Ex-Lead Singer for Thin Lizzy Dies at 35
LONDON — Phil Lynott, former lead singer of the rock group Thin Lizzy, died of heart failure and pneumonia Saturday, a hospital spokesman said. He was 35.
The Irish-born singer had been hospitalized since he collapsed Christmas Day at his West London home. Doctors at Salisbury Infirmary said he was treated for an infection of the kidneys and liver in the intensive care unit.
Thin Lizzy was formed in Dublin in 1970, and Lynott rose to fame with the group as it scored its first hit in 1971 with a version of the Irish folk song “Whisky in the Jar.”
The group became highly popular in the late ‘70s with such successes as “Boys Are Back in Town” and “Waiting for an Alibi.” Thin Lizzy had more than 20 hits before disbanding in 1984.
Lynott started a solo career that was not a great success, although he was back on the charts early last summer with “Out in the Field,” a record made with another former Thin Lizzy star, Gary Moore.
He was one of rock music’s controversial stars, with several convictions for drug offenses.
Lynott was also the author of three books of poetry.
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