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Biography
Use mdy dates|date=May 2012Infobox musical artist | name = Scott Gorham| image = Scott-Gorham-Cropped.jpg| caption = Gorham performing with Thin Lizzy Milan, Italy October 6, 2008| landscape = no| background = solo_singer| birth_name = William Scott Gorham| birth_date = Birth date and age|1951|3|17|mf=y| birth_place = Glendale, California | genre = Rock, blues-rock , hard rock , Heavy metal music|heavy metal | label = Vertigo Records|Vertigo | occupation = Musician, songwriter| instrument = Guitar, bass guitar, vocals| associated_acts = Thin Lizzy , The Greedies, 21 Guns , Phenomena (band)|Phenomena | years = 1974 – present| website = URL | http://scottgorham.com/ |scottgorham.com| notable_instruments = Gibson Les Paul|Gibson Les PaulDeluxe Scott Gorham (born William Scott Gorham on March 17, 1951 in Glendale, California ) is an American guitarist and songwriter who rose to international recognition as one of the "twin lead guitarists" of the Irish-formed rock band, Thin Lizzy . Although not a founding member of Thin Lizzy, he is best known for his continuous membership after passing an audition and joining the band during a time when the band was on hiatus after the departure of guitarist Eric Bell . Gorham remained in the band after joining in 1974 through the band's breakup in 1984. 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 the "twin lead guitar" makeup of the band that distinguished its sound with dual backing vocals as well. Gorham was the band member with the longest membership after founders Brian Downey (drummer) and frontman and bass guitarist, Phil Lynott .
Since 1996 onward, with a different lineup, Gorham has continued to perform with Thin Lizzy on guitar and backing vocals, and, as in years past, he has contributed to the band with songwriting material written or co-written with other band members.
Career
Early years
Scott Gorham was raised in California, and began his musical career at 13, learning to play the bass guitar, and joining several local teenage bands. He switched instruments when a guitarist in his then-current band, a close friend of his, Steve Schrage (at age 18) died in a motorcycle crash in Glendale in 1968. Gorham's friend (and bandmate in a number of bands) Bob Siebenberg later recalled, "That incident devastated Scott. He decided the very day that he heard about the accident to take this kid's place, to try to get to where this kid would have eventually gotten to. Scott stunned everybody by dropping the bass, which he was very proficient at, and switching to guitar."Cite book|last=Melhuish|first=Martin|title=The Supertramp Book|place=Toronto, Canada|publisher=Omnibus Press|year=1986|isbn=0-9691272-2-7|pages=47–55|ref=harv|postscript=
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. Gorham didn't find work with his friend, but did attend auditions being held by Phil Lynott , the band's primary songwriter, and one of the founders of Thin Lizzy, in 1974. The band members were at the time in a state of flux and reorganization, and while the drummer and bassist remained, only two new guitarists were wanted. Brian Robertson , at age seventeen was chosen along with Gorham. 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
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 (Thin Lizzy album)|Nightlife , began a long songwriting partnership with Lynott. They co-wrote two songs for Gorham's next album with the band, Fighting (Thin Lizzy album)|Fighting , and Gorham contributed one of his own, "Ballad of a Hard Man". This was to be the only Thin Lizzy song that was credited solely to Gorham. His role in the band remained consistent until the recording of 1977's Bad Reputation (Thin Lizzy album)|Bad Reputation album, for which Brian Robertson was largely absent.Citation needed|date=July 2011 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)".
When Gary Moore replaced Robertson in 1979, Gorham took the new arrival as the impetus to improve his own playing, as he did with all his subsequent guitar partners in the band. Ironically, at the same time, however, illicit drug use became more prevalent and within the band, Gorham and Lynott both developed addictions to heroin, with a negative impact on the creativity and musical quality on the band. Gorham was unable to rid himself of the habit until 1985, after the band had split up. However, his songwriting contributions increased in the later years of the band, and he was credited with co-writing almost half the songs on the 1981 album Renegade (Thin Lizzy album)|Renegade . Thin Lizzy split up in 1983.
Phemonena II and 21 Guns
After Thin Lizzy broke up, Gorham joined Phenomena II , where he met Leif Johansen (ex A-HA, Phenomena, Far Corporation) with whom he formed 21 Guns (band)|21 Guns , which has released three albums. He has also played with Asia (band)|Asia , the Rollins Band , and Supertramp . Gorham's sister Vicki married Supertramp's drummer Bob Siebenberg . Siebenberg, Patrick Landreville and Gorham were members of the 1960s improvisational rock band RHS.
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 (band)|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 . Gorham has also stated that the band members were considering recording new material, which would be the first new Thin Lizzy studio recordings since 1983.cite web |url= http://www.nme.com/news/thin-lizzy/61238 |title=700 unreleased Thin Lizzy songs discovered |date=January 4, 2012 |accessdate=February 8, 2012 |work=NME
Guitar and equipment
Initially, Gorham used a Gibson Les PaulDeluxe guitar with mini humbucker s. He then bought a '59 Les Paul in Boston, which became his main guitar until Thin Lizzy broke up in 1984. He can be seen using a Fender lead 3 with a Lynott style mirror scratchplate on later videos. Nowadays, Gorham uses a Fender Stratocaster guitar with 100-watt 1970's modded Marshall Amplification|Marshall Amplifiers . Even before Thin Lizzy split up, Gorham started using Fender Stratocasters, but reverted back to his Gibson Les Paul in 2006. For the Thin Lizzy 2011 tour of the UK, Gorham has said that he will be returning to usage of a Gibson Les Paul, this time using a Les Paul Axcess as his main tour guitar. In an interview with Guitarist magazine he said that he had made contact with Gibson Custom Shop and had used it during rehearsals. The Axcess is different to normal Les Pauls in the fact it makes use of a Floyd Rose tremolo and also has a thinner body among other features. Gorham's Axcess has a thinner neck than the normal models as well as a 500T pickup in the bridge position.
