NI fans pay tribute to Thin Lizzy

Phil Lynott formed Thin Lizzy in Dublin in 1971

Fans of Irish rock legends Thin Lizzy have been paying tribute to the band at an event in Belfast.

The mother of frontman Phil Lynott travelled to the city to attend a special concert and take part in a show on BBC Radio Ulster.

Philomena Lynott campaigns against drug abuse, which she believes is getting worse.

Phil, 34, died of heart failure in a Wiltshire clinic in January 1986 after years of battling drug addiction.

Thin Lizzy broke up in 1983. Fans around the world have raised money for a statue of Phil to be erected in Dublin's Grafton Street later this year.

His mother said: "Philip loved Belfast - he absolutely loved it - and as a matter of fact, so do I.

What I think made them so unique was the dulcet tones of Philip and that Dublin brogue coming through - you cannot mistake when you hear a Thin Lizzy song Ivan Preston Belfast Guitar Emporium

"I try to tell young people the dangers of drugs - because the drugs killed him.

"He told all his friends not to let me know, and I used to say to Philip: 'Please never take heavy drugs'.

"The drugs are a killer and they are out there. They are in our schools - they are trapping our kids.

"If I can stop one mother going through what I went through, then I can go to my grave happy."

'Twin guitars'

Philomena was guest of honour at Friday night's event in Spring and Airbrake on Belfast's Ormeau Avenue.

The show was organised by Ivan Preston, co-owner of Belfast's Guitar Emporium.

"Thin Lizzy were a massive band in their time and continue to be so," he said.

"They had a very unique sound. They had a unique guitar sound with the twin guitars.

"But what I think made them so unique was the dulcet tones of Philip and that Dublin brogue coming through - you cannot mistake when you hear a Thin Lizzy song."

Last August, Thin Lizzy's Live and Dangerous LP was voted the best live rock album by readers of a music magazine.