Can Do Anything', my favorite LIZZY song, which are very relevant to what I was thinking before I joined.

"That's why Phil would approve — he'd say, 'Go for it — keep bringing my songs to the people."

Read the entire interview at RockAAA.com.

Fan-filmed video footage of THIN LIZZY's January 12, 2011 performance at De Montfort Hall in Leicester, England can be viewed below.