Thin Lizzy met while at school in Dublin in the early 1960s. Lynott, born 20 August 1949 in West Bromwich, England to an Irish mother Philomena (1930– ) and Guyanese father Cecil Parris (1925–2010), was brought up in Dublin from the age of three. Downey, born 27 January 1951, is a Dublin native. Lynott joined a local band, The Black Eagles, as vocalist in 1963, and Downey was recruited as their drummer in 1965. In 1967, Lynott was asked to join Skid Row by bass guitarist Brush Shiels, who brought teenage Belfast guitarist Gary Moore (4 April 1952 – 6 February 2011)
Thin Lizzy There are still certain big festivals that we will do. Thin Lizzy is still on the horizon, we will still go out and do that but in the meantime we have Black Star Riders that we are going to concentrate on also." On 19 January 2016, the band revealed a "half dozen or so" dates in mid-2016 and early 2017 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the band's formation and the 30th anniversary of Lynott's death. Two festival dates were initially confirmed: the Ramblin' Man Fair in Maidstone, Kent on 23 July 2016 - at which Midge Ure once again