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On this day, 13 February 1974, Irish rockers Thin Lizzy played Cardiff’s Top Rank on their Vagabonds of the Western World tour.
The band's third album, Vagabonds of the Western World, was released in September 1973 following strong airplay in the UK, but again failed to chart.
The accompanying single "The Rocker" also found little success outside Ireland, and the momentum gained from their hit single "Whiskey in the Jar" was lost.
Eric Bell suddenly left the band on New Year's Eve 1973 after a gig at Queen's University Belfast, due to increasing ill-health and disillusion with the music industry, and young ex-Skid Row guitarist Gary Moore was recruited to help finish the tour.
Moore stayed until April 1974; the band recorded three songs with him in that time, including the version of "Still in Love with You" that was included on the fourth album Nightlife.
The band’s record label Decca had released Thin Lizzy's version of a traditional Irish ballad, "Whiskey in the Jar", as a single.
The band was angry at the release, feeling that the song did not represent their sound or their image, but the single topped the Irish chart, and reached No. 6 in the UK in February 1973, resulting in an appearance on Top of the Pops.
It also charted in many countries across Europe. However, the follow-up single, "Randolph's Tango", was a return to Lynott's more obscure work, and it did not chart outside Ireland.
