Legitimate or Cover Bands?

[Tiny Tim]

Yup, it was Green's band until he pulled a Syd Barret. And it seems to me that he was on more than 3 albums, btw.

Three studio albums. Mick and John didn't hire another guy and go out on tour repeatedly playing only songs from Peter Green records either. They forged ahead and eventually made a body of work that overshadows the Green period in the minds of most of the record buying public.


If Phil Lynott had dropped out of Lizzy after the third record and Bell and Downey had continued to make new reocrds of original material, we wouldn't be having this discussion. Scott Gorham's Thin Lizzy tribute band has had 25 years to put a new record out.

 

[Tattoo'd Lady]

Three studio albums. Mick and John didn't hire another guy and go out on tour repeatedly playing only songs from Peter Green records either. They forged ahead and eventually made a body of work that overshadows the Green period in the minds of most of the record buying public.


If Phil Lynott had dropped out of Lizzy after the third record and Bell and Downey had continued to make new reocrds of original material, we wouldn't be having this discussion. Scott Gorham's Thin Lizzy tribute band has had 25 years to put a new record out.

yes! this is exactly my point! the Thin Lizzy tribute didn't attempt to make any new or great music after phil died to try to continue the band. they just toured playing the songs he wrote. Fleetwood Mac is totally different!

 

[METALPRIEST]

No, Peter Green is not a good example at all. Peter Green played on only the first three Feetwood Mac records. Phil Lynott played and sang on every Thin Lizzy record except the posthumous live record the tribute version released.

Peter Green never wrote or co-wrote more then half the songs on any Mac record he participated in. Aside from a handful of covers, Lynott wrote or co-wrote every Thin Lizzy track ever recorded.

Peter Green isn't dead.

As for the name, Fleetwood comes from Mick Fleetwood, Mac comes from John McVie. So unless Eric Bell was born Lizzy Bell or Eric Thin, you have no point.

So back to my question.

If Phil was alive today it would be okay?

If Phil had quit and this line up existed and recorded new music it would be okay and they wouldn't be a cover band?

These existing members are not legitimate storytellers as Soot had pointed out to pass down the songs,story and history?

Who else is qualified?

 

[Tattoo'd Lady]

yeah they're storytellers and they pass down the music but it doesn't make them Thin Lizzy

 

[flipflop]

Depends upon how you want to count them. Fleetwood Mac released these three U.K. studio albums with Peter Green:

1968 Fleetwood Mac
1968 Mr. Wonderful
1969 Then Play On

There were however an additional three albums released on this side of the Atlantic:

1969 English Rose
1969 The Pious Bird of Good Omen
1969 Fleetwood Mac in Chicago /Blues Jam in Chicago, Vols. 1-2

Yup, that'd be the ones I was thinking of

 

[METALPRIEST]

yeah they're storytellers and they pass down the music but it doesn't make them Thin Lizzy

Sure it does...just not the Thin Lizzy that most of us like.

Are you saying that Scott Gorham and Sykes were never in Thin Lizzy?

Are you also saying that Scott didn't write any music?

You don't believe that they claim to have written most of the music with little starter ideas from Phil?? (This is on an official DVD)

Just checking...for the record I never paid too much attention to this new Thin Lizzy though you may have....but I'm just answering the question which is the topic of this thread.

Not a "cover" band.

Has the band ever said this "wasn't" a tribute to Phil ever?

 

[Tattoo'd Lady]

i go back to the same question you've never answered, would you go see Ringo and three random musicians and say they are legitimately the Beatles?

yeah Scott wrote music for the band but Phil wrote the vast majority of lyrics. even fellow members would say its hardly Thin Lizzy without Phil. while they may not be a cover band, they are certainly not Thin Lizzy without the guy who played on every album and was so important to their sound.

by touring with the name Thin Lizzy they are implying they are the legitimate Thin Lizzy. have they toured as this with just a name change then the problem would be solved. but this band touring is not a legitimate representation of Thin Lizzy without their most important member

legalities aside...
is T.Rex still T.Rex without Marc Bolan?
Are the Rolling Stones still the Rolling Stones without Keith and Mick?
Would Mitch Mitchell and Noel Redding be the Jimi Hendrix Experience?
or what about the Mothers of Invention without Frank Zappa?

 

[TheFeldster]

Bill Haley's Comets still tour occassionally, as do Buddy Holly's Crickets from memory. Not big tours like they used to, and I think the only remnant from Haley's era left in the Comets is the Drummer, but nonetheless, they still call themselves the Comets.

I personally don't have a problem with that, they admit it's as a tribute to their frontmen (RIP) and even if it isn't as good as it used to be, it's the best that is available.

On the Beatles, it's kind of a dodgy area as the Beatles have been legally dissolved, but if Paul had gone through with his plan to add Billy Preston into the band, replace John after he left shortly after Abbey Road, bring Eric Clapton in as a guitarist when George walked out one time... those event would not have made a different band, it would still be the Beatles. It would just be an inferior Beatles combination to the John, Paul, George and Ringo combination. That's how I see it, anyway.

 

[METALPRIEST]

i go back to the same question you've never answered, would you go see Ringo and three random musicians and say they are legitimately the Beatles?

yeah Scott wrote music for the band but Phil wrote the vast majority of lyrics. even fellow members would say its hardly Thin Lizzy without Phil. while they may not be a cover band, they are certainly not Thin Lizzy without the guy who played on every album and was so important to their sound.

by touring with the name Thin Lizzy they are implying they are the legitimate Thin Lizzy. have they toured as this with just a name change then the problem would be solved. but this band touring is not a legitimate representation of Thin Lizzy without their most important member

They didn't imply anything.

Would I care to see Ringo as The Beatles?? Nope not really.

I'm glad we finally see eye to eye that they are not a "cover" band...but I believed I answerd the question if they were a cover band or legit.

OK...I'll go further. Legit...If Lizzy or anyone is in accordance with law or with established legal forms and requirements than they are "legitimate".

Does it mean that any one person has to like it? Nope.

Now if we're talking 3 guys in a garage from say..Nebraska formed a Thin Lizzy tribute band and let's say the closest thing you had to Thin Lizzy was that one member used to be a next door neighbor of Brian Downey than this would indeed be a cover band or a band that is NOT legitimate (and there would be a better point here in the OP).

See?? But I'm not going to dispute the fact that many people dislike new Thin Lizzy...nor will I imply that it may be the right thing to do.

However nothing in this thread has proven to me that it's not legit or a cover band.

It's common sense and I don't see why the topic upsets people so. It's an easy answer to figure out.

Is Thin Lizzy even still doing this since Sykes quit anyway?? Not sure.

 

[Tattoo'd Lady]

but are they legitimately the Beatles? what if Pete Best took random musicians and got the right legal papers and toured as the beatles? would you say that is a legit lineup of the beatles?

or, hypothetically, what if some bored billionaire (with nothing to do with the band) bought the rights to the entity of Thin Lizzy and got three friends together and they toured as Thin Lizzy?

yeah these are just hypothetical situations but they fall in line with what you claim to be a legit band. all you need is the right legal paperwork and the rights to the name and you can be a legit lineup of that band which i think is pretty absurd