As of 2007, Gorham is an endorsee of the German amp company, ENGL. His current setup is either two or four E650 Ritchie Blackmore Signature heads, his modified Marshall, and four standard ENGL cabinets. In an interview for the August 2010 edition of Guitarist magazine, Gorham is quoted as saying that he will be using the ENGL Fireball head for the January 2011 Tour of the UK with Thin Lizzy.
Scott is married to Christine Gorham, and lives in London.
Discography
Thin Lizzy
main|Thin Lizzy discography
Nightlife (Thin Lizzy album)|Nightlife (1974)
Fighting (Thin Lizzy album)|Fighting (1975)
Jailbreak (album)|Jailbreak (1976)
Johnny the Fox (1976)
Bad Reputation (Thin Lizzy album)|Bad Reputation (1977)
Steevi Jaimz – ''Damned if I Do... Damned if I Don't (2001)
Max Bacon – From the Banks of the River Irwell (2002)
21 Guns – Demolition (2002)
Ricky Warwick – Tattoos & Alibis (2003)
References
Reflist|refs=Allmusic |class=artist |id=p81191 |tab=biography |first=Greg |last=Prato |accessdate=May 7, 2011 cite web |url= http://www.premierguitar.com/Magazine/Issue/2009/May/Thin_Lizzys_Scott_Gorham_Rediscovery_Channeled.aspx |title=Thin Lizzy's Scott Gorham: Rediscovery, Channeled |author=Kies, Chris |date=May 2009 |work=Premier Guitar |accessdate=May 7, 2011 cite web |url= http://www.rocklegend.thin-lizzy.info/bio-sgorham.htm |title=Scott Gorham |author=Donnelly, Dan |publisher=Thin Lizzy: A Rock Legend |accessdate=May 7, 2011 cite web|url= http://www.allmusic.com/album/night-life-r19990 |title= Night Life |accessdate=May 7, 2011 |publisher=Allmusic cite web|url= http://www.allmusic.com/album/fighting-r19988 |title= Fighting |accessdate=May 7, 2011 |publisher=Allmusic cite web |url= http://www.dinosaurrockguitar.com/new/node/22 |title=Scott Gorham |date=May 28, 2008 |publisher=Dinosaur Rock Guitar |accessdate=May 7, 2011 cite web |url= http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1161569/Rock-gods-resurrected-Thin-Lizzys-guitarist-Scott-Gorham-mission-best-friend-Phil-Lynotts-memory-alive.html |title=Rock Gods Resurrected: Thin Lizzy's Guitarist Scott Gorham Is on a Mission to Keep Best Friend Phil Lynott's Memory Alive |author=Thrills, Adrian |date=March 12, 2009 |work=Daily Mail cite web|url= http://www.allmusic.com/album/renegade-r169883 |title= Renegade |accessdate=May 7, 2011 |publisher=Allmusic "When I was in 21 GunsScott's post-Lizzy band, I had this condom of devices filled with blinking lights and dials that looked great but every night I'd have to walk up to it and ask, How do I turn this thing on? And if something went down you'd be in trouble because it was all daisy chained. So about 10 years ago I got sick of tap dancing on a pedal board and found this little German guy who worked at Chandlers. I was talking to him about my problems and he knew exactly what I wanted. So now I've got four 1970s Marshall amps – you can only use the seventies versions – and he's beefed them all up. Don't ask me what he's done but every once in a while he calls me and says "I have something new for you", and he'll take the back off and weld something new in there. But I'm also thinking about going back to using a few old vintage pedals like Tube Screamers as well". – Interview with Guitarist magazine, March 2006. "I've been thinking about dusting off the old Les Paul for this tour 20/20 tour, because I do miss playing it. The thing about the Les Paul is it's a great guitar – looks great sounds great – but it's so ****ing heavy& #33; It's like wheeling along a bag of cement& #33; With the Strat, it's an extremely versatile guitar, and customisable too. It's much lighter and more conducive to my style of playing than a Les Paul." – Interview with Guitarist magazine, March 2006.
External links
commonscat|Scott Gorham
IMDb name|1314452
ThinLizzy
Persondata|NAME= Gorham, Scott |ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Gorham, William Scott |SHORT DESCRIPTION= Musician, songwriter |DATE OF BIRTH= March 17, 1951 |PLACE OF BIRTH= Glendale, CaliforniaCalifornia , United States |DATE OF DEATH= |PLACE OF DEATH= DEFAULTSORT:Gorham, Scott Category:1951 births Category:Living people Category:American rock guitarists Category:American heavy metal guitarists Category:People from Glendale, California Category:Lead guitarists Category:Thin Lizzy members Category:Musicians from California
