THERE'S only really one way to introduce Thin Lizzy and that's to say, "The Boys are Back In Town," which indeed they are, at Plymouth Pavilions next Wednesday.

More than 40 years after their initial formation and 25 years after the demise of their frontman, Phil Lynott, the band's songs live on in the form of dynamic live shows, delivered by two original Lizzy members, plus a bunch of Lizzy fans who happen to be among the best players in the world.

Guitarist Scott Gorham, pictured, joined the fledgling ensemble shortly after Lynott and drummer Brian Downey formed the band in Dublin back in 1969.

Since then there have been many musos through the ranks including Gary Moore and Midge Ure, but the current crew – that includes Ricky Warwick of the Almighty on lead vocals and guitar as well as Marco Mendoza on bass and latest recruit Damon Johnson, who for the past six years has lent his considerable skills to vet rocker Alice Cooper – is a pretty special amalgamation.

Scott says: "Damon brings back the classic feel Thin Lizzy had when Phil was still with us, he has been kicking ass every night.

"Asking him to join was a no brainer."

Reforming Thin Lizzy back in 1996 didn't seem quite so clear cut though.

"John Sykes called me a couple of years before to say that he had snuck in a few Lizzy songs into his set and each time the roof came of the venue.

"There was no template for reforming at the time, it was before other bands had done it and we weren't sure if we were doing the right thing.

"All I knew was that we had been together with Phil for 11 years, we worked so hard and had been so close and not ever to play those songs again didn't seem right.

"We played six shows in Japan with the idea of shaking hands and calling it a day."

With an incendiary set list that includes Whiskey in the Jar, The Boys are Back In Town, Waiting for an Alibi, Don't Believe a Word, Do Anything You Want To, Sarah and Killer on the Loose, it seemed a crying shame not to unleash them again to an eager public.

The reaction in Japan was so incredible and the flak from the other side of the world that missed out so huge, that they went on to do ten shows the next year in Europe, and scheduled handfuls elsewhere thereafter. Sykes took on Phil's role on lead vocals.

"For some fans there was no Lizzy without Phil," says Scott, "but the overwhelming majority gave us lots of encouragement."

Fifteen years on, the demand to see the band live remains undiminished. So how does touring today compare with life on the road back then?

"It's a helluva lot more expensive nowadays!" says Scott. "Apart from that, we have been playing the material so long our confidence levels are high and we really get to enjoy the shows.

"And there's a different energy in the band now, everything is within our control this time around. Back then there was huge pressure from management, to hit the charts with a new single, or to appear on TOTP when we were gigging in America or to come up with a new album. And the bribe always was 'people will forget about you'."

The management's bullying tactics worked. The band responded with four classic rock albums between 1975 and '78, including Johnny and the Fox and Bad Reputation.

"My favourite is Jailbreak as that was the one that broke us worldwide and then Live and Dangerous showed everyone what we were all about – that we were a live band not a studio band."

But it came at an incredibly high price. Rock'n'roll excess, fights, booze, women and drugs: it's not surprising that although Scott has very fond memories of the Lizzy heyday there's one thing he would eliminate.

"If I had a magic wand I would carve the whole drugs thing out of the band's history.

"Heroin basically destroyed the band. Without it, Phil would have been alive today."

Tickets to see Thin Lizzy are available from the Pavilions box office on 0845 146 1460.