Their music and laughter linger on

Jan 3 2009 by Andrew Baldwin, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

THE world was shocked when Thin Lizzy singer/bassist and founding member Phil Lynott died at the age of 36 on January 4, 1986.

Lynott had been admitted to Salisbury Hospital in Wiltshire with a serious kidney and liver infection on Christmas Day, after he collapsed from a drink and drug binge at his home in Surrey.

Fellow Thin Lizzy member Scott Gorham said that his problems got worse when his wife left him and took their two children.

He said: “I suppose he thought drugs would help him out of the low spots.”

Bob Geldof said his friends had tried to persuade him to give up his wild life of drink and drugs.

“He was a hard-living sort of bloke, a good bloke, a laugh but a hard nut,” said Geldof.

Phil Lynott was born in 1949 to a Brazilian father and Irish mother in Birmingham and brought up in Ireland by his grandmother.

He started playing in groups in the Crumlin area of Dublin before forming Thin Lizzy in 1969.

They had an amazing 14 Top 20 hits with tracks including Whiskey In The Jar, Jailbreak and The Boys Are Back in Town.

Songs which included the likes of Dancing in the Moonlight set the band apart from other Irish bands.

After the band broke up, Lynott embarked on a solo career.

Three hundred mourners attended his memorial service on January 9, 1986 at St Elizabeth’s Church in Richmond, Surrey. He was buried in Dublin.

He died intestate leaving an estate valued at £114,000.

In 2005 supporters showed their long-running admiration of the songwriter by funding the erection of the bronze statue almost two-decades after his tragic death.

His mother, Philomena, who unveiled the statue, said: “It really is the proudest day of my life.”

Philomena said it was special feeling to see him on the street again, standing out in one of his favourite haunts city centre haunts.

Hundreds of people lined Harry Street, just off Grafton Street, where the statue was unveiled to rapturous applause.

His devoted mother said his music would leave an everlasting effect.

Thin Lizzy dominated the music scene in their time and the band influenced artists like U2 and The Corrs.

His mother said: “He took a very old ballad The Whiskey in the Jar and gave it a good bit of rocking,” she said.

“I think after that he changed the course of history really. And he opened up great opportunities for all the up and coming young bands.”

Comedian and Generation Game host Larry Grayson died on January 4, 1995, aged 71.

He shunned the glittering world of showbiz parties and never married, living quietly in Nuneaton with his adopted sister and a poodle.

With his catchphrase “Shut that door”, he was regarded as the campest of the camp.

But Grayson always denied being homosexual saying: “I had no interest in sex, none at all. I never slept around.”

Born William White in Banbury in 1923, he was put up for adoption by his unmarried mother Ethel and arrived in Nuneaton at the tender age of 10 days live with his new foster family, Alice and Jim Hammond and their daughters Flo and May.

Sadly, Alice died when young Billy was just six and eldest sister Flo took it upon herself to take special care of her baby brother. She adopted the role of Billy’s mother and their special and very deep relationship led to him thinking and referring to her, as mum for the rest of his life.

He performed around the country’s clubs for 30 years without bursting into national prominence and his health began to suffer.

He suffered three burst ulcers during 1969 and from then on had nervous problems.

Things changed when a young Michael Grade spotted him performing in London and signed him up immediately.

He some television appearances and then his own show, Shut That Door - leading him to being voted Britain’s Funniest Man in the TV Times awards.

He continued working for ITV for more than six years, recording more of his own shows and specials and worked in many of his famous characters, like Slack Alice, Apricot Lil and Everard.

Grayson moved to BBC One in 1978 to front the Generation Game after Bruce Forsyth’s departure and gained a sidekick in Scottish folk singer Isla St Clair.

The show began to pull in 18 million viewers regularly and it was renamed Larry Grayson’s Generation Game as a mark of his success.

When the show was at its peak, Grayson decided to stand down and bade an emotional farewell in 1981.

His final appearance came at the 1994 Royal Variety Performance.