About the Vibe for philo

Vibe for Philo 2014 Artwork

Part Celebration, part Wake, part Convention, the Vibe for Philo was an annual commemoration of all aspects of Phil Lynott's career, from more obscure outings such as the Three Musketeers to the classic Live and Dangerous era. From it's humble roots in a pub's backroom it grew into an internationally recognized event drawing an audience from five continents and became a mecca for anyone with an interest in Phil Lynott or Thin Lizzy.

Past participants read like a who's who of Irish music, with numerous international acts also gracing the Vibe Stage.

Virtually every guitar-slinger to strap on a Les Paul and ride the Lizzymobile has performed, and many of Lynott's old bands from Orphanage to Grand Slam have reformed for one-off performances.

The full reunion of Thin Lizzy on the 10th anniversary was a particular highlight. Philomena Lynott (Philip's mother), Eric Bell, Brian Robertson, Brian Downey, Scott Gorham, John Sykes, Darren Wharton, Midge Ure, Jim Fitzpatrick, Brush Shiels - the list goes on....

The showcase slot has produced some memorable performances including then unknowns such as Damien Dempsey, Leanne Hart, Conor McGouran and Paddy Casey.

Taking it's cue from the late 60's / early 70s 'Vibes' or 'Happenings' it celebrates how Lynott easily strode the worlds of Folk, Punk, Rock, and beyond, and mixes rare video footage, dance, and poetry, with interpretive performances and the best tributes on the planet. It has inspired similar shows in London, New York, Stockholm, Tokyo, LA, Copenhagen, and other cities around the world and ran for 37 years.

Latest News (July 2023)

Past Vibes info has now been added as far back as 1990, but there's a shortage of info, and most definitely a shortage of images. If you have any pics squirreled away in your attic that you think the world should see, get in touch with us and we'll make it happen.

A work in Progress!

Now that we have an updated website to work with, the next stage is to document each of the 36 Vibe's for Philo in some way, working our way backwards (so far we're back to 1990 - further than we got with the previous site).

It's a bit of a challenge though, as we only have info on a select number of Vibes, and this is also compounded by the fact that we were helped out by some very talented photographers on our pic galleries only in later years, so there is a serious lack of live shots as we head backwards through the years. You may have live pics gathering dust in the attic, or a lineup for a particular year that we can publish here?

From time to time, we will post a request in this section ( and also on our official Facebook page ) to appeal for help with this - working on a particular year at a time.

So keep an eye out either here or on the Facebook page for more up to date info on our quest to record a piece of Rock n' Roll history!

Robbie

Vibe for Philo
Past Vibes

Visit the Vibe Archive

The Vibe archive is growing all the time and will continue to do so over the coming year. Check it out now!

Past Vibes