Vivian Campbell chooses Thin Lizzy’s Phil Lynott as his Rock God

The Def Leppard guitarist Vivian Campbell, who is also known for his work with Dio and with the band Last In Line, formed by ex-Dio members, chose the late legendary Thin Lizzy bassist and vocalist Phil Lynott as his Rock God. The musician shared his love for the artist in an interview on BBC’s radio show “The Rock Show With Johnnie Walker” (Transcribed by Blabbermouth).

Vivian Campbell chooses Thin Lizzy’s Phil Lynott as his Rock God

“It was such an inspiration to me and to my musician friends. Growing up in Ireland, in Belfast in the ’70s, it wasn’t a fun place. But to witness this band, Thin Lizzy, get this international success, to be on shows like ‘Top Of The Pops’, but yet they were the cool band when everyone else was doing disco music.”

“I met Phil Lynott so many times. I had a band called Sweet Savage. We were teenagers. We had pretty much a regular gig at a pub in Dublin called McGonagles, and on several occasions Phil got up with us and performed a Lizzy song, which obviously really helped our credibility. It really kind of helped us to look up to this man and to this band and to say it’s possible to move beyond what it is that we see around us in our daily lives and to dream big. So thank you, Phil Lynott,” Vivian Campbell said.

Vivian Campbell’s first studio album was with Sweet Savage, released in 1981 and the second one already was as a member of Dio. In the band of the late Rainbow singer, the musician was part of “Holy Diver” (1983), “The Last In Line” (1984) and “Sacred Heart” (1985).

After leaving Dio, Campbell recorded with Whitesnake, Riverdogs and Shadow King before joining Def Leppard in 1992.