Becoming Phil Lynott: ‘I’ve wanted to play him for years. I get a lot of double takes’

It is a resemblance that is so uncanny you have to stop yourself from staring. When you’re in Peter Smith’s company, it feels as though you have been transported back in time to meet Philip Lynott in his pomp. He jokes that people who personally knew the Thin Lizzy frontman have asked to touch his hair, almost to prove to themselves that they are not imagining things.

When it came to casting the lead in a new musical theatre show about the singer, there was nobody else in the running. It had to be Peter Smith. That he can sing just like Lynott only strengthens his cast-iron hold on the role.



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