March 26, 1976. Irish hard rockers Thin Lizzy, toiling away in their native Ireland, released their sixth studio album, Jailbreak. And break they did.
Books have been written about the early years of Thin Lizzy, so I'll paint in broad strokes. The band's leader and main songwriter, Phil Lynott, was a black Irishman. The band's members early on came from both sides of the Irish border: Catholics and Protestants mixing it up in the early years of The Troubles. And their sound was hard to pin down, with influences ranging from Irish folk to heavy metal.
In short, Thin Lizzy was a band with the deck stacked against them. They were a literal melting pot: multicultural, multiracial, and with multiple facets to their sound, all at a time when these were characteristics you didn't generally find in a rock band, no matter if they were from Ireland or elsewhere.
But they put in the work, starting in the local pub scene and working their way up to bigger venues in Ireland, England, and Europe. And they were animals in the studio. Again, Jailbreak was their sixth album. Any band making it to album six gets credit. But to put out six albums in six years? That's extra credit.
And it was that magical sixth album in that magical sixth year that finally brought the band and their success stateside. Up against it with their record label after poor sales of albums four and five, Thin Lizzy needed a hit. Lucky for them, they wrote the two biggest hits of their career: the album-leading title track and "The Boys Are Back in Town," which led off side two and has gone on to be the band's signature song. The funniest part: the label didn't want to lead with that as a single, claiming it was "too aggressive" and opting for the softer-sounding "Running Back." That one ended up on the b-side of "Jailbreak."
So raise your glass to 45 years of Jailbreak this weekend. Too bad we can't head down to our local and throw on "The Boys Are Back in Town" to celebrate.
