Joining Thin Lizzy in 1980, Darren Wharton added a new sonic layer to the band's tapestry. Featuring on studio albums including 'Chinatown', and 'Thunder and Lightning', he's named his Lizzy tribute act after their 1981 set 'Renegade'. The band are now set to headline a special concert in Dublin remembering forty years since Phil Lynott's passing, for what promises to be a very special event. "It's going to be a hell of a night", he enthuses, as we settle in for a chat. We caught up with Darren to talk about the show, his Thin Lizzy memories, and the highs and lows of post-Lizzy project Dare. Cold sweat; Eamon O'Neill.
Hi Darren, how are you doing?
I'm good. I've been in the studio today, singing. I've got a new album coming out next year with Dare, so I've just been working on some of the songs today. It's been a horrible day here in Wales, so my philosophy at the moment is; if it's a nice day, we go out and have a walk or a day out, and if it's pretty dreadful like It's been today, I'll go into the studio and record.
You're gearing up for the Dedication to Phil Lynott with your band Renegade; how does it feel to be playing on that bill?
Absolutely fantastic. I wasn't planning to do Renegade, but I kept getting asked to do appearances with various tribute bands in Sweden and Ireland and all over the place, really, Germany and U.K. I came back from Dublin last year and I'd gone out to do one of the Dedication gigs at the Button Factory, and I really enjoyed it. I got up with one of the bands there, and they were great fun, and I really enjoyed singing the songs. I came back and I realised how much I'd missed playing the Thin Lizzy set, and I just said to the lads who all grew up playing Thin Lizzy songs that it seems silly that I'm not doing it. I was on for the albums, and I was there with Phil and Scott [Gorham]and Brian [Downey], so why not do a version of a Thin Lizzy tribute band, ourselves? And that was it.
The band is clearly named after the Thin Lizzy album 'Renegade'.
'Renegade' [1981] was my first main album. I played on 'Chinatown' [1980], but yeah, 'Renegade' was my first album, and on the album, I co-wrote 'Angel of Death', so that was an obvious choice of name, and we thought it sounded quite good. It's a real tremendous honour to be playing on the 4th January at the Point for Philip and the great memory of Thin Lizzy.
The show marks the 40th anniversary of Phil's passing; that must seem insane to you.
Well, it does, and it doesn't. Yeah, the years have gone very fast, but at the same time, it does feel like a long time ago. It's like another lifetime, especially when we've been around doing various incarnations of Thin Lizzy for a long time. We started with John Sykes seven or eight years after Phil died, so we did quite a lot of gigs with John, and that sort of got disbanded and we started another line up with with Ricky [Warwick] and Scott myself and Brian and Damon Johnson and Marko Mendoza from Whitesnake, but the main thing I think the fans need to know is that we all realised that there's no Thin Lizzy without Phil. That was always in my heart, and always in Brian Downey's heart that Thin Lizzy, in any of the versions without Phil, was always a tribute to the legacy and music that Phil and Scott and Brian and Robo and Gary Moore all the great lads created.
It's great to have Thin Lizzy's music live on.
What I've noticed now is there's a whole new generation of kids out there that are discovering Thin Lizzy for the first time, even at the Renegade shows. Young people that never saw Thin Lizzy are really happy to see an original guy playing the songs, still, even though I was there only for a couple of years. Obviously it means a great deal to me to try and keep that wonderful memory of Thin Lizzy alive. That's why I'm doing it. I love it, and I love the songs, and it's a real honour to sing the songs. It's all in the memory of Philip, and it's all in a good way and good taste. Phil and Scott and Brian, it's what they created, and it was amazing.
I'm good. I've been in the studio today, singing. I've got a new album coming out next year with Dare, so I've just been working on some of the songs today. It's been a horrible day here in Wales, so my philosophy at the moment is; if it's a nice day, we go out and have a walk or a day out, and if it's pretty dreadful like It's been today, I'll go into the studio and record.
