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Thin Lizzy

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The Boys are Back in Town - - Guitar Tab

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Mr. Tabs Guitar Tab

Dancing In The Moonlight - Guitar Tab

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StephLeGratteux Guitar Tab

Róisín Dubh (Black Rose): A Rock Legend - Guitar Tab

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StephLeGratteux Guitar Tab

Band Overview

History and Guitar Legacy

Thin Lizzy emerged from Dublin in the early 1970s and became one of rock's most important guitar bands. Led by Phil Lynott on bass and vocals, their signature sound came from twin lead guitar harmonies that directly influenced Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, and melodic Hard Rock bands worldwide. The classic Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson lineup on albums like Jailbreak defined this approach, with later additions like Gary Moore bringing different strengths to the formula.

Playing Style and Techniques

Thin Lizzy guitarists prioritized melody and phrasing over raw speed, creating solos that sing through vibrato, string bending, and blues-based pentatonic ideas. The Gorham Robertson pairing interlocked in harmony thirds and sixths, weaving melodic lines like a rock orchestra. Gary Moore later added fiery technical edge with legato runs and aggressive bending on tracks like Emerald, pushing the band into more virtuosic territory while maintaining their melodic core.

Why Guitarists Study Thin Lizzy

For guitarists, Thin Lizzy is essential study in harmony guitar playing, melodic lead construction, and tasteful hard rock rhythm work. Their approach rewards players who focus on feel over flash and tone over technique alone. The rhythm guitar work deserves equal attention, showcasing clean to crunch chord voicings, rhythmic precision, and how two guitars can occupy different sonic spaces without competing.

Difficulty and Learning Path

Most Thin Lizzy songs sit in the intermediate range, with chord shapes and riffs that aren't technically extreme. However, nailing the feel, dynamics, and especially the twin harmony parts requires real musicianship and a good ear for tone. Songs like The Boys Are Back in Town demonstrate the balance between accessible chord work and sophisticated arrangement that makes Thin Lizzy rewarding to master.

What Makes Thin Lizzy Essential for Guitar Players

Twin lead guitar harmonies are the signature Thin Lizzy technique. Gorham and Robertson typically harmonized in diatonic thirds and sixths, creating rich melodic lines that sound massive, learning these parts teaches you how to think like a second guitarist and understand harmony on the fretboard.
Scott Gorham's rhythm playing is a masterclass in dynamic control. He moves between clean arpeggiated passages and crunchy power chord riffs with subtle pick attack variations rather than relying on heavy distortion, making him an ideal study for players who want to improve their right-hand dynamics.
Brian Robertson brought a bluesy, aggressive lead style with wide vibrato and confident string bends. His solo on 'Still in Love with You' (the live 'Live and Dangerous' version) is considered one of the greatest rock guitar solos ever recorded, pure emotion with pentatonic precision.
Gary Moore's contributions pushed Thin Lizzy into more technically demanding territory. His work on 'Black Rose' features rapid legato passages, fast pentatonic runs, and a fierce vibrato that bridges the gap between classic blues rock and the emerging hard rock/metal techniques of the late 1970s.
The band frequently used open-string chord voicings and ringing arpeggios mixed with standard barre chord riffing. Songs like 'Dancing in the Moonlight' and 'The Boys Are Back in Town' feature chord shapes that let open strings ring sympathetically, creating a fuller sound, a technique every rock guitarist should steal.

Did You Know?

The twin guitar harmony approach that Thin Lizzy pioneered was directly inspired by Wishbone Ash, but Lizzy took it further into hard rock territory, and it was this blueprint that Iron Maiden's Adrian Smith and Dave Murray openly credit as their foundational influence.

'Live and Dangerous' (1978) is widely considered one of the greatest live albums ever, but it was controversially overdubbed in the studio. Guitarist Scott Gorham has been open about the fact that some solos and rhythm parts were re-recorded, sparking decades of debate among fans about how much was 'live.'

