| Brian Downey | |
|---|---|
Brian Downey of Thin Lizzy at Aberdeen Music Hall 6th January 2011 |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Brian Michael Downey |
| Born | 27 January 1951 Crumlin, Dublin, Ireland |
| Genres | Hard rock, blues rock, heavy metal |
| Occupations | Musician, songwriter |
| Instruments | Drums, percussion |
| Years active | 1967–present |
| Associated acts | Thin Lizzy, Gary Moore, Phil Lynott |
Brian Michael Downey (27 January 1951,[1] Dublin, Ireland) is an Irish drummer.
Downey is the drummer and a founding member of the rock band Thin Lizzy. In his youth, he met friend, co-founder and bass guitarist Phil Lynott, who attended the same school as did Downey. Along with Lynott, Downey was the only constant founder and member of the pioneering hard rock group until their break-up in 1984.[2] Downey also co-wrote several Thin Lizzy songs. Allmusic critic Eduardo Rivadavia has argued that Downey is "certainly one of the most underrated rock drummers of his generation."[3]
Before forming Thin Lizzy, Downey had been in numerous school bands, beginning with The Liffey Beats, and briefly The Black Eagles (with Lynott). He moved on to performing in a local band, Sugar Shack, and then was persuaded by Lynott to join him in another band, Orphanage.[4] Upon meeting guitarist Eric Bell, the trio formed Thin Lizzy. Although the line-up of musicians within the band changed over the years, with the exception of Lynott, for the next thirteen years Downey remained the only other permanent member of the band, as its drummer, as well as drumming on Lynott's solo albums.
After Lynott's death, Downey played in the tribute Thin Lizzy line-up with John Sykes, Scott Gorham, Darren Wharton and Marco Mendoza, but had been absent from subsequent Thin Lizzy touring bands. He rejoined Thin Lizzy in May 2010, and is touring with the band in 2011, commemorating 25 years since the death of Phil Lynott.
He was a guest at the unveiling of Lynott's statue in 2005, and drummed for Gary Moore at the tribute concert that followed. Downey also appeared on Moore's 2007 album, Close As You Get, and subsequent tour. In November 2008 he left Moore's band to pursue a different musical project.[5] After John Sykes' departure from Thin Lizzy in 2009, guitarist Scott Gorham set to work on creating another line-up of Thin Lizzy. Rejoining him are old band mates Downey, Marco Mendoza, and Darren Wharton. New to the line up is former Def Leppard guitarist Vivian Campbell and former vocalist from The Almighty; Ricky Warwick. After months of pre-production and rehearsals, the world at large was told about this new line-up in May 2010. This version of Thin Lizzy started an extensive world tour in January 2010 and was scheduled to continue for the foreseeable future.
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