The mother of the late Phil Lynott has given a resounding thumbs up to a new tribute album which celebrates the life of her famous rock legend son.
'I Am Just a Cowboy' is a comprehensive collection of spoken words and music from the former front man of Thin Lizzy himself, the band members, friends and Phil's mother.
Philomena Lynott, who lives in Sutton, helped in the initial production of the album which was the brainchild of Irish writer and journalist, John Meaney, and director Chris Hewitt.
Eight tracks on the album, are performed by cover band 'Dizzy Lizzy' whose frontman, H, has an "eerie likeness" to Phil on stage.
John Meaney narrates the story of Thin Lizzy on the album and he describes how he met and received support from Philomena for a project that was close to his heart.
'When I met Philomena in 1996, I was struck by her warmth and friendliness and the amount of time she had for other people,' he recalls. 'The way she helped and advised fans of Philip was almost heroic when you consider what she went through with the loss of her son.'
For her part, Philomena was happy to participate in the project on condition that a certain amount of proceeds from the album were donated to her own labour of love - a statue of Phil she wants carved and placed in Dublin.
'I like the album very much," she said. "I was very happy with the final product which I thought was very highly polished and professionally put together. I thought it was a great idea and 'Dizzy Lizzy' are certainly one of the best tribute bands on the circuit at the moment. However, as close as they get to Thin Lizzy, they could never surpass the original in my opinion - never!'
'I Am Just A Cowboy', a comprehensive collection of spoken words by Phil Lynott, his band members and friends. West Bromwich-born and Dublin-raised Lynott fronted Thin Lizzy, one of the most popular rock bands of the 1970s.
'I Am Just A Cowboy' is produced by Irish journalist John Meaney and Chris Hewitt of Ozit/Orpheus Records and also contains eight tracks by popular tribute band Dizzy Lizzy who will be playing on the night.
Chris Hewitt, who has made a number of spoken word albums on The Sex Pistols and The Doors, told The Irish Post: "Phil is up there with the greats. There is a lot of people who claim to be influenced by him. "He broke the mould in a number of ways: he was a bass player who fronted a band, as well is being the world's famous black Irishman." 'I Am Just A Cowboy' is a must for Thin Lizzy aficionados with enough Phil Lynott anecdotes from the horse's mouth to last a lifetime.
