Background
Following a tour of the United States between August and October 1978, which was Gary Moore's first tour as a permanent member of the band, Thin Lizzy embarked upon a six-date tour of Australia and New Zealand during late October. The band's regular drummer Brian Downey was unable to take part in these tours due to the hectic schedule, and had taken a break from performing. He later explained his reasons as "exhaustion, and a lack of interest in seeing a stage again for a while". In early August 1978, during rehearsals with a number of drummers including Terry Bozzio, Thin Lizzy had chosen ex-Ian Gillan Band drummer Mark Nauseef to replace Downey. The Sydney concert was Nauseef's penultimate show as a member of Thin Lizzy, as Downey returned to the band in December.
The opening acts for the concert were The Sports, Jon English and Wha-Koo, though these acts do not appear on the CD or some of the video releases.
Thin Lizzy did a morning sound check which extended to a jam of around 25 minutes for those who had arrived extra early for the concert. The band performed for an estimated crowd of 100,000 on the steps of the famous Sydney Opera House. The large crowd was due to the free entry for the concert.
Read more about this topic: The Boys Are Back In Town: Live In Australia
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