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 of time on projects outside Thin Lizzy, including composing and producing material for other bands, as well as putting together his first solo album, "Solo in Soho". Lynott also reactivated The Greedy Bastards, who released a one-off Christmas single, "A Merry Jingle", in December 1979 as simply The Greedies. With the group now composed of Lynott, Gorham and Downey with Sex Pistols Jones and Cook, the single reached no. 28 in the UK. While Lynott searched for a permanent guitarist, he and the other members of Thin Lizzy, past and present, worked on "Solo in Soho" which was released in