Thin Lizzy Announce Career-Spanning, Rarities-Filled ‘Rock Legends’ Box

In celebration of 50 years of Thin Lizzy, Universal have announced the Rock Legends box set, the first instalment of an archive release programme for the Irish rock staples. The news comes on what would have been the 71st birthday of frontman Phil Lynott, born on August 20, 1949, and the debut of the trailer for the upcoming documentary on his life, Songs For While I’m Away.

The box set, to be released on October 23, is a six-CD, one DVD Super Deluxe Edition containing a mammoth 99 tracks in total. Seventy-four of these are previously unreleased and 83 of them have never been available on CD or to stream.

The material embraces Lizzy’s entire career and has been newly mastered by Andy Pearce. The wide array of unreleased material include demos, radio sessions, live recordings and rare single edits. The tracklisting for Rock Legends has been compiled by Thin Lizzy’s celebrated guitarist Scott Gorham along with band expert Nick Sharp. It embraces a collection of newly-discovered tapes, most of which have never been heard.

A wealth of extras

The box set will be housed in a 10” x 6” slipcase, and as well as the six CDs it contains a DVD with the hour-long BBC documentary Bad Reputation. Also featured is Lizzy’s performance on the Rod Stewart A Night on the Town television special of 1976.

Other treats in the set include replicas of the band’s tour programmes, bound into a hardback book; the much sought-after Phil Lynott poetry books; four prints by Lizzy cover artist Jim Fitzpatrick; and a book featuring quotes by all the members of the band about their experiences playing with Phil Lynott and Thin Lizzy.

The book also highlights numerous stars from the world of music and beyond talking about their love of Thin Lizzy. They include Slash, Lemmy, Joe Elliot, Geddy Lee, James Hetfield, Ian Gillan, Henry Rollins, Billy Corgan, Bobby Gillespie, Craig Finn and tennis stars John McEnroe and Pat Cash.

Rock Legends is released on October 23. Pre-order it here.

The full Rock Legends Super Deluxe Edition tracklist is:

Previously unreleased*
Previously unavailable on CD and streaming**

CD ONE The Singles
Whiskey in The Jar – 7″ Edit
Randolph’s Tango – Radio Edit**
The Rocker – 7″ Edit
Little Darling – 7″ Single
Philomena – 7″ Single
Rosalie – 7″ Mix**
Wild One – 7″ Single
The Boys Are Back in Town – 7” Edit**
Jailbreak – 7” Edit**
Don’t Believe A Word – 7″ Single
Dancing in The Moonlight – 7″ Single
Rosalie / Cowgirl’s Song – 7″ Single
Waiting for An Alibi – Extra Verse
Do Anything You Want To – 7″ Single
Sarah – 7″ Single
Chinatown – 7” DJ/Radio Edit**
Killer on the Loose – 7″ Single
Trouble Boys – 7″ Single
Hollywood (Down on Your Luck) – 7” Edit**
Cold Sweat – 7″ Single
Thunder and Lightning – 7” Edit**
The Sun Goes Down – 7” Remix**

CD TWO Decca Rarities
The Farmer – Debut 7″ single
I Need You – Debut 7″ single B-side**
Whiskey in The Jar – Extended Version Rough Mix*
Black Boys on The Corner – Rough Mix*
Little Girl in Bloom – US Single Promo Edit*
Gonna Creep Up on You – Acetate*
Baby’s Been Messin’ – Acetate*
1969 Rock + Intro – RTE Radio Eireann Session 16 January 1973*
Buffalo Gal + Intro – RTE Radio Eireann Session 16 January 1973*
Suicide + Intro – RTE Radio Eireann Session 16 January 1973*
Broken Dreams + Intro – RTE Radio Eireann Session 16 January 1973*
Eddie’s Blues/Blue Shadows + Intro – RTE Radio Eireann Session 16 January 1973*
Dublin + Intro – RTE Radio Eireann Session 16 January 1973*
Ghetto Woman – RTE Radio Eireann Session 04 January 1974*
Things Ain’t Working Out Down at The Farm – RTE Radio Eireann Session 04 January 1974*
Going Down – RTE Radio Eireann Session 04 January 1974*
Slow Blues – RTE Radio Eireann Session 04 January 1974*

CD THREE Mercury Rarities
Rock and Roll with You – Instrumental Demo*
Banshee – Demo*
Dear Heart – Demo*
Nightlife – Demo*
Philomena – Demo*
Cadillac – Instrumental Demo*
For Those Who Love to Live – Demo*
Freedom Song – Demo*
Suicide – Demo*
Silver Dollar – Demo*
Jesse’s Song – Instrumental Demo
Kings Vengeance – Demo*
Jailbreak – Demo*
Cowboy Song – Demo*

CD FOUR Mercury Rarities
The Boys Are Back in Town – Demo*
Angel from The Coast – Demo*
Running Back – Demo*
Romeo and The Lonely Girl – Demo*
Warriors – Demo*
Emerald – Demo*
Fool’s Gold – Demo*
Weasel Rhapsody – Demo*
Borderline – Demo*
Johnny – Demo*
Sweet Marie – Demo*
Requiem for A Puffer (aka Rocky) – Alternate Vocal, “Rocky He’s A Roller”*
Killer Without A Cause – Demo*
Are You Ready – Demo*
Blackmail – Demo*
Hate – Demo*

CD FIVE Mercury Rarities
S & M – Demo*
Waiting for An Alibi – Demo*
Got to Give It Up – Demo*
Get Out of Here – Demo*
Roisin Dubh (Black Rose) A Rock Legend – Demo*
Part One: Shenandoah*
Part Two: Will You Go Lassie Go*
Part Three: Danny Boy*
Part Four: The Mason’s Apron*
We Will Be Strong – Demo*
Sweetheart – Demo*
Sugar Blues – Demo*
Having A Good Time – Demo*
It’s Going Wrong – Demo*
I’m Gonna Leave This Town – Demo*
Kill – Demo*
In the Delta – Demo*
Don’t Let Him Slip Away – Demo*

CD SIX Chinatown Tour 1980
Are You Ready? – Hammersmith Day 2 (29/05/1980) *
Hey You – Hammersmith Day 2 (29/05/1980)*
Waiting for An Alibi – Hammersmith Day 2 (29/05/1980) *
Jailbreak – Hammersmith Day 2 (29/05/1980)*
Do Anything You Want to Do – Hammersmith Day 2 (29/05/1980)*
Don’t Believe A Word – Tralee (12/04/1980) *
Dear Miss Lonely Hearts – Hammersmith Day 2 (29/05/1980)*
Got to Give It Up – Hammersmith Day 3 (30/05/1980)*
Still in Love with You – Hammersmith Day 3 (30/05/1980)*
Chinatown – Hammersmith Day 3 (30/05/1980)*
The Boys Are Back in Town – Hammersmith Day 3 (30/05/1980)*
Suicide -Hammersmith Day 3 (30/05/1980)*
Sha La La – Hammersmith Day 2 (29/05/1980)*
Rosalie – Hammersmith Day 2 (29/05/1980)*
Whiskey in The Jar – Hammersmith Day 3 (30/05/1980)*

DVD
Night On The Town – Rod Stewart LWT TV Special Broadcast October 24, 1976
Four songs never before commercially released recorded for a Rod Stewart TV special in 1976.
Jailbreak
Emerald
The Boys Are Back in Town
Rosalie / Cowgirl’s Song

Bad Reputation documentary
Never before commercially released 60-minute documentary made by Linda Brusasco and first broadcast on BBC4 in September 2015.

Listen to the best of Thin Lizzy on Apple Music and Spotify.