You're gearing up for the Dedication to Phil Lynott with your band Renegade; how does it feel to be playing on that bill?
Absolutely fantastic. I wasn't planning to do Renegade, but I kept getting asked to do appearances with various tribute bands in Sweden and Ireland and all over the place, really, Germany and U.K. I came back from Dublin last year and I'd gone out to do one of the Dedication gigs at the Button Factory, and I really enjoyed it. I got up with one of the bands there, and they were great fun, and I really enjoyed singing the songs. I came back and I realised how much I'd missed playing the Thin Lizzy set, and I just said to the lads who all grew up playing Thin Lizzy songs that it seems silly that I'm not doing it. I was on for the albums, and I was there with Phil and Scott [Gorham]and Brian [Downey], so why not do a version of a Thin Lizzy tribute band, ourselves? And that was it.
The band is clearly named after the Thin Lizzy album 'Renegade'.
'Renegade' [1981] was my first main album. I played on 'Chinatown' [1980], but yeah, 'Renegade' was my first album, and on the album, I co-wrote 'Angel of Death', so that was an obvious choice of name, and we thought it sounded quite good. It's a real tremendous honour to be playing on the 4th January at the Point for Philip and the great memory of Thin Lizzy.
The show marks the 40th anniversary of Phil's passing; that must seem insane to you.
Well, it does, and it doesn't. Yeah, the years have gone very fast, but at the same time, it does feel like a long time ago. It's like another lifetime, especially when we've been around doing various incarnations of Thin Lizzy for a long time. We started with John Sykes seven or eight years after Phil died, so we did quite a lot of gigs with John, and that sort of got disbanded and we started another line up with with Ricky [Warwick] and Scott myself and Brian and Damon Johnson and Marko Mendoza from Whitesnake, but the main thing I think the fans need to know is that we all realised that there's no Thin Lizzy without Phil. That was always in my heart, and always in Brian Downey's heart that Thin Lizzy, in any of the versions without Phil, was always a tribute to the legacy and music that Phil and Scott and Brian and Robo and Gary Moore all the great lads created.
It's great to have Thin Lizzy's music live on.
What I've noticed now is there's a whole new generation of kids out there that are discovering Thin Lizzy for the first time, even at the Renegade shows. Young people that never saw Thin Lizzy are really happy to see an original guy playing the songs, still, even though I was there only for a couple of years. Obviously it means a great deal to me to try and keep that wonderful memory of Thin Lizzy alive. That's why I'm doing it. I love it, and I love the songs, and it's a real honour to sing the songs. It's all in the memory of Philip, and it's all in a good way and good taste. Phil and Scott and Brian, it's what they created, and it was amazing.
You were there from 1980, starting on the 'Chinatown' album.
'Chinatown', 'Renegade', and then we did 'Thunder and Lightning' [1983], and 'Life' [1983], the live album. We ended at the end of '83. I always say it was '84 because really, it felt like '84 to me. It was a wonderful four years. The thing is, with Phil and Scott and Brian, they never stopped working; we were either on the road, or we were in the studio, and it was pretty magical, really. But I understood at the time, because I felt it that Phil needed some time off and so did Scott. They needed some time just to sort of reformat really, and get some rest, because they never rested. When I joined the band, I think the most we ever took off was maybe two or three weeks, so I think it was time to take a break. I think none of us thought the band was ever going to split up. I certainly didn't.
Your tenure was during a period that saw a lot of changes in the band; Gary Moore was gone, Snowy White was in, then he was gone, John Sykes was in; is it fair to say it was a turbulent period?
