Watch Thin Lizzy’s Awkward Studio Encounter With Cliff Richard: Exclusive
Thin Lizzy and Black Star Riders guitarist Scott Gorham recalled an awkward moment during the recording of Lizzy’s Black Rose album, when Phil Lynott invited straight-edge British pop star Cliff Richard into their studio.
The incident took place in 1979, just as Lizzy were completing work on their ninth studio LP. Richard, who’d had a wholesome image since becoming a star at age 17 in 1958, was working in the same building.
“We were getting towards the end of the album, and Phil says, ‘You know, Cliff is just next door,’” Gorham recalls in the exclusive video below. “‘Why don’t we get him over here and see what he thinks? I’d forgotten about two drug dealers, literally chopping out lines of coke.”
Black Star Riders release their fourth album, Another State of Grace, this week.
“This is the best one we’ve done,” Gorham said when the LP was announced. “There’s sophistication in the writing but some really raw intentions there too. It’s very cool.”
Gorham also talked about new guitarist Christian Martucci and drummer Chad Szeliga. “Anybody who comes into Black Star Riders has to be part of the creative process, or there’s no point in that guy being in the band," he said. "And with Christian and Chad coming in, there’s a really great vibe, and you can feel it on this record. … The first time we all got in a room together, I was really happy with what was going down – it was like Christian and I had been playing together a long time. He’s very creative, and from that first day I knew we were on to something really good.”