For those unaware, Songs For While I’m Away is the story of how a young black boy from working class 1950’s Dublin became Ireland’s greatest rock star. As lead singer of Thin Lizzy, Phil Lynott was a songwriter, a poet, a dreamer, and a wild man.

The film gets to the heart of Philip: the father, the husband, the friend, the son, the rock icon, the poet, and the dreamer. Also included is Thin Lizzy’s famed October 1978 concert at the Sydney Opera House with remixed audio and cleaned-up picture.

Following a tour of the United States between August and October 1978, which was Gary Moore’s first tour as a permanent member of the band, Thin Lizzy embarked upon a six-date tour of Australia and New Zealand during late October.

The band’s regular drummer Brian Downey was unable to take part in these tours due to the hectic schedule, and had taken a break from performing. He later explained his reasons as exhaustion, and a lack of interest in seeing a stage again for a while.

In early August 1978, during rehearsals with a number of drummers including Terry Bozzio, Thin Lizzy had chosen ex-Ian Gillan Band drummer Mark Nauseef to replace Downey. The Sydney concert was Nauseef’s penultimate show as a member of Thin Lizzy, as Downey returned to the band in December.

The opening acts for the concert were The Sports, Jon English and Wha-Koo, though these acts do not appear on the CD or some of the video releases.

Thin Lizzy did a morning sound check which extended to a jam of around 25 minutes for those who had arrived extra early for the concert. The band performed for an estimated crowd of 100,000 on the steps of the famous Sydney Opera House. Furthermore, the large crowd was due to the free entry for the concert.

With their driving hooks, twin lead guitars, lyrics saturated in working class lore, and the charismatic presence of singer/songwriter/bassist Phil Lynott, Thin Lizzy are undeniably one of the most influential bands in Rock ‘N’ Roll.

Complementing this film is The Boys Are Back In Town Live At The Sydney Opera House October 1978. Previously released on VHS, Laserdisc, and DVD, this version presents the show in the highest quality that has been made available, with not only cleaned up video and remixed audio from multi tracks, but five additional songs from this set that have never been officially released.

This performance showcases the electricity of these original Rock ‘N’ Roll masters – Lynott, Scott Gorham (guitar / background vocals), Gary Moore (guitar / background vocals), and Mark Nauseef – delivering searing versions of their celebrated anthems, such as “Jailbreak”, “The Boys Are Back In Town”, “Bad Reputation” and “Me And The Boys”.

Songs For While I’m Away chronicles the life and music of Phil Lynott, utilizing archival footage, interview snippets from the man himself, and music from both the Thin Lizzy and Phil Lynott solo catalog.

Notable conversations with Midge Ure (Ultravox / Thin Lizzy), Darren Wharton (Thin Lizzy), Scott Gorham (Thin Lizzy), Adam Clayton (U2), Huey Lewis (Huey Lewis & The News), James Hetfield (Metallica) and others, as well as Phil’s wife Caroline Taraskevics and daughters Sarah Lynott and Cathleen Lynott reveal an all-encompassing look at Phil, from his 1950s’ upbringing as a Black boy in blue collar Dublin to his rise to fame.

Fully exploring his history and rippling impact on music, the film examines Lynott as a singer, songwriter, poet, father, and cultural icon.

At the start of this documentary, his family express their wish for a film that celebrates his life, rather than glamorizing his death. And Songs for While I’m Away does that, albeit at the price of becoming something of a hagiography. We’re told about Lynott’s talent, charisma and (away from the stage) shyness.

But just about everything that went wrong (the breakup of his various band lineups and relationships, and his eventual dependency on heroin) is glossed over. Things happened, we’re told, with an air of inevitability; but how they did so is not covered in any detail.

Mercury Studios salutes their legacy with the release of Phil Lynott Songs For While I’m Away + Thin Lizzy The Boys Are Back In Town Live At The Sydney Opera House October 1978 on June 24. Pairing the acclaimed Phil Lynott documentary with a renowned live concert film, the set will be available as a 2xDVD+CD and Blu-ray+DVD+CD (with the Phil Lynott documentary on the Blu-ray).

CD:
1. Jailbreak
2. Bad Reputation
3. Warriors
4. Don’t Believe A Word
5. Waiting For An Alibi
6. Still In Love With You
7. Johnny The Fox Meets Jimmy The Weed
8. Cowboy Song
9. The Boys Are Back In Town
10. Suicide
11. Are You Ready
12. Baby Drives Me Crazy
13. Me And The Boys

Blu-ray:
Phil Lynott - Songs For While I’m Away – 113 minute documentary

DVD:
Thin Lizzy – The Boys Are Back In Town Live At The Sydney Opera House October 1978

1. Jailbreak
2. Bad Reputation
3. Waiting For An Alibi
4. Cowboy Song
5. The Boys Are Back In Town
6. Are You Ready
7. Me And The Boys
8. Baby Drives Me Crazy
Lost Sydney Performances
1. Warriors
2. Don’t Believe A Word
3. Still In Love With You
4. Johnny The Fox Meets Jimmy The Weed
5. Suicide

Note: There is an option on the DVD to play the songs with the Lost Performances in the order they were performed the day of the show.

Official Purchase Link