In August 1976, Thin Lizzy were supposed to be recording their seventh album in Munich, but the sessions were falling apart. The Irish rock band had already scored a breakthrough with their previous record, Jailbreak, and the pressure was on to deliver a follow-up. Instead, they were stuck at Musicland Studios, unable to get a drum sound they liked. By 6 August, the band had had enough: they abandoned Munich, returned to London, and started over at Ramport Studios in Battersea. Thin Lizzy released Johnny the Fox on October 16, 1976.
Songs written from a hospital bed
The chaos didn't end there. The album's main songwriter, bassist and singer Phil Lynott, had written most of the songs in a Manchester hospital while being treated for hepatitis. He had an acoustic guitar with him and composed material from his bed. The recording sessions were squeezed between his recovery and the band's touring schedule, and producer John Alcock later felt the album suffered because Lynott didn't have enough time to finish the songs properly. Not everyone agreed that the material was thin. Robertson later said there was plenty to work with: besides the ten tracks that made the final cut, another eight or nine songs existed. One of them, 'Boogie Woogie Dance', was judged by Alcock to be too weak for the record.
The biggest clash came over a song called 'Don't Believe a Word'. Lynott originally played it as a slow, 12-bar blues. Guitarist Brian Robertson dismissed it with an obscenity. The two argued, and Lynott disappeared for a few days. When he returned, drummer Brian Downey had come up with a faster shuffle rhythm, and Robertson had written a new riff. Lynott loved the result, and the song became a hit single, reaching number 12 in the UK and number 2 in Ireland. The original slow blues arrangement did not disappear entirely. In 1978, Lynott and Gary Moore recorded that version for Moore's album Back on the Streets. Robertson, meanwhile, received a co-writing credit for 'Borderline', a song he said was about a girl he loved who hated him.
The fight over Don't Believe a Word
But Robertson was bitter that Lynott got sole writing credit for 'Don't Believe a Word', even though Robertson had written the riff. The conflict between the two men was a sign of things to come. Robertson was eventually fired from Thin Lizzy, then reinstated, then fired again. Johnny the Fox would be the last studio album to list him as a full member of the band.
Despite the turmoil, the album was released on 16 October 1976 on Vertigo Records. It reached number 11 in the UK Albums Chart. The record blended hard rock and blues rock, running just over 35 minutes. Critics were divided: some heard a more subtle and melodic album than Jailbreak, while others felt it was a half-baked concept record. But the single's success proved the band could turn conflict into something sharp and urgent. The album also had a strong commercial afterlife. It was certified gold in the UK for 100,000 copies sold, and it reached number 52 in the United States and Canada, number 17 in Sweden, and number 93 in Australia. In 2011, a remastered and expanded edition appeared as a double CD.
The story of Johnny the Fox is really the story of 'Don't Believe a Word'. A slow blues that nobody liked became a fast, riff-driven hit because two stubborn musicians fought over it. The album's title itself came from a throwaway comment by Lynott, who told the cover artist to 'call it Johnny the Fox, that'll do'. In the end, the record captured a band at a breaking point, turning friction into music.
A slow blues that nobody liked became a fast, riff-driven hit because two stubborn musicians fought over it.