Gary Moore was actually a member of Thin Lizzy three separate times. He first joined in 1974 as an emergency replacement, returned for the landmark 'Black Rose' album in 1979, and briefly rejoined for a tour in 1977, his fiery playing style each time pushed the band's guitar work to new levels.

Scott Gorham tuned down a half step (Eb) on several Thin Lizzy recordings to accommodate Phil Lynott's vocal range, a practice later adopted extensively by Guns N' Roses and Stevie Ray Vaughan, it also gave the guitars a slightly heavier, slinkier feel.

John Sykes, who joined for the final album 'Thunder and Lightning' (1983), brought a Van Halen-influenced tapping and dive-bomb style that completely transformed the band's sound. His playing on the title track is essentially early 80s metal shred grafted onto Lizzy's melodic framework.

The iconic dual harmony guitar melody in 'The Boys Are Back in Town' was originally conceived by Phil Lynott on bass. He hummed the parts to Gorham and Robertson, who then worked out the guitar harmonies, proving that some of the best guitar parts come from non-guitarists.

Brian Robertson famously injured his hand in a bar fight just before a crucial UK tour, forcing Gary Moore to step in as a temporary replacement. This accidental lineup change introduced Moore to the band and eventually led to some of their greatest recordings.

Essential Albums for Guitarists

Jailbreak 1976

This is the essential Thin Lizzy guitar album. 'The Boys Are Back in Town' teaches twin harmony guitar fundamentals, 'Jailbreak' itself features driving rhythm work with tight palm-muted riffs, and 'Emerald' contains one of the most epic harmony guitar arrangements in rock, a must-learn piece for understanding how two guitars can create orchestral power.

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Black Rose: A Rock Legend 1979

With Gary Moore on guitar alongside Scott Gorham, this album features Lizzy's most technically demanding playing. The title track 'Roisin Dubh (Black Rose)' incorporates Irish folk melodies into fast rock guitar arrangements, while 'Do Anything You Want To' is a perfect study in driving hard rock rhythm guitar with melodic lead breaks.

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Live and Dangerous 1978

Even with its studio overdubs, this live album captures the raw energy of Gorham and Robertson at their peak. Extended versions of 'Still in Love with You' and 'Emerald' feature extended soloing and improvised harmony lines that show you how these parts were meant to breathe in a live context, invaluable for learning stage dynamics and solo construction.

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Thunder and Lightning 1983

John Sykes brings an 80s metal sensibility to Lizzy's final studio album. The title track features aggressive downpicked riffs, tapping, and dive bombs, it's a bridge between classic Lizzy and the NWOBHM era. 'Cold Sweat' has one of the tightest rhythm guitar performances in the catalog, great for building right-hand precision and stamina.

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Tone & Gear

Guitar

Scott Gorham is synonymous with the Gibson Les Paul Custom (late '70s models in white and black finishes), which gave him that thick, sustained midrange tone essential for harmony leads. Brian Robertson played a Fender Stratocaster, unusual for hard rock at the time, which gave the twin harmonies a brighter, more cutting edge against Gorham's warmer Les Paul. Gary Moore famously used a 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard (the legendary 'Greeny,' previously owned by Peter Green) with its out-of-phase middle pickup position that produced a distinctive nasal, hollow tone on clean settings. John Sykes played Gibson Les Paul Customs with stock humbuckers.

Amp

The classic Thin Lizzy guitar sound was built on Marshall amplifiers. Gorham primarily used Marshall 100-watt heads, JMP and later JCM800 models, cranked for natural tube saturation with the presence up to cut through the mix. Robertson ran his Strat through similar Marshalls, relying on the single-coil brightness to prevent muddiness at high gain. Gary Moore used Marshall 1959 Super Lead Plexis and later JCM800s, pushing them hard for his singing sustain and aggressive overdrive. The key to the Lizzy amp sound is moderate-to-high gain with the mids kept strong, never scooped.

