Let’s face it – in between fine liqueur and midnight mass, Christmas is all about striking a path between a houseful of empty beer bottles, burned-out rock stars and some tunes you haven’t heard a million times. But there are still some surprises on the way.
In one of history’s more obscure collaborations, 1979 saw Thin Lizzy form a ‘supergroup’ with the Sex Pistols called ‘The Greedy Bastards’. The fragmented groups, namely Phil Lynott, Steve Jones, Paul Cook, Gary Moore and the unsung Chris Spedding, fell together to play four shows, featuring a cocktail of tunes such as ‘No one is Innocent’, ‘Jailbreak’ and ‘Pretty Vacant’. But the union culminated in, most importantly, a three minute Christmas single called ‘A Merry Jingle’ – a signature wall of sound mash-up of ‘We Wish You A Merry Christmas’ and ‘Jingle Bells’.
The collaboration, forged with Johnny Rotten in appointed exile and Thin Lizzy’s dual-power combo in hiatus, came as leading punk and rock stalwarts paused to take stock, brave the ravages of fame and drink lots of beer.
A rhythm section tighter than Bing Crosby and David Bowie’s ‘Little Drummer Boy’ (haven’t seen it yet? Also worth a view) Phil Lynott and Paul Cook give the festive season the treatment.
Lizzy’s Xmas gig. “A new venue is currently being set”.
“The informal group was soon deluged with famous musicians who wanted to jam with them – including Elton John, Bob Geldof, Scott Gorman, Brian Downey, Jimmy Bain” recounts Kimberley Bright in the Chris Spedding biography, ‘Reluctant Guitar Hero’. “At the Electric Ballroom the band had no guest list and tried to convince interviewers and audience members to buy them a drink”.
Promising? Surely. But in a manner more Pistols than Lizzy, and with 1980 breathing down freshly mulleted necks, they only recorded one fleeting track before disbanding into the history books. And this is it, kids.
For more Greedies clippings visit this Cook and Jones’ page