I think there's a point to what you what you're saying. I think in hindsight, Snowy would probably be the first one to agree that it really wasn't the right gig for Snowy. Philip was a very generous guy, and obviously an extremely talented guy, and I just think it became pretty obvious after the the first two albums that it was sort of taking Thin Lizzy into a slightly different direction with Snowy. I mean, he was always a fantastic player, and always will be one of my great friends, but I don't think even Snowy thought it was the right gig for him. He was more of a blues player. He'd grown up doing the Thin Lizzy stuff, and blues and Pink Floyd and Roger Waters and stuff like that, and that was his sort of main thing, so I think Snowy did feel a little bit of a fish out of water in Thin Lizzy. There wasn't any animosity within the band, so I wouldn't say it was a bumpy period, because everybody was great friends. Snowy and Phil got on great, and so did so did Scott and Snowy, and Brian and Snowy and myself. Everybody loved each other. I just think it became quite obvious that it was sort of a square peg in a round hole type of thing, and when Snowy left, I think it was probably a 50 / 50 decision from him and from Phil and Scott and Brian.
What, from your point of view, did John Sykes bring to the mix when he arrived?
John was obviously a lot fierier, and I think Philip went from one extreme to the next. It was a different feel altogether with John because we went a lot heavier, which was probably great for the fans, but maybe some said it went a bit too far, but the thing is, Phil was always very open minded. Phil always likes to break the mould as far as the music was concerned, because he didn't like to be pigeonholed, and he liked being creative and to experiment with new sounds. Thank God for that, because that's the reason he gave me the gig. I think there was always going to be a development as far as the sound as far as he was concerned. From Eric Bell, you can say exactly the same thing. Eric was there, and then Scott and Robbo added their own flavours and their styles, and that's how the music progressed. That's how most bands progress, really,
it must be a point of pride for you that you co-wrote 'Angel of Death', and 'The Sun Does Down', for example. Those songs wouldn't be the same without those keys.
Philip was very generous in those regards because he could have quite easily said to everybody; "I'm the chief songwriter. I'm going to be the one who's going to be writing", to keep the publishing all for himself, but he was always happy to collaborate. What Phil's genius was, he could take an idea - and that's what any good songwriter does - if somebody comes along and he likes an idea that they've got, he can immediately hear it, and he could put songs around certain ideas. Obviously, he was a classic song writer, and he was a genius in the amount of hits he's written, but he was always very good at just taking on, and if he heard something that he liked, he'd immediately just latch onto it and turn it into either a Thin Lizzy song, or one of his solo songs. And as I said, he didn't like to be pigeonholed, Phil; he was always trying to break the mould and think outside the box.
'Chinatown', 'Renegade', and then we did 'Thunder and Lightning' [1983], and 'Life' [1983], the live album. We ended at the end of '83. I always say it was '84 because really, it felt like '84 to me. It was a wonderful four years. The thing is, with Phil and Scott and Brian, they never stopped working; we were either on the road, or we were in the studio, and it was pretty magical, really. But I understood at the time, because I felt it that Phil needed some time off and so did Scott. They needed some time just to sort of reformat really, and get some rest, because they never rested. When I joined the band, I think the most we ever took off was maybe two or three weeks, so I think it was time to take a break. I think none of us thought the band was ever going to split up. I certainly didn't.
Your tenure was during a period that saw a lot of changes in the band; Gary Moore was gone, Snowy White was in, then he was gone, John Sykes was in; is it fair to say it was a turbulent period?
I think there's a point to what you what you're saying. I think in hindsight, Snowy would probably be the first one to agree that it really wasn't the right gig for Snowy. Philip was a very generous guy, and obviously an extremely talented guy, and I just think it became pretty obvious after the the first two albums that it was sort of taking Thin Lizzy into a slightly different direction with Snowy. I mean, he was always a fantastic player, and always will be one of my great friends, but I don't think even Snowy thought it was the right gig for him. He was more of a blues player. He'd grown up doing the Thin Lizzy stuff, and blues and Pink Floyd and Roger Waters and stuff like that, and that was his sort of main thing, so I think Snowy did feel a little bit of a fish out of water in Thin Lizzy. There wasn't any animosity within the band, so I wouldn't say it was a bumpy period, because everybody was great friends. Snowy and Phil got on great, and so did so did Scott and Snowy, and Brian and Snowy and myself. Everybody loved each other. I just think it became quite obvious that it was sort of a square peg in a round hole type of thing, and when Snowy left, I think it was probably a 50 / 50 decision from him and from Phil and Scott and Brian.
