28 Facts About Scott Gorham

William Scott Gorham was born on March 17,1951 and is an American guitarist and songwriter who is one of the "twin lead guitarists" for the Irish rock band Thin Lizzy.

Scott Gorham is the band member with the longest membership after founders Brian Downey and frontman and bass guitarist, Phil Lynott.

Since 1996, Scott Gorham has continued to perform with Thin Lizzy on guitar and backing vocals, having assembled various lineups after the death of band leader Lynott in 1986.

In 2012, Scott Gorham co-founded the Thin Lizzy spin-off band Black Star Riders to showcase new material.

Scott Gorham left Black Star Riders in 2021 in order to concentrate on Thin Lizzy.

Scott Gorham was born in Glendale, California and began his musical career at 13, learning to play the bass guitar, and joining several local teenage bands including The Jesters, Mudd and The Ilford Subway, the latter recording a single, "The 3rd Prophecy" in October 1967.

Scott Gorham switched instruments when a close friend of his, a guitarist in his then-current band, 18-year-old Steve Schrage, died in a motorcycle crash in Glendale in 1968.

Scott Gorham 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 Gorham stunned everybody by dropping the bass, which he was very proficient at, and switching to guitar.

Scott Gorham was unable to find work with his friend, so he started playing with a number of bands in pubs around London, before starting his own band, Fast Buck.

Brian Robertson, at age seventeen, had already been chosen before Scott Gorham auditioned and joined.

Scott Gorham co-wrote "Warriors" and "Emerald" on Jailbreak, Lizzy's breakthrough album.

When Gary Moore returned to the band, replacing Robertson in 1979 for the album Black Rose: A Rock Legend, Scott Gorham took the new arrival as an impetus to improve his own playing, as he did with all his subsequent guitar partners in the band.

Scott Gorham was unable to rid himself of the habit until 1985, after the band had split up.

Scott Gorham has played with Asia, the Rollins Band, and Supertramp.

Scott 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.

Scott Gorham concentrated on a small number of Thin Lizzy festival appearances during 2016, and began work on the third Black Star Riders album.

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

Scott Gorham rejoined the band in 2023 for the 10 year anniversary tour.

When he joined Thin Lizzy, Scott Gorham was playing a Japanese Les Paul copy, which was quickly deemed not up to standard.

Scott Gorham is often associated with a Gibson Les Paul Deluxe guitar with mini humbuckers.

Scott Gorham can be seen using a Schecter with a Lynott style mirror scratchplate on later videos.

Nowadays, Scott Gorham uses only Gibson Axcess Guitars which are lighter and thinner in body width than regular Les Paul guitars.

Scott Gorham's Axcess has a thinner neck than the normal models as well as a 500T pickup in the bridge position.

From 2007, Scott Gorham was an endorsee of the German amp company, ENGL.

Scott Gorham's setup was either two or four E650 Ritchie Blackmore Signature heads, his modified Marshall, and four standard ENGL cabinets.

Early in 2016 Scott Gorham returned to Marshall Amplification, playing through DSL100 heads and 1960BX cabs.

Scott Gorham's nephew Jesse Siebenberg is a professional guitarist currently performing with Lissie.