Former Thin Lizzy man Darren Wharton recalls life on the road with icon Lynott and making music with famous physicist
14:32, 19 Nov 2025
Thin Lizzy 1980: (left to right) Scott Gorham, Phil Lynott, Snowy White, Darren Wharton, Brian Downey (Image: (Photo by Koh Hasebe/Shinko Music/Getty Images))
DARREN Wharton wants a word with Professor Brian Cox.
“Chip fat?” he says, laughing. “It wasn’t chip fat. Where is he going… I’ll have him for that.”
The former Thin Lizzy man is in Dublin to talk about his January date at the 3Arena celebrating the life of Phil Lynott.
Wharton was just 18 when Lynott asked him to join Lizzy on keyboards, setting him off on the adventure of a lifetime.
When it was over, he started the rock band Dare and hired a young Brian Cox in similar circumstances.
“I always felt that Phil took me under his wing because I was young,” says Wharton.
“And when I first met Brian it reminded me of my first opportunity with Phil.
“I remember Brian’s dad David knocked on my door in Oldham and said, ‘Are you Darren Wharton? I’ve got my son in the car, he plays a bit of keyboard.’
“I looked behind him and sat in the passenger seat was a very young Brian Cox.
“I’d been told by the record label that I had to be the frontman of Dare. So I was looking for someone to take over on keyboards and Brian was the man.”
Cox is now well-known for explaining the wonders of physics with his sprawling scientific shows on BBC. But back in the mid-80s he deferred a place at university for life on the road with Wharton.
“We got on like a house on fire and we did have a lot of conversations about science,” says Wharton. “It wasn’t all like rock and roll.
“We’d sit on the tour bus at night, me and Brian and a few other guys, and we’d discuss the universe.
“I wasn’t surprised Brian ended up being so successful at what he’s doing now.”
Darren Wharton and his band Dare with a young Brian Cox (far right) are joined by Scott Gorham for a photo in 1991(Image: Darren Wharton/Dare)
Cox spoke about his Dare experience on Desert Island Discs and described his awe at going from school studies to stadium rock alongside Wharton.
It was the era of poodle perms and leather trousers and that’s where the chip fat comes in.
“It was suntan oil,” Wharton says, laughing at Cox’s suggestion that he used to cover himself in cooking oil before gigs.
“I used to put a little bit of oil on before going on stage, only because it looked good under the lights.
“I spoke to Brian a couple of weeks ago. He’s got a new series and he used one of my songs called The Raindance on the programme.
“He was discussing the rings around Saturn and comparing it to a vinyl album. The album he used was Dare’s Out Of The Silence and while he was discussing it in the background was The Raindance.”
Cox also chose a song Wharton wrote about Lynott as one of his eight tracks on Desert Island Discs.
“I wrote the song the week Phil died,” says Wharton.
“The idea for King Of Spades came from Lizzy’s Fighting album. On the inside sleeve, Brian Downey’s got a club by his picture, Robbo (Brian Robertson) has a diamond, Scott (Gorham) has a heart and Phil has a spade.
“I always thought it was really cool and it was just my tribute to Phil. I’ve been playing that song for 40 years. It’s always moving when we play it. It’s one of the most loved by our fans.
“It was also one of the songs which got us a record deal. So Phil was sort of helping me out even then.”
Phil Lynott of Thin Lizzy performs, Chicago, Illinois, November 5, 1977. (Image: (Photo by Paul Natkin/Getty Images))
Wharton was still a teenager when Lynott asked him to join Thin Lizzy in 1980.
He auditioned one afternoon in Manchester around the time the band were recording Chinatown. Wharton nailed the song’s intro first time and suddenly he was on tour with one of the biggest rock bands in the world.
“Two weeks later I walked on the stage in Norway to 12,000 people screaming,” he says.
“Explosions going off, sirens going off and Phil and Scott running to the front. It was magic.
“Scott used to say, ‘Hey Daz, every night’s a Saturday night.’ And it was. Wherever we went, it was just rock ‘n’ roll, champagne, sold-out gigs. It was amazing. I was a lucky guy.”
There was football too and the fact Wharton was a Manchester United fan was a major plus with Lynott.
“Thank God I’m a Man United fan because he was quite passionate about United,” says Wharton. “I remember having a kickabout with Phil in some car park before some gig.
“But the trouble was we were all in our rock gear. You know, tight jeans and all!”
Wharton’s keyboard playing helped Lynott develop a new sound in the early 1980s, first with Lizzy and then on the Dubliner’s solo albums.
He even moved in with Lynott for a short period and ended up recording the most famous piano solo in Irish rock history on Old Town.
“I was living with Phil at the time in Kew Gardens,” says Wharton. “I remember Brian Ferry was in the same studio at the time doing Avalon.
“So Brian Ferry was wandering about, Dio was wandering about — Ronnie James Dio — I got to meet some great people doing that.”
Darren Wharton (Image: (Photo by Harry Herd/Redferns))
Amazingly, Old Town never charted in Ireland or Britain, only reaching No46 in the Netherlands.
But it has become the capital city’s unofficial national anthem because of the iconic video featuring Lynott at various Dublin landmarks.
“I was back in Manchester when he was doing the video. I think we were getting ready to go on tour with Lizzy. I had no idea it was going be such a big song,” says Wharton.
“I was slightly disappointed when The Corrs didn’t put the piano solo on their cover version. I would have loved the call to play it.”
January’s tribute show falls on the 40th anniversary of Lynott’s death and Wharton will be joined on stage by Eric Bell, Ricky Warwick, Marco Mendoza, Richard Fortus and Laurence Archer to play Lizzy’s greatest hits.
The RTE Concert Orchestra and the National Children’s Choir are also on the line-up and there are strong rumours Andrea Corr is due to appear for Old Town.
It could be a chance for Wharton to finally perform that piano solo live in the old town itself.
“Well… I’d have to brush up,” he says, laughing. “But if there’s a piano there, I’d give it a go.”
Get the tanning oil on standby.
■ Darren Wharton’s Renegade plus special guests comes to Dublin’s 3Arena on January 4
