Take Five: Thin Lizzy’s Biggest Hit Singles in Ireland

While their success on record charts in the U.S. was measured, Thin Lizzy was wildly popular in other countries. Ranked as one of the top acts of the 1970s, the Irish hard rock band led by bassist, singer and songwriter Phil Lynott scored big worldwide. All nine of the group’s albums released between 1976 and 1983 charted in four or more countries. In that same period, Thin Lizzy variously placed 17 singles on charts in Australia, the UK, the U.S., Germany, Canada and their native Ireland.

And Thin Lizzy was especially popular in the land of their birth. The band landed a No. 1 single in Ireland with their second 45 r.p.m. release, and would continue to chart into 1991, placing an impressive 17 songs on the Irish singles chart. Here’s a look at the five most successful singles Thin Lizzy released in their home country.

“Dancing in the Moonlight (It’s Caught Me in Its Spotlight)” from Bad Reputation (1977)
In 1977 Thin Lizzy released Bad Reputation, their eighth studio record. That album earned a Gold Record in the UK, where it reached No. 4 on the album chart. Bad Reputation also charted in Australia, the U.S., Canada, Norway, Sweden and (of course) Ireland. Released as a single from the LP, “Dancing in the Moonlight (It’s Caught Me in Its Spotlight)” peaked at No. 4 on the Irish singles chart.

“Don’t Believe a Word” from Johnny the Fox (1976)
Coming less than seven months after the blockbuster release Jailbreak, Thin Lizzy’s seventh studio album Johnny the Fox would spawn three singles in various countries. The most popular of those was Lynott’s “Don’t Believe a Word.” Featuring the same lineup that made Jailbreak, the single rose to the No. 2 spot in Ireland. The fine song’s only other chart action came in the U.K. where it climbed to No. 12.

“Dedication” from Dedication: The Very Best of Thin Lizzy (1991)
Thin Lizzy was together from 1969 to 1983; at that point the band split. Eight years later, demonstrating the enduring popularity of the group, Thin Lizzy’s record labels (Vertigo in the British Isles, Mercury in the U.S.) put together Dedication: The Very Best of Thin Lizzy. The album featured all previously-released material save one “new” track. Based on new recordings layered atop a 1980 Phil Lynott demo tape made while he was leading Grand Slam, “Dedication” would reach the No. 2 spot in Ireland. Other than a 1991 reissue of “The Boys Are Back in Town” (which also charted in Ireland), “Dedication” would be the final charting single from the group.

“Whiskey in the Jar” (single, 1972)
While Phil Lynott would prove himself a sharp and evocative original songwriter, in the group’s earliest days Thin Lizzy released a rock reading of a traditional Irish song. Written and first recorded by folk heroes The Dubliners, “Whiskey in the Jar” received a powerful new arrangement from Thin Lizzy, earning the band its first charting single in Ireland (or anywhere, for that matter). So popular was the band’s single that it eventually took the No. 1 spot there. While the single didn’t chart in the U.S., it made the Top 40 in Australia, the UK and Germany.

“The Boys Are Back in Town” from Jailbreak (1976)
The breakout hit from Jailbreak, Thin Lizzy’s most popular album, “The Boys Are Back in Town” featured macho yet vividly passionate lyrics that exemplified Phil Lynott’s storytelling approach to song craft. As a single, “The Boys Are Back in Town” made it to No. 12 in the U.S. (the band’s sole Top 40 in the States), No. 8 in Canada and the UK, and the tip-top spot in Ireland.