Pickups

Gorham's Les Paul Customs used stock Gibson humbuckers, likely T-Top pickups in the late '70s models, with moderate output around 8–9k ohms that kept dynamics responsive without excessive compression. Robertson's Strat single-coils provided the contrasting brightness that made the twin harmonies pop. Gary Moore's '59 Les Paul featured original PAF humbuckers, with the famous reversed-magnet neck pickup (courtesy of Peter Green) that created his signature out-of-phase quack tone. The combination of humbuckers and single-coils across two guitarists was actually a key ingredient in why Lizzy's harmony parts sounded so wide and dimensional.

Effects & Chain

Thin Lizzy's guitar sound was remarkably effects-free for most of their career. Gorham and Robertson ran mostly straight into their Marshalls, relying on amp overdrive, pickup volume knob adjustments, and pick attack for clean-to-dirty transitions. Gorham occasionally used a Cry Baby wah for solo accents and a flanger or phaser (MXR Phase 90) on select tracks for color. Gary Moore added more effects to his rig, including an Ibanez Tube Screamer for solo boost, a delay unit for lead sustain, and wah for expressive solos. The overall philosophy was tone from the fingers and the amp, pedals were seasoning, not the main course.

Recommended Gear

Guitar

Fender Stratocaster

Brian Robertson's Stratocaster provided the bright, cutting single-coil tone that balanced Scott Gorham's warmer Les Paul in Thin Lizzy's signature twin harmonies. The Strat's natural clarity prevented muddiness when pushed through Marshall amps at high gain, making the harmony parts pop with dimensional width.

Guitar

Gibson Les Paul Standard

Gary Moore's legendary 1959 'Greeny' Les Paul with its reversed-magnet neck pickup created Thin Lizzy's most distinctive out-of-phase quack tone on clean settings. The original PAF humbuckers delivered singing sustain and aggressive overdrive when driven hard through Marshall Plexis, defining Moore's expressive lead sound.

Guitar

Gibson Les Paul Custom

Scott Gorham's late '70s Gibson Les Paul Custom was the backbone of Thin Lizzy's thick, sustained midrange tone essential for harmony leads. Stock T-Top humbuckers provided responsive dynamics without compression, allowing Gorham to articulate clean-to-dirty transitions through cranked Marshall heads.

Amp

Marshall JCM800

The JCM800 delivered the moderate-to-high gain Marshall tone Gorham, Robertson, and Moore relied on for natural tube saturation with strong mids. This amp never scooped the midrange, ensuring the twin harmonies cut through with clarity and sustain.

Amp

Marshall Plexi (1959 Super Lead)

Gary Moore's Marshall 1959 Super Lead Plexi pushed hard for his singing sustain and aggressive overdrive, responding to every nuance of his Les Paul's dynamics. The Plexi's raw power and natural breakup were critical to Moore's expressive, blistering lead work throughout Thin Lizzy's catalog.

Pedal

Dunlop Cry Baby Wah

Scott Gorham used the Cry Baby wah sparingly for solo accents, treating it as seasoning rather than a main ingredient in Thin Lizzy's effects-minimal approach. The wah added expressive color to lead breaks while the band maintained their philosophy of tone from fingers and amp.

How to Practice Thin Lizzy on GuitarZone

Every Thin Lizzy song page on GuitarZone includes a built-in Practice Toolbar. No app to download, no account needed. Open any song, then use the toolbar to slow the video to 0.5× speed, set an A/B loop around the exact riff you're working on, and jump between song sections instantly.

The toolbar appears automatically on every guitar tab, lesson, and cover page. Pick a song below, hit play, and start practicing at your own pace.

Practice The Boys are Back in Town - - Guitar Tab Practice Dancing In The Moonlight - Guitar Tab Practice Róisín Dubh (Black Rose): A Rock Legend - Guitar Tab