“Scott Gorham and Phil Lynott were taken aback that I wouldn’t party with them. I stayed in my room at the hotel. I got to the studio on time. I was trying to make a point”: Brian Robertson knows what Thin Lizzy lost when he left

Brian Robertson of Thin lizzy performs on stage, United Kingdom, 1977. (Photo by Erica Echenberg/Redferns) *** Local Caption ***.

Original Thin Lizzy guitarist Eric Bell had occasionally overdubbed harmonies on the band’s albums. But with the 1974 arrival of Brian Robertson and Scott Gorham – after a brief stint with Gary Moore and a short-lived lineup featuring Andy Gee and John Du Cann – the sound of two Les Pauls blazing away in unison became synonymous with Phil Lynott’s outfit.

In addition to being a prodigiously talented lead guitarist, 18-year-old Glaswegian Robertson was responsible for writing the hookline harmonies which came to define his partnership with Gorham.