Thin Lizzy guitarist Eric Bell on writing the iconic guitar riff
From left, Phil Lynott, Brian Downey and Eric Bell in February 1973. Photo: Getty
Phil Lynott died in 1986. He was 36. Eric Bell, the former Thin Lizzy guitarist, bumped into him in London by accident a few years before that. They’d once shared a house in Clontarf – but were now virtual strangers after a row after a gig.
“I was passing a shop and saw a black man with an afro. There was a lot of black men in London with afros, but I’d a feeling it was him. We hadn’t spoken in years. I went in and we had a big hug.