I recently made a list of my 10 favourite guitar solos, and Scott Gorham featured no less than four times. Not only that, but those four solos are all from the same record (1977’s Bad Reputation). I guess you could say I’m a fan. There are two reasons for this, one being Thin Lizzy, obviously. The other is Scott’s lyrical playing style. The other six solos on my list are similar, in that they are solos that you can whistle, hum, squeak, whatever you want - but they are tunes in themselves. 

It’s all down to Scott’s mum & dad. On Christmas day 1959, when Scott was just about eight years old, he unwrapped his first ever guitar - a Silvertone “catgut” nylon string acoustic*. When his dad played him two chords, Scott was so impressed, it planted a seed in his brain that is still blooming some 60+ years down the line. His mum then took young Scott to guitar lessons, and even promoted his first band The Jesters: “A new rock band with a fresh young sound”. Now that is good copy!

His first real guitar was a Fender Stratocaster, which seems so wrong in his particular case. Only he had to sell it in order to cover living expenses in London. It left Scott with a Japanese Les Paul copy (black, unbranded) with which to pitch up to the audition for Thin Lizzy.

The scratch plate fell off and after flailing around looking for screws on the floor, he played on, to this day preferring to play without the plate. But there and then, the iconic Lizzy twin Les Paul look & sound was created - a combination of serendipity and very savvy decision making - Phil Lynott, Brian Robertson and Brian Downey picked Scott out from the pack. 

You might say the rest is history, except, as with so many legacy bands today, the Thin Lizzy bandwagon is very much rolling. Indeed, Scott gave up his other music projects a few years ago to focus fully on keeping the Lizzy legacy alive. He is waiting patiently for the stars to line up - literally - in order to get Thin Lizzy back on tour. 

In the late 70s he got his hands on a vintage Les Paul for $2,300 ($10,000 today). A dealer presented him with six and his eye was immediately drawn to the sunburst model he subsequently made famous - and vice versa. 

It was sold to him as a ’59 - the truly iconic year for Les Pauls, as played by Jimmy Page and later, Joe Bonamassa. As it turned out, the guitar was two years older - a ‘57, but he wouldn’t change it for anything. 

His Les Paul playing partners (always positioned on the right hand side of the stage to Gorham’s left) were all legends in their own right - Brian Robertson, Gary Moore, Snowy White and finally John Sykes. Scott is often asked if he was actually scared playing alongside any of them (a ridiculous question but with good grounds), such was the sheer virtuosity of all of them. It was Gary Moore that took Scott out of his comfort zone - with those hand-stretching impossible harmony parts. 

But Scott’s response to his prodigious partners in crime, was to play pre-composed, lyrical, often beautiful (hear Downtown Sundown, Southbound) solos.

“A lot of their stuff - as great as it was - was improvised. I used to work out my solos - I wanted to make everything connected and as memorable as possible. So that you could hum the solo”. 

I don’t think I’ll ever stop doing just that. 

*Three episodes in and every guest has begun their guitar playing life with a nylon string acoustic. 

SCOTT’S ARTWORK

Scott used to secretly work on his art throughout his time in Thin Lizzy and with the group Black Star Riders. He never let on, or showed any work to his fellow musicians (or even his wife, Christine).

But Christine discovered a folder containing numerous drawings, some of which dated back to the early 1980s. These images were inspired by Scott’s life on the road, getting sober, the state of the planet and even the time Phil Lynott took him to his first football match. Just three years ago, Scott posted a drawing called ‘The Fanatic’ on social media to commemorate what would have been Phil Lynott’s birthday.

“This very personal drawing drew thousands of positive responses with fans asking whether there were other drawings. “It took a further three years to persuade me and agree to introduce some of my collection to the public…. I never expected to show them to anyone.”

When I described Scott’s artwork as “very metal”, he took it as a reluctant compliment. But he has already had offers from bands to create artwork for their album covers - just as Jim FitzPatrick created those iconic Thin Lizzy album covers back in the day.

Scott’s artwork is on Scott Gorham World

scott’S best lizzy solos: PLAYLIST