“Here’s their one hit single. I take it home, and I’m going: ‘What the hell is this?’ I took an instant dislike to it”: The song that gave Thin Lizzy their first hit – and nearly became an albatross around their necks
Guitarist Scott Gorham has recalled his initial reaction to "Whiskey In The Jar," the traditional Irish folk song Thin Lizzy turned into their breakthrough 1972 hit, revealing that he actively disliked the track when he joined the band in 1974 and later pushed to have it dropped from their setlist. The anecdote highlights the tension bands can face when an early hit overshadows their evolving sound, with Gorham viewing the song as a mismatch for the "new" Thin Lizzy he was helping shape rather than a beloved signature tune.
Gorham described being given the band's records by frontman Phil Lynott on the night he was asked to join, only to be baffled by the song's arrangement compared to what he had heard at rehearsal. After around six months of performing it, he told Lynott the song had become unnecessary given the band's new lineup and direction, and Lynott reportedly agreed, saying they should drop it. The piece frames the single as both the song that gave Thin Lizzy their commercial breakthrough and a creative "albatross" the band later sought to move beyond.
- Scott Gorham disliked Thin Lizzy's hit "Whiskey In The Jar" from the start.
- He heard it for the first time after joining the band in 1974.
- He later convinced Phil Lynott to drop it from their sets.