Behind the Music

Episode Synopsis

A look at the trials & tribulations surrounding this '70's Irish rock band. Thin Lizzy combined hard rock, R&B and traditional Irish music in a whole new way, with a twin guitar attack that was by turns sensual and lethal. The band, led by charismatic and sexy front man, Philip Lynott, achieved major success with hits like "Whisky in a Jar," "The Boys Are Back in Town" and "Jailbreak." The band encountered many struggles including bankruptcy, multiple band member changes, bar fights, and Lynott's quick descent into heavy drug and alcohol abuse that eventually killed him at the age of 36. The show delves deeply into Lynott's life, the son of a working-class Irish girl and a black father he never knew, his marriage to Caroline Crowther that fell apart because of his drug abuse, and how Lynott and Thin Lizzy's legacy lives on through the groups such as Metallica, Smashing Pumpkins, Everclear and Oasis, who have paid tribute to them either by covering their tunes or singing their praises in their own material.