At last – a real, physical ticket!
‘The Greatest Hits of Thin Lizzy’ tour
Wayne Ellis (bass, vocals) / James “Lard” Roberts (guitar) / Greg Alcock (guitar, backing vocals) / ? (drums & percussion)
No tribute band that I am aware of comes with higher praise than this lot. I know that I made a conscious decision about two years ago to forego tribute bands in favour of hunting down whatever original artists were still out on the circuits, but I had missed this band several times when I lived close to the Sutton-in-Ashfield Diamond, so this was my first chance to catch them. Only nine miles away from home, this was a bit of a no-brainer, especially since the band came so highly recommended. With the deaths of several members of the original Thin Lizzy band, and with Black Star Riders choosing to perform more and more of their own material, this gig represented my best opportunity to hear some of those classic old tunes live once again. And, this time, Mrs. P tagged along as Lizzy were always one of her favourite bands.
Covering almost two hours, the material was split over two sets. The first was very good indeed, although it wasn’t really until the tail end that the crowd were really whipped up, as the band launched into the three songs that pretty much catapulted Lizzy into the limelight, namely ‘Do Anything You Want To’, ‘Killer on the Loose’ and ‘Chinatown’, the latter two being particular favourites of mine. The final song before the interval, ‘Don’t Believe A Word’, was apparently performed as first seen on the BBC’s Old Grey Whistle Test, as a slow ballad, before shifting into the fast rocker that we all know and love from the wonderful Live and Dangerous double album. It was a great set-closer but, despite what bassist and leader Ellis might have said throughout that first set, they were not taking song suggestions form the floor, because the first set followed the same route as all previous ones on the tour (although, for some reason, we didn’t get Renegade 🤷♂️).
If the first set was decent, then the second was where the gig really took off. Having had the chance to refresh themselves over a 15-minutes break, the band came roaring back with ‘Got to Give it Up’, and then ‘Black Rose’. The Gary Moore song ‘Parisienne Walkways’ was, apparently, a new song for this tour replacing a previous quieter, slower song – ‘Sarah’? – and from there on the tempo was ramped up quite significantly.
Charging through the final five songs of the second set the band were on fire. The crowd was swept along with all these classic rock songs, applauding and joining in where required as Ellis did his best to mimic Phil Lynott wherever possible, even down to the crowd announcements. I loved the second Gary Moore cover of the night, ‘Out in the Fields’, which continued the military theme set by the glorious ‘Emerald’. ‘Cowboy Song’ and ‘The Boys are Back…’ brought the set to a close before the band inevitably returned to give us the driving Bob Seger song, ‘Rosalie’ which, of course, segued into ‘Cowgirl Song’ before bringing the curtain down with ‘Whiskey in the Jar’.
Limehouse Lizzy certainly deserve all of the plaudits that they have garnered over the past I don’t know how many years, and if you’re a fan of the original Thin Lizzy, then you really should get out and catch this band somewhere, sometime. 🤟🎵🎶
Setlist: Set 1: Jailbreak; Waiting for an Alibi; Bad Reputation; Johnny the Fox Meets Jimmy the Weed; Dancing in the Moonlight (It’s Caught Me in Its Spotlight); Suicide; Do Anything You Want To; Killer on the Loose; Chinatown; Don’t Believe a Word; Set 2: Got to Give It Up; Róisín Dubh (Black Rose): A Rock Legend; Southbound; Parisienne Walkways; Are You Ready; Cold Sweat; Emerald; Out in the Fields; Cowboy Song; The Boys Are Back in Town; Encore: Rosalie / Cowgirl’s Song; Whiskey in the Jar
Unfortunately I was a long way back and my phone camera isn’t brilliant (understatement of the year!)
Gigs'n'Stuff 
I knew you would enjoy them.
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Right, as ever, Steve!
Roger 🤟
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