What, from your point of view, did John Sykes bring to the mix when he arrived?
John was obviously a lot fierier, and I think Philip went from one extreme to the next. It was a different feel altogether with John because we went a lot heavier, which was probably great for the fans, but maybe some said it went a bit too far, but the thing is, Phil was always very open minded. Phil always likes to break the mould as far as the music was concerned, because he didn't like to be pigeonholed, and he liked being creative and to experiment with new sounds. Thank God for that, because that's the reason he gave me the gig. I think there was always going to be a development as far as the sound as far as he was concerned. From Eric Bell, you can say exactly the same thing. Eric was there, and then Scott and Robbo added their own flavours and their styles, and that's how the music progressed. That's how most bands progress, really,
it must be a point of pride for you that you co-wrote 'Angel of Death', and 'The Sun Does Down', for example. Those songs wouldn't be the same without those keys.
Philip was very generous in those regards because he could have quite easily said to everybody; "I'm the chief songwriter. I'm going to be the one who's going to be writing", to keep the publishing all for himself, but he was always happy to collaborate. What Phil's genius was, he could take an idea - and that's what any good songwriter does - if somebody comes along and he likes an idea that they've got, he can immediately hear it, and he could put songs around certain ideas. Obviously, he was a classic song writer, and he was a genius in the amount of hits he's written, but he was always very good at just taking on, and if he heard something that he liked, he'd immediately just latch onto it and turn it into either a Thin Lizzy song, or one of his solo songs. And as I said, he didn't like to be pigeonholed, Phil; he was always trying to break the mould and think outside the box.
It's a little known fact that you play the piano solo on the Lynott solo classic 'Old Town'. That's one hell of a solo; are you doubling it, playing an octave?
Yeah, I played it. No, I'm not doubling; I'm not that good! I played with my right hand, and then I just added the harmony. It's just like a major C run down cord, with the fifth on the the major seventh, so it's C, B, G, E, C, and B, C... so it's quite an easy riff to play. I wouldn't have attempted that at all if it was in C Sharp, I tell you that!
You mentioned that Snowy White felt like a fish out of water, but you were only 18 when you joined the band, so you much have felt like one yourself.
Philip and Scott and Brian, they really took me under their wing, and they looked after me. I was the baby of the band, and they all called me the baby of the band, and I didn't mind that. It felt quite sort of endearing, and I always remember that they kept me away from any sort of, I mean, there was things flying about them, but I was never involved with it and no one ever offered me anything, apart from maybe a little strong whiskey before we'd go on the stage now and again to get the nerves down! But yeah, I was a fish out of water, absolutely, when I first joined. I was very naïve. I think I'd only been to Spain for the very first time with my parents when I was about 15, and when I joined Thin Lizzy, it was a big, wide, fantastic world. Scott always said to me; "every night, it's a Saturday night", and it was; we were playing sold out concerts, and there were parties, and it was wild. It was brilliant.
What would you say is your favourite Thin Lizzy albums that you played on?
Well, I can't say any of them are my favourite. I know my favourite songs. I used to love playing 'Emerald', and I used to love playing 'Massacre'. Those songs resonate as the classic Thin Lizzy songs. I mean, there's so many great songs, so I probably wouldn't like to say any one in particular, really. I loved playing on all the albums, and I loved the experience. It was absolutely amazing.
What about the songs that you co-wrote?
Well, yeah, I mean, obviously, I'm proud of the co-writes I did with Phil; 'Angel of Death' and 'The Sun Goes Down' and 'This is The One' and 'Someday She is Going to Hit Back'. I think I've got five credits with Phil, and also some of the ones that are on the new box set that's coming out that I did that weren't released on at the time. There's some stuff that we did that didn't make the Thin Lizzy albums but we're going to, but Phil was going to put them on his solo album. Obviously, when things changed, they never came to fruition, but yeah, those songs I co-wrote were great, as I say, I loved playing on all the albums, and I particularly loved playing the classics that were written before my time.
