Editing Thin Lizzy (section)

===The return of Gary Moore (1978–1979)===
[[File:Phil Lynott .jpg|thumb|upright|Phil Lynott in 1978]]
Lynott replaced Robertson with Gary Moore again, and around this time the band loosely joined forces with [[Steve Jones (musician)|Steve Jones]] and [[Paul Cook]] of the [[Sex Pistols]], and also with [[Chris Spedding]] and Jimmy Bain, to form The Greedy Bastards, who played a small number of gigs playing a varied selection of songs. In this way Lynott was able to align his band with the [[punk rock|punk]] movement and avoid being tagged as a 'dinosaur' as many other 1970s rock bands had been.{{sfn|Putterford|1994|p=160}} Other occasional members of The Greedy Bastards included [[Bob Geldof]] and [[Pete Briquette]] of the Boomtown Rats.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thinlizzyguide.com/tours/year/1978.htm |title=Thin Lizzy tour 1978 Thin Lizzy Guide made by Peter Nielsen |access-date=3 July 2017 |publisher=Thin Lizzy Guide |archive-date=23 January 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040123123444/http://www.thinlizzyguide.com/tours/year/1978.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

The band began another tour of the US in August of 1978, followed by a trip to Australia and New Zealand. Brian Downey did not accompany them, having contracted pneumonia and preferring to spend some time in Ireland. He was replaced for the tour by American drummer [[Mark Nauseef]].{{sfn|Bailie|1996|p=141}} On their return, Downey rejoined the band and at the beginning of 1979 they recorded ''[[Black Rose: A Rock Legend]]'' in Paris. The sessions were marked by the increasing drug habits of Lynott and Gorham, and the general presence of drugs around the band.{{sfn|Putterford|1994|p=255}} This also showed in the subject matter on the album, in songs such as "Got to Give It Up". Celtic influences remained, however, particularly in the album closer "Róisín Dubh", a seven-minute medley of traditional Irish songs given a twin guitar rock veneer. Two singles, "[[Waiting for an Alibi]]" and "[[Do Anything You Want To]]", were successful, and the album reached No.&nbsp;2 in the UK.<ref name="UK">{{cite web |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artists/ |title=The Official Charts Company – Thin Lizzy |publisher=[[Official Charts Company]] |access-date=25 June 2008 |archive-date=8 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190508182655/https://www.officialcharts.com/artists/ |url-status=live }}</ref> A third, moderately successful single, "[[Sarah (Thin Lizzy song)|Sarah]]" was Lynott's ode to his new-born daughter.{{sfn|Brooks|2000|p=83}}

However, on 4 July 1979, after playing their [[Day on the Green]] set in [[Oakland, California|Oakland]], Gary Moore abruptly left Thin Lizzy in the middle of another tour. Years later, Moore said he had no regrets about walking out, "but maybe it was wrong the way I did it. I could've done it differently, I suppose. But I just had to leave."{{sfn|Putterford|1994|p=184}} He subsequently pursued his solo career, releasing several successful albums. He had collaborated with Lynott and Downey on his 1978 album ''[[Back on the Streets (Gary Moore album)|Back on the Streets]]'' and the hit single "[[Parisienne Walkways (song)|Parisienne Walkways]]" before leaving Thin Lizzy, and in 1985 he and Lynott teamed up again on the UK No.&nbsp;5 single "[[Out in the Fields (song)|Out in the Fields]]". Gary Moore died of a heart attack in [[Estepona]], Spain, on 6 February 2011, aged 58.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/former-thin-lizzy-guitarist-moore-dies-1.871241 |title=Former Thin Lizzy guitarist Moore dies |date=6 February 2011 |newspaper=The Irish Times |access-date=21 April 2020 |archive-date=26 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200926185204/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/former-thin-lizzy-guitarist-moore-dies-1.871241 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-12391305 |title=Guitarist Gary Moore 'died of heart attack' |date=8 February 2011 |publisher=BBC |access-date=20 June 2018 |archive-date=23 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190123011350/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-12391305 |url-status=live }}</ref>

After Moore's departure, Thin Lizzy continued the tour for a few nights as a trio before Lynott brought in [[Midge Ure]] to replace him on a temporary basis. Ure had prior plans to join [[Ultravox]], but had co-written a song, "Get Out of Here", with Lynott on ''Black Rose: A Rock Legend'', and agreed to help Thin Lizzy complete their touring commitments.{{sfn|Byrne|2006|p=112}} He also contributed guitar parts for ''[[The Continuing Saga of the Ageing Orphans]]'', a compilation album of remixed and overdubbed versions of Eric Bell-era tracks. On their return to the UK, the band were to headline the Reading Festival for the second time on 25 August 1979, but had to cancel due to the disruption within the line-up.{{sfn|Byrne|2006|p=113}}

Before a tour of Japan beginning in September, Lynott decided to bring in another guitarist, [[Dave Flett]], who had played with [[Manfred Mann's Earth Band]], to enable Ure to switch to playing keyboards where necessary. The tour was completed successfully, but the line-up now contained two temporary members, and Lynott was spending a lot of time on projects outside Thin Lizzy, including composing and producing material for other bands, as well as putting together his first solo album, ''[[Solo in Soho]]''.{{sfn|Putterford|1994|p=202}} Lynott also reactivated The Greedy Bastards, who released a one-off Christmas single, "A Merry Jingle", in December 1979 as simply The Greedies. With the group now composed of Lynott, Gorham and Downey with Sex Pistols Jones and Cook, the single reached No.&nbsp;28 in the UK.{{sfn|Brooks|2000|p=89}}