William Scott Gorham (born March 17, 1951) is an American guitarist and songwriter who is one of the "twin lead guitarists" for the Irish rock band Thin Lizzy. Although not a founding member of Thin Lizzy, he served as a continuous member after passing an audition in 1974, joining the band at a time when its future was in doubt following the departures of original guitarist Eric Bell and his brief replacement Gary Moore. Gorham remained with Thin Lizzy until the band's breakup in 1983. He and guitarist Brian Robertson, both hired at the same time, marked the beginning of the band's most critically successful period, and together developed Thin Lizzy's twin lead guitar style while contributing dual backing vocals as well. Gorham subsequently joined Redeye in 1969 with Siebenberg, and the two joined Benbecula in 1970 before Siebenberg moved to England in 1971.

In 1973 Siebenberg, by then also Gorham's brother-in-law and drummer with Supertramp, convinced Gorham to join him in England, with hope of playing in the same outfit. Thin Lizzy were at the time in a state of flux and reorganization, and while the drummer and bassist remained, two new guitarists were wanted. Brian Robertson, at age seventeen, had already been chosen before Gorham auditioned and joined. The two guitarists shared lead guitar roles, and harmonized with one another, as well as alternately playing rhythm and lead, which led to Thin Lizzy having what was considered a unique sound.

Thin Lizzy

thumb|220px|left|L to R: Phil Lynott with Gorham in a 1978 performance with Thin Lizzy at [[Pinkpop Festival, The Netherlands]]

Upon joining Thin Lizzy, Gorham took on a songwriting role as well as that of a guitarist. "She Knows", the opening track of his first album with the band, Nightlife, began a long songwriting partnership with Lynott. Gorham played all the lead guitar parts for the majority of the songs, including the hit single "Dancing in the Moonlight (It's Caught Me in Its Spotlight)", though he convinced Lynott to bring back Robertson and have him record the solos for the songs "Killer Without a Cause" and "Opium Trail". Gorham was unable to rid himself of the habit until 1985, after the band had split up. 1980 introduced another co-lead guitarist in Snowy White, culminating in the album Chinatown for which Gorham co-wrote two songs. His songwriting contributions increased on the band's next effort, as he was credited with co-writing almost half the songs on the 1981 album Renegade.

Gorham subsequently joined Phenomena II, where he met Leif Johansen (ex-A-ha and Far Corporation) with whom he formed 21 Guns, releasing three albums. He has also played with Asia, the Rollins Band, and Supertramp. Gorham's sister Vicki married Supertramp's drummer Bob Siebenberg.

In 1997, he played guest guitars on the track "I'm Alive" from Psycho Motel's album, Welcome to the World.

Reformation of Thin Lizzy

Gorham reformed Thin Lizzy in 1996 with former band members, playing various tours in tribute to founding singer, songwriter, and bassist Phil Lynott, who died in 1986. The tour was named the 20/20 tour – 20 dates for 20 years. After John Sykes' departure in 2009, Brian Downey, Darren Wharton, and Marco Mendoza rejoined the band. New to the lineup were Def Leppard guitarist Vivian Campbell and former The Almighty vocalist Ricky Warwick. After months of pre-production and two weeks of rehearsals in Los Angeles in November 2010, this version of Thin Lizzy started a world tour in January 2011. Touring continued throughout the year and into 2012, with Campbell eventually being replaced permanently by Damon Johnson.

To coincide with the fortieth anniversary of the release of the Thin Lizzy album Jailbreak, there was a selection of special Thin Lizzy shows in 2016–17. The band consisted of Gorham, Ricky Warwick, Damon Johnson, Darren Wharton, Scott Travis and Tom Hamilton.

Black Star Riders

thumb|Scott Gorham playing with Black Star Riders at The Warfield Theater in San Francisco 4-19-2018

After Johnson joined the band, Gorham stated that the band members were considering recording new material, which would be the first new Thin Lizzy studio recordings since 1983. In December 2012, he co-founded the Thin Lizzy spin-off band Black Star Riders as a vehicle for the new material, rather than release it under the Thin Lizzy name. Black Star Riders' first album All Hell Breaks Loose was released in May 2013.

