Scott Gorham Details Black Star Riders Exit And Thin Lizzy Relaunch

Bruce Henne | 02-08-2022

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(hennemusic) Guitarist Scott Gorham is sharing details on his recent exit from Black Star Riders as he continues preparations for the relaunch of Thin Lizzy. Gorham announced his departure from Black Star Riders last fall as part of a plan to return a new Thin Lizzy lineup to the stage.

In a new interview with The Hook Rocks! podcast, the rocker reveals some of the details behind his decision. "It was right in the beginning of the whole pandemic thing," Gorham begins. "I know Ricky (Warwick / vocals) wanted to do an album straight off the bat, and I said, 'Well, I can't and I won't get on a plane right now, for god's sakes. We've got this thing raging around all of us. It's kind of impossible.' And I did not wanna do an album by Zoom; I didn't even wanna contemplate that. Plus, I did wanna start concentrating on Thin Lizzy, to get out there and show people these really great songs.

"So I thought it would be unfair to try to really put a hundred percent concentration and effort into one and then the other is kind of flailing there on the side. So I thought, well, I've done four albums with Black Star Riders. I love 'em and I love the guys. I've proved the point with Black Star Riders. Now it's time to concentrate a little bit more on Thin Lizzy and see what we can do."

Gorham's long history with Thin Lizzy started in 1974 and he remained until the band's breakup in 1983; following leader Phil Lynott's passing in 1986, the guitarist led a few versions of the band as they toured in tribute to the late singer in the early 1990s before the guitarist and some former members reformed the group in 1996 and continued to perform through the years...even after they built a new following with Black Star Riders in the past decade.

These days, Gorham continues to work towards his goal of having Thin Lizzy - with Warwick on vocals - on the road in 2022.

"I'm gonna try for the end of this year," he says. "And if that doesn't happen, it will definitely, definitely be in '23. There's still things to work out - different contracts and all that - there's always some little rut in the road that you've gotta bounce over. But hopefully the latest it's going to be is sort of mid-'23. But hopefully it'll be latter 22.

"I think we still have enough time to set up a tour for '22 in some part of the world, but we'll see. I know that our management is working hard on it, so it will happen. I just can't tell you when." Stream the podcast episode here.

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