Do you remember the last time you saw Phil? Did you see him after the band split at all?
Well, we saw each other at Reading Festival, and I saw him in London probably a year before he died, and he was great. And I know there was some talk about maybe this, that on the other. I lived in Manchester at the time, so it was quite hard to keep in touch, as far as seeing Phil, as I was in a different part of the UK. But it was a dreadful shock when he died, and he was taken too soon. It was just awful.
You started your own band, Dare, in 1988; did you find that being in Thin Lizzy brought you some real credibility?
Yeah, without a doubt. I can't say it didn't help, because it did. It helped on many levels, because it helped me find the musicians, because obviously I'd been in Thin Lizzy and when you play in one of the big bands like that, people want to play with you, and that was great, and at the same token, it did open a few doors, as far as getting into into record companies. I wouldn't say it got us the deal though, because we did get turned down for a couple of labels before we got signed to A&M. I was obviously trying to write my own music by then, and initially, I don't think I'd found my direction. I remember writing some demos before the 'Out of the Silence' [1988] stuff, before I'd met my mate Vinny [Burns] on guitar, and looking back now it wasn't bad, but you can tell I hadn't found the Dare sound. I think that's imperative for any band that's starting off; you've got to find your own sound, and you've got to find your own direction that's going to make you recognisable above every other band.
You obviously did find your direction with Dare.
Obviously I couldn't sound like Thin Lizzy because no one will ever sound like Thin Lizzy and Phil, so I couldn't do that. So basically, I think what you have to do - and I found that out years later as the years went on - is you write songs that suit your own voice, and once I'd learned that secret I started to write songs that suited myself singing. It sounds simple, but you've got to basically write things that you like yourself singing. It's a little secret that song writers know, I always say to people that Mark Knopfler has got a fantastic voice; I love Mark's voice, and for instance, singing 'Brothers in Arms', he sound amazing, but David Coverdale has got an amazing voice, but David Coverdale wouldn't sound right singing, 'Brothers in Arms', and Mark Knopfler wouldn't sound right singing 'Here I Go Again'. You've got to look at voices and certain writers, and when they're clever, they no know what to write for themselves. Bono writes great songs, and no one can sing U2 songs like Bono. So when you get that in your head, then you start to realise what you should be writing. Philip had that talent, obviously, because every Phil song was perfect, and it suited his personality and it suited his voice. So I think that's one of the secrets.
Yeah, I played it. No, I'm not doubling; I'm not that good! I played with my right hand, and then I just added the harmony. It's just like a major C run down cord, with the fifth on the the major seventh, so it's C, B, G, E, C, and B, C... so it's quite an easy riff to play. I wouldn't have attempted that at all if it was in C Sharp, I tell you that!
You mentioned that Snowy White felt like a fish out of water, but you were only 18 when you joined the band, so you much have felt like one yourself.
Philip and Scott and Brian, they really took me under their wing, and they looked after me. I was the baby of the band, and they all called me the baby of the band, and I didn't mind that. It felt quite sort of endearing, and I always remember that they kept me away from any sort of, I mean, there was things flying about them, but I was never involved with it and no one ever offered me anything, apart from maybe a little strong whiskey before we'd go on the stage now and again to get the nerves down! But yeah, I was a fish out of water, absolutely, when I first joined. I was very naïve. I think I'd only been to Spain for the very first time with my parents when I was about 15, and when I joined Thin Lizzy, it was a big, wide, fantastic world. Scott always said to me; "every night, it's a Saturday night", and it was; we were playing sold out concerts, and there were parties, and it was wild. It was brilliant.
What would you say is your favourite Thin Lizzy albums that you played on?