In June 2013, he won the "Riff Lord Award" at the Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards for his work on the album.

A second Black Star Riders album, The Killer Instinct, was released in 2015, followed by touring throughout the UK and Europe during the remainder of the year. Gorham concentrated on a small number of Thin Lizzy festival appearances during 2016, and also began work on the third Black Star Riders album. Heavy Fire was released in February 2017, and Gorham confirmed his desire to create new music rather than simply continue to play material from his past, stating, "I think it's important if you are a musician, or at least a serious one, that you want to start breaking new ground and not doing the same thing over and over. It's important to keep dipping into that songwriting well."

In September 2021, Gorham announced his departure from Black Star Riders in order to focus on Thin Lizzy.

He rejoined the band in 2023 for the 10 year anniversary tour.

Guitar and equipment

When he joined Thin Lizzy, Gorham was playing a Japanese Les Paul copy, which was quickly deemed not up to standard. He is often associated with a Gibson Les Paul Deluxe guitar with mini humbuckers. This guitar was purchased at the same time as his bandmate Brian Robertson's Deluxe guitar. The two guitars could be distinguished by the fact that Gorham's guitar had a redder finish and lacked a pick-guard. In 1978 he began playing a Les Paul Standard, which became his main guitar until Thin Lizzy broke up in 1983. He can be seen using a Schecter with a Lynott style mirror scratchplate on later videos. Nowadays, Gorham uses only Gibson Axcess Guitars which are lighter and thinner in body width than regular Les Paul guitars, with 100-watt 1970's modded Marshall Amplifiers.

Thin Lizzy cover artist Jim Fitzpatrick has praised Gorham's work, saying, "When I saw the images I was gobsmacked. I still don't think Scott believes that I like them, but I honestly do. He draws very well indeed. His work can be quite disturbing. 'The Fanatic' is extraordinary, and 'Pain' reminds me of Scott himself on stage. God alone knows what's going through his mind when he draws." Of his style, Gorham has said, "All I can say is the way that I draw is complicated."

Personal life

Gorham is married and lives in London. His nephew Jesse Siebenberg is a professional guitarist currently performing with Lissie. His sister, Vickie, married close friend and Supertramp drummer Bob Siebenberg.

Discography

Thin Lizzy

  • Nightlife (1974)
  • Fighting (1975)
  • Jailbreak (1976)
  • Johnny the Fox (1976)
  • Bad Reputation (1977)
  • Live and Dangerous (1978)
  • Black Rose: A Rock Legend (1979)
  • Chinatown (1980)
  • Renegade (1981)
  • Thunder and Lightning (1983)
  • Life (1983)
  • One Night Only (2000)

21 Guns

  • Salute (1992)
  • Nothing's Real (1997)
  • Demolition (2002)

Black Star Riders

  • All Hell Breaks Loose (2013)
  • The Killer Instinct (2015)
  • Heavy Fire (2017)
  • Another State of Grace (2019)

Other albums

  • Pat Travers – Putting It Straight (1977)
  • Phil Lynott – Solo in Soho (1980)
  • Phil Lynott – The Philip Lynott Album (1982)
  • Siebenberg – Giants in Our Own Room (1985)
  • Supertramp – Brother Where You Bound (1985)
  • Phenomena – Phenomena II: Dream Runner (1987)
  • Fisc – Handle with Care (1988)
  • Heads Up – The Long Shot (1989)
  • Air Pavilion – Kaizoku (1989)
  • Asia – Then & Now (1990)
  • Lea Hart – Trapped (1992)
  • True Brits – Ready to Rumble (1992)
  • Phenomena – Phenomena III: Innervision (1993)
  • Far Corporation – Solitude (1994)
  • Max Bacon – The Higher You Climb (1995)
  • Psycho Motel – Welcome to the World (1997)
  • Rollins Band – Get Some Go Again (2000)
  • Steevi Jaimz – Damned if I Do... Damned if I Don't (2001)
  • Max Bacon – From the Banks of the River Irwell (2002)
  • Ricky Warwick – Tattoos & Alibis (2003)
  • The Western Front – Eureka (2026 – recorded 1983–84)

References

  • The Official Black Star Riders website
  • The Scott Gorham Interview (2019) at vintagerock.com