"I was a mad fan of his because he was probably the most technically proficient guitar player that has ever been in Thin Lizzy," said current Thin Lizzy guitarist Vivian Campbell about his hero, the late great Gary Moore, during a recent chat with Noisecreep. "As a young guitar kid, that is what I gravitated toward and I think I probably ripped him off more than any other guitar player. That's what you do -- that's how you learn from your influences."

Campbell's main gig these days is playing guitar with stadium act Def Leppard, but he's also moonlighting as a member of Thin Lizzy. For Campbell, the Thin Lizzy gig is a dream come true -- a way to pay homage to Moore while playing songs that made him want to pick up a guitar in the first place.

"I was a huge fan -- well, I am still am a huge fan," says Campbell, correcting himself. "It's quite surreal to be playing guitar in Thin Lizzy after all these years. I wanted to be in Thin Lizzy 30 years ago but they wouldn't have me. It's really re-energized my passion for playing guitar because it is like being a teen again. I was a teen sitting around my house learning how to play Thin Lizzy songs, and now I get to do it on stage."

Thin Lizzy will tour Europe at the end of May through July.

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