# Who plays the lead guitar on ‘The Boys Are Back in Town’ in 1976?

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/who-plays-the-lead-guitar-on-the-boys-are-back-in-town-in-1976/
- Published: 2026-11-10T21:00:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-10T21:22:46+00:00
- Original publisher: Far Out
- Original article: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/who-plays-lead-guitar-the-boys-are-back-in-town-1976/
- Topics: Music

## Key points

- Gorham and Robertson played the song’s interlocking guitar parts.
- A second guitar line helped rescue a track initially left off the album.
- The “boys” were Thin Lizzy, and the town was Dublin.

## Summary

Thin Lizzy’s “The Boys Are Back in Town” was shaped by the band’s efforts to break through in the United States in 1976. Its signature sound came from two interlocking guitar parts by Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson, which helped turn a song initially left off the album into one of the group’s best-known singles.

Phil Lynott first devised the main riff from an idea he had been working on with bass, but the band felt it lacked impact without a second guitar line. Their manager encouraged them to revisit it, and Gorham built the core riff while Robertson added harmonies and extra flourishes. Gorham later said the “boys” referred to the band themselves, while the town in the song was Dublin, where they grew up and began playing together.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.