In 2011, a year following the release of Huey Lewis And The News’ album ‘Soulsville,’ Huey Lewis spoke with The Austin Chronicle about his career with the band and as a solo artist. At some point in the chat, he revealed Phil Lynott to be his mentor in his early years by talking about the late singer’s band, Thin Lizzy, by saying:
“That was a hard rock band. And, of course, the reason was he was such a sweet man. He was such a lovely guy. He was an amazing guy, Philip. He was really my mentor. He was really the guy that convinced me I could do it on my own.”
About the things Lynott did for him, he went on:
“He would dress me out of his closet, Philip. He was that kind of guy. He’d say [with an Irish accent], ‘Huey, come here. Wot? Wot? Take off the shoes, fer chrissakes.’ He put me in the closet and start dressing me. ‘Put this on. Here, let me see you. Look at that!’ [Laughs] ‘Haaaaah, look at that!’ Crazy shit. He was unbelievable.”
Lewis also mentioned the effect of the singer’s work on him:
“The way he ran his band was very, very interesting too. And how he responded to reviews and negative reviews. I just learned so much from Philip I can’t tell you. He was really the single most important influence in my deal. He taught me everything. And he was so sweet about it. He was so good.”
According to The News vocalist, their first meeting went as follows:
“When I first met him, we opened for Thin Lizzy – Clover did. We’re behind the curtain, and it’s Manchester, Free Trade Hall. These rough-assed kids, all-male – a few girls, but mostly guys – and the curtain’s down, and you hear this [stomping noises], ‘Lizz–zee, Lizz-zee!’ Right? [Laughs] And the curtain goes up – we’re billed as support. ‘Ladies and gentlemen, Clover!'”
Revealing Lynott’s advice after the show, he added:
“All we could do is get through the songs without being booed, and that was successful! At the end of every show, Philip would be there on the last song. He’d say, ‘Huey, that was gud, man. ‘Bad is Bad’ was gud tonight, man. That was gud.’ He’d say, ‘I’d do that one a little earlier, man. Yeah. Hit ’em earlier with that one.’ He’d give me little tips and stuff. He was sweet.”
After Clover’s performance for Thin Lizzy, the two artists remained friends and collaborated on an album in 1980. Huey Lewis played harmonica for Lynott’s album, ‘Solo In Soho,’ and they came together again in 1985 for other projects.
According to Lewis’ interview with Songfacts, they got into the studio to record three tracks shortly before Lynott’s death but couldn’t complete them as the late singer had to go back to Britain.
As those songs remained unreleased through the years, Lewis expressed his love for Lynott’s other pieces in his past interviews. In fact, he once told Classic Rock that Thin Lizzy’s ‘The Boys Are Back In Town’ made him cry, explaining:
“The reason I say that is because I miss my pal Phil Lynott, and that’s what makes me cry. Phil was important to me. He helped me in many different ways. He taught me what popularity was going to be like, how to be a bandleader, how to deal with press, fans, record companies, the whole bit. He was a mentor to me, and I think about him still. He was one of the greats.”
You can check out Huey Lewis’ words about Phil Lynott here and listen to a part of their performance in the video below.
