Brian Robertson

Brian David Robertson (born 12 February 1956) is a Scottish rock guitarist, best known as a former member of Thin Lizzy and Motörhead.

Robertson was born in Clarkston, Renfrewshire (now part of East Renfrewshire), where he was educated, attending Eastwood High School in nearby

Newton Mearns, and became a musician.

He studied cello and classical piano for eight years before switching to the guitar and drums.

He played in gigs around his local area with bands like Dream Police, who later evolved into the Average White Band.

In June 1974, Thin Lizzy were auditioning for two new guitarists and a try-out for Robertson was arranged.

Aged 18, Robertson was taken on along with Scott Gorham on the other lead guitar.

He was given the nickname "Robbo" by Phil Lynott to distinguish him from drummer Brian Downey.

The two lead guitarists provided a critical part of Thin Lizzy's signature sound, referred to by critics as their "twin guitar attack".

During his time in the band, Robertson was a contributing member to five studio albums released by Thin Lizzy: Nightlife (1974), Fighting (1975), Jailbreak (1976), Johnny the Fox (1976), Bad Reputation (1977) and a live album Live and Dangerous (1978).

Although frontman, bassist/lead vocalist Phil Lynott was the primary songwriter for Thin Lizzy's material, Robertson contributed a substantial share of songwriting for the band, sometimes collaborating with Lynott and the band.

Nightlife and Bad Reputation were the only records that did not feature his songwriting and he performed only on selected tracks from the latter album.

In Thin Lizzy, the unusual twin harmony lead guitar sound, instigated by Robertson and Gorham, contributed much to the distinctive sound of the band and influenced subsequent bands such as Iron Maiden, Metallica, The Darkness and Velvet Revolver.

Robertson's pioneering, unconventional use of the wah-wah pedal as an extension of the instrument during soloing rather than as a purely rhythmic effect provided a boost to the band as well.

Robertson struggled to deal with Lizzy's newfound fame after the release of the hit single "The Boys Are Back in Town" and the accompanying Jailbreak LP.

He began drinking heavily towards the end of 1976.

A further tour of the US was planned for December 1976, but it had to be cancelled when, on 23 November, Brian Robertson suffered a hand injury when trying to protect fellow Glaswegian, singer and friend Frankie Miller in a fracas at the Speakeasy Club in London.

Miller had been jamming onstage with the reggae band Gonzalez, but had been drunk, offending Gonzalez guitarist Gordon Hunte.

Hunte attacked Miller with a bottle in the dressing room, and Robertson intervened, suffering artery and nerve damage to his hand.

Robertson subsequently broke Hunte's leg, broke the collarbone of another man, and headbutted another, before being hit on the head with a bottle, rendering him unconscious.

Robertson maintains that, contrary to reports at the time, he was not drunk and had only gone to the venue for a meal.

Lynott was angry and replaced Robertson with Gary Moore for another tour of the States in January–March 1977, this time supporting Queen.

While Robertson recuperated from his injury, Lizzy flew to Toronto in May 1977 to record the Bad Reputation album with American producer Tony Visconti, with Gorham ostensibly taking all of the guitar parts.

However, at Gorham's insistence, Lynott allowed Robertson to rejoin the band that June as a guest in Toronto.

Gorham had left the songs "Opium Trail" and "Killer Without a Cause" without solos so that Robertson could contribute; the two also played lead together on one song, "That Woman's Gonna Break Your Heart."

Robertson was fully reinstated for the remainder of 1977 and into 1978, during which the majority of the tapes for the band's well-known double LP Live and Dangerous were recorded.

Robertson had formed Wild Horses along with another Scot, Rainbow bassist Jimmy Bain in 1977, while recovering from his injury.

In July 1978 Robertson finally left the band for good, due to his drink habits once again spiraling out of control, as well as irreconcilable differences with Lynott, and was again replaced by Gary Moore, this time on an official basis.

After his final exit from Thin Lizzy in 1978, he returned to the band.

Achieving only partial success in the UK, the band split up after releasing two albums, Wild Horses (1980) and Stand Your Ground (1981).

In 1980 Robertson was also featured on the Eric Burdon album Darkness Darkness.

In May 1982, Robertson replaced "Fast" Eddie Clarke as the lead guitarist of Motörhead, after Clarke walked out of the band midway through their Iron Fist tour.

"That felt totally uncertain," Robertson later told Classic Rock.

"It only came about because I was helping out some friends and, when they asked me to join officially, I said, 'Okay, but I'm not fucking rewriting the Ace of Spades.'" Following the completion of the tour, Robertson co-wrote and played on the band's sixth studio album, Another Perfect Day, which would prove to be his only studio album with the group.

Robertson's resistance to playing "classic" Motörhead songs live, along with a playing style and a fashion sense (he often sported a headband and leg warmers) that did not fit well with Motörhead's aggressive music and look, resulted in his departure from the band just 18 months after he had joined.

Robertson appeared for one performance of Thin Lizzy's final tour in 1983, alongside other former guitarists.

He was featured on the recording of the tour, Life, appearing on the songs "Emerald" and "The Rocker."

His last appearance with them was at the Metropol in Berlin, on 11 November 1983.

Despite his short-lived tenure, Robertson would feature on three officially released live albums recorded during this time — King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents Motörhead, a partial recording of the band's show at L'Amour in New York on August 10th, 1983, Live 1983, recorded in Sheffield on June 9th, and Live at Manchester Apollo, recorded the day after the Sheffield show.

In 1986 he recorded a cover of "Still in Love with You" as a tribute to Phil Lynott, appearing alongside Bobby Tench.