Craig Allen’s Fun Facts: “The Boys Are Back In Town”

"The Boys Are Back In Town," and I might add: they're making a lot of noise.

Which is what the Irish band Thin Lizzy did, when their biggest hit single.. hit the charts in the summer of 1976.

The band formed in Dublin, Ireland in 1969.

Drummer Brian Downey, and bass guitarist and vocalist Phil Lynott met while still in school. Lynott assumed the band leader role. He not only wrote or co-wrote almost all of Thin Lizzy's music, but was the first black Irishman to achieve commercial success (read: FAME) in rock and roll music!

The band's name comes from a character in "The Dandy," called Tin Lizzie...which the band mates changed to Thin Lizzy, as a play on the local dialect....in which "thin" would be pronounced "t'in."

I have also read that the name was a pronunciation play on the Model T Ford, affectionately referred to in its day as the "Tin Lizzie."

In either case, during some of their earliest gigs, the band was advertised (in error) as Tin Lizzy and Tin Lizzie!

The fun intended in the band's name pronunciation...WORKED! Maybe...too well?!

"Whiskey In The Jar" and "Jailbreak" were hits in Ireland...then came "The Boys Are Back In Town," which put this Irish band on the international stage...

"The Boys Are Back In Town" would be a #12 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in the summer of 1976.

In fact, it was inspired by the band's fans...Lynott wrote the song after noticing that their shows were filled with working-class guys that were just out to have some fun.

And, yes...most were hard partying, hard drinkers.

When the song became a hit, the guys were surprised!

Guitarist Scott Gorham tells the story of playing in a club (here in the USA) one night, when the band's manager walks in and exclaims: "Well, looks like we've got a hit."

Gorham says the guys response was...Seriously? They had no idea which song off the album had achieved radio airplay, and chart success!

As a matter of fact, "The Boys Are Back In Town" wasn't even going to be included on the "Jailbreak" album!

Gorham explains that, at that time, a band would pick 10 songs for inclusion on an album. About 10 songs was the time limit for a vinyl album.

Thin Lizzy had recorded 15 songs...and chose 10 of them for the album. "Boys" didn't make the cut.

Then, their management heard the song and said: "there's something really good about this song."

And, as is often the case, the rest is rock and roll history!

"The Boys Are Back In Town" continues to make some noise...as one of "Jersey's Favorite Hits" on New Jersey 101.5 and nj1015.com