The Goo 1
Interview ERIC BELL - Thin Lizzy Unplugged Oran O
’Beirne caught up with legendary Thin Lizzy guitarist, Eric Bell to delve deep into the new ‘Acoustic Sessions’ album… Had someone told me that I’d be writing about a new Lizzy album in 2025, I’d have called them insane! However, with the news of Thin Lizzy’s first acoustic album, available from January 24th via Decca Records, ‘Acoustic Sessions’ will be the first new Thin Lizzy album in over forty years, I was granted some time with original guitarist and founding Thin Lizzy member, Eric Bell to discuss how this all came about…. Eric greets me with an upbeat, chipper tone as we settle down for our conversation about this surprising new addition to the Thin Lizzy discography. I figured the best place to start would be to find out 10 how the idea of re-working some old school classic “Lizzy” tracks came about…. “Well, it all started about seven months ago off the back of a promo event for the remastered edition of ‘Vagabonds…’ in Dublin” he explains. “A couple of guys from Universal Records reached out to me about three months after that event and asked me if I’d be interested in doing some acoustic versions of some early Lizzy tracks. Without much hesitation, I said “yes” and within weeks of that discussion, 'Oh Yeah Music Centre’ in Belfast was booked for the recording sessions. When I got to the studio, there were three or four acoustic guitars for me to try out and without any pomp or circumstance, we just started working on the tracks”, he says laughing. As he tells me about the feelings he had when he found himself listening to Phil’s original vocal stems in the headphones, I ask if the memories and nostalgia instantly came flooding back at that moment… “Yes, when I heard Phil’s voice coming through my headphones, it was like it was fifty years ago in the blink of an eye. So many memories came flooding back at that moment, and to be honest, it kind of took me by surprise” he admits.