Lynott took a keen interest in the emergence of punk rock in the late

Lynott took a keen interest in the emergence of punk rock in the late 1970s, and subsequently became friends with various members of the Sex Pistols , The Damned and Geldof’s band The Boomtown Rats . This led to him forming an ad-hoc band known as “The Greedies” (originally “The Greedy Bastards”, but edited for public politeness). The band started playing shows in London during Lizzy’s downtime in 1978, playing a mixture of popular Lizzy tracks and Pistols songs recorded after John Lydon ‘s departure. In 1979, The Greedies recorded a Christmas single, “A Merry Jingle”, featuring other members of Thin Lizzy as well as the Pistols’ Steve Jones and Paul Cook . The previous year, he had performed alongside Jones and Cook on Johnny Thunders ‘ debut solo album So Alone . Lynott became friends with Midge Ure of the Rich Kids , who deputised for Thin Lizzy during 1979 shortly after joining Ultravox . Lynott persuaded Thin Lizzy’s management to sign Ultravox.