Well, I can't say any of them are my favourite. I know my favourite songs. I used to love playing 'Emerald', and I used to love playing 'Massacre'. Those songs resonate as the classic Thin Lizzy songs. I mean, there's so many great songs, so I probably wouldn't like to say any one in particular, really. I loved playing on all the albums, and I loved the experience. It was absolutely amazing.
What about the songs that you co-wrote?
Well, yeah, I mean, obviously, I'm proud of the co-writes I did with Phil; 'Angel of Death' and 'The Sun Goes Down' and 'This is The One' and 'Someday She is Going to Hit Back'. I think I've got five credits with Phil, and also some of the ones that are on the new box set that's coming out that I did that weren't released on at the time. There's some stuff that we did that didn't make the Thin Lizzy albums but we're going to, but Phil was going to put them on his solo album. Obviously, when things changed, they never came to fruition, but yeah, those songs I co-wrote were great, as I say, I loved playing on all the albums, and I particularly loved playing the classics that were written before my time.
Do you remember the last time you saw Phil? Did you see him after the band split at all?
Well, we saw each other at Reading Festival, and I saw him in London probably a year before he died, and he was great. And I know there was some talk about maybe this, that on the other. I lived in Manchester at the time, so it was quite hard to keep in touch, as far as seeing Phil, as I was in a different part of the UK. But it was a dreadful shock when he died, and he was taken too soon. It was just awful.
You started your own band, Dare, in 1988; did you find that being in Thin Lizzy brought you some real credibility?
Yeah, without a doubt. I can't say it didn't help, because it did. It helped on many levels, because it helped me find the musicians, because obviously I'd been in Thin Lizzy and when you play in one of the big bands like that, people want to play with you, and that was great, and at the same token, it did open a few doors, as far as getting into into record companies. I wouldn't say it got us the deal though, because we did get turned down for a couple of labels before we got signed to A&M. I was obviously trying to write my own music by then, and initially, I don't think I'd found my direction. I remember writing some demos before the 'Out of the Silence' [1988] stuff, before I'd met my mate Vinny [Burns] on guitar, and looking back now it wasn't bad, but you can tell I hadn't found the Dare sound. I think that's imperative for any band that's starting off; you've got to find your own sound, and you've got to find your own direction that's going to make you recognisable above every other band.
You obviously did find your direction with Dare.
Obviously I couldn't sound like Thin Lizzy because no one will ever sound like Thin Lizzy and Phil, so I couldn't do that. So basically, I think what you have to do - and I found that out years later as the years went on - is you write songs that suit your own voice, and once I'd learned that secret I started to write songs that suited myself singing. It sounds simple, but you've got to basically write things that you like yourself singing. It's a little secret that song writers know, I always say to people that Mark Knopfler has got a fantastic voice; I love Mark's voice, and for instance, singing 'Brothers in Arms', he sound amazing, but David Coverdale has got an amazing voice, but David Coverdale wouldn't sound right singing, 'Brothers in Arms', and Mark Knopfler wouldn't sound right singing 'Here I Go Again'. You've got to look at voices and certain writers, and when they're clever, they no know what to write for themselves. Bono writes great songs, and no one can sing U2 songs like Bono. So when you get that in your head, then you start to realise what you should be writing. Philip had that talent, obviously, because every Phil song was perfect, and it suited his personality and it suited his voice. So I think that's one of the secrets.
Dare's second album 'Blood From Stone' was released in 1991, and the band became inactive for a period after that; was the grunge revolution a factor?
It was a little bit of that. Guns n' Roses had broken, and I remember A&M asked us to write a heavy album because the first one was quite melodic, really. We were more into bands like Def Leppard and Mr. Mister and Toto, and there were some great bands around at that time who were a bit more keyboard based, and then when Guns n' Roses broke, the whole industry just wanted heavy, to the point where A&M asked us, they just told us to write a heavy album. Looking back, I think probably I should have stuck by my guns, really, and kept on with the same direction, because we did write a heavy album, and then A&M sold out to PolyGram, and then we got dropped because we hadn't broke anywhere. And we changed directions; basically, we'd done two different albums, two different styles, and we got let go. I was out in the cold for about four or five years, and that was quite a difficult period, but we just kept going, and I was playing the pubs and clubs, and started from scratch.
As you said at the start of the interview, you're back in the studio, so I'm guessing you're looking at a 2026 release for the next Dare album?
Yeah, I got about eight songs now for the new studio album. We've just done the best of ['The Best Of Dare (40 Years Of Music)'] this year, which has done really well. People have been asking me to be a best of because I've got eight albums out and have had over one hundred songs published. It was just difficult to know which songs to put on the best of, really, but I've tried to put songs from every album, and that's done really well for us, so, yeah, we've got a new album coming out in '26 and it's going to be a belter.
Back to the Dedication gig, and you've got some of your old band mates there including Ricky Warwick and Marco Mendoza; is there a chance of some unannounced collaborations?
Yes. I'm not going to give the game away, but yeah, absolutely. There's going to be a hell of a party going on that night, and as I say, it's all to remember Phil, and the music of Thin Lizzy that was created by Philip and Scott Gorham and Brian Downey and Robbo and Gary Moore and John Sykes. It's all about the family of Thin Lizzy, and we're there to celebrate that fantastic legacy that the guys have left us. As I say, I'm just very proud to be part of it. We've got a couple of friends there; we've got Ricky and Richard Fortus from Gun n' Roses, and we've got Renegade, and we've got the RTE Orchestra, and it's going to be a hell of a night.
The Dedication to Philip Parris Lynott tales place at Dublin's 3Arena on 4th January 2025. For tickets, click here.
It was a little bit of that. Guns n' Roses had broken, and I remember A&M asked us to write a heavy album because the first one was quite melodic, really. We were more into bands like Def Leppard and Mr. Mister and Toto, and there were some great bands around at that time who were a bit more keyboard based, and then when Guns n' Roses broke, the whole industry just wanted heavy, to the point where A&M asked us, they just told us to write a heavy album. Looking back, I think probably I should have stuck by my guns, really, and kept on with the same direction, because we did write a heavy album, and then A&M sold out to PolyGram, and then we got dropped because we hadn't broke anywhere. And we changed directions; basically, we'd done two different albums, two different styles, and we got let go. I was out in the cold for about four or five years, and that was quite a difficult period, but we just kept going, and I was playing the pubs and clubs, and started from scratch.
As you said at the start of the interview, you're back in the studio, so I'm guessing you're looking at a 2026 release for the next Dare album?
Yeah, I got about eight songs now for the new studio album. We've just done the best of ['The Best Of Dare (40 Years Of Music)'] this year, which has done really well. People have been asking me to be a best of because I've got eight albums out and have had over one hundred songs published. It was just difficult to know which songs to put on the best of, really, but I've tried to put songs from every album, and that's done really well for us, so, yeah, we've got a new album coming out in '26 and it's going to be a belter.
Back to the Dedication gig, and you've got some of your old band mates there including Ricky Warwick and Marco Mendoza; is there a chance of some unannounced collaborations?
Yes. I'm not going to give the game away, but yeah, absolutely. There's going to be a hell of a party going on that night, and as I say, it's all to remember Phil, and the music of Thin Lizzy that was created by Philip and Scott Gorham and Brian Downey and Robbo and Gary Moore and John Sykes. It's all about the family of Thin Lizzy, and we're there to celebrate that fantastic legacy that the guys have left us. As I say, I'm just very proud to be part of it. We've got a couple of friends there; we've got Ricky and Richard Fortus from Gun n' Roses, and we've got Renegade, and we've got the RTE Orchestra, and it's going to be a hell of a night.
The Dedication to Philip Parris Lynott tales place at Dublin's 3Arena on 4th January 2025. For tickets, click here.
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