Isn't technology wonderful? More years ago than this particular Uber hack cares to remember, it you wanted to interview someone, you had to either persuade your editor or the record company to spend vast amounts of money to fly you around the world, or you had to rely on a trusty telephone and maybe not so trusty shorthand... Nowadays, we've got loads of lovely stuff like the interweb, Skype and CallBurner: the latter two of which enabled us to catch up with Thin Lizzy (and former Whitesnake, Blue Murder, Ted Nugent - and, er, Right Said Fred) bassist Marco Mendoza as he relaxed in Italy before heading to the UK for a clutch of solo dates...

Getting the formalities out of the way, such as the experience of the Easter weekend in Rome, we get down to the nitty-gritty, and the first question is an obvious one; with fans used to seeing Mr Mendoza playing huge arena shows with some of the biggest acts on the planet, what can we actually expect from getting him 'up close and personal' on a handful of club dates?

Well, first of all my first priority is to have fun and to enjoy each other: obviously, the venues we are doing are pretty small so it gives us a real intimate setting. As you well know, when we're doing the big venues we seldom get a chance to say hello to anybody, so this puts us in an intimate setting. I want to introduce my songwriting as a soloist, my singing: but, I always focus on the fact that there are some messages in the music, and we will have a good time. I've recruited some great players from here in Italy: I've been coming here for a few years and I have a pretty decent fanbase, so there's always work, and I've been doing some sessions with some really great musicians. I have Pino Liberti on drums, who has worked with Buddy Miles, Uli Jon Roth and Eric Martin: I've done a few runs with him and he's a great drummer, a great guy - understands what it is to be on the road, which is very important. And then I have Favio Cerrone on guitar, who has also worked with Tony Martin, y'know from Sabbath, and Eric Martin. These guys are some of the top session guys here in Italy, so they're very proficient at what they do, they're great musicians and they're good guys...

Most of the music we're playing is going to be from my album, 'Live For Tomorrow', which is the rockin' out thing... I'm just excited to come see some of my friends, because I've been coming up there for how long, y'know, for years and years and years and I've always wanted to come in this setting, to share some of my music and so I'm really looking forward to it, especially as I get to play a little guitar, maybe, sing some blues, some stuff I recorded with Ted Nugent, with Neal Schon: it's just a great 90/100 minutes of music - I have a blast, I enjoy it and I just hope people come out and enjoy it and hang out with me.

Mendoza then reveals that, in a day and age when most musicians want to screw every last possible penny out of their fans, he's actually prepared to give his music away....

We will have some CDs for sale, but, y'know, I tell everybody, I realise what is going on today... if you can't buy it, I will make sure you walk away with a copy. It's all about sharing the music, to be honest. I'm working a lot, and I'm very grateful and very blessed: I'm working with Thin Lizzy and we're working a lot and we're having a grand year, what with the Guns N' Roses, Judas Priest and ZZ Top tours, and so to come out with my solo stuff, just to share my music. I'm at the point in my career that, as an artist, as the creative person that I am, to share what I do - in small settings, in big settings... it doesn't matter to me. Of course (as a solo artist) we would like to play the bigger settings, but all in time: if it's accepted, and people want to hear some more, then we'll come back and do some heavier touring in the UK. For some reason, it's been really hard for me to book some time in the UK, what with the timeframe: I've been really busy with other things, but when I got invited, I said let's do it...

Mendoza's musical pedigree is about as impressive as they come, especially when you bear in mind that he had to step into some pretty big boots in his career - not least at the very beginning of it, when he became the first bassist since Geezer Butler, the godfather of metal, to play alongside Bill Ward...

I wasn't really following Geezer... he's a one of a kind... the way he plays bass. Black Sabbath obviously was a big influence when I was growing up, and they set the precedent, the level for metal music, so when I got invited by Bill to play with him I never assumed I was going to filling that slot or whatever. He just wanted me to participate, and we had a great time: a lot of people don't even know about that album, and it was a great project... I had a blast doing it and working with Bill, obviously. I've since lost contact with him: it's really funny, we live about half an hour away from each other in California and I haven't seen him in so many years... but that's LA for you...

A bigger challenge lay ahead for Mendoza though... after spells in Whitesnake and Blue Murder, he was invited by his good friend and long-time collaborator John Sykes to join what at first was a very troubled reformation of Thin Lizzy, taking over from the legendary Phil Lynott on bass duties: as an (Norn) Irishman and lifelong Lizzy fan, it's the question that I have to ask - just how shit scared was he?

We'd been touring with Blue Murder for quite a few years and there'd always be a few Thin Lizzy songs included in the set. We just got back from Japan when John called me and said they were thinking of doing a reunion, based on the (farewell) 'Thunder And Lightning' set, and asked if I would be interested. Of course, I said "absolutely, put me on the list..."

The bassist is typically garrulous about what happened next: he learned the entire Lizzy back catalogue, went for the audition and has been a member of the reconstituted band ever since - seeing off Sykes in the process!

At this point, our internet connection wanks out but, being the perfect interviewee, Marco gives us five minutes to sort our shit out and get our act together again, by which time we bring the Thin Lizzy story up to date with the recruitment of current frontman Ricky Warwick - the first Ulsterman (not counting Viv Campbell's brief filling-in session last year) in the band's ranks since the late, great Gary Moore. It's a move Mendoza agrees has breathed new life into what many saw as a dying entity - and one that looks like producing the first original material from the group in just shy of 30 years... we'll let the bassist tell it in his own style:

He's just perfect for the job. He's so passionate about what he does. He so believes. He's been a Phil Lynott and Thin Lizzy fan all his life - obviously, growing up in Belfast. I tell people that Ricky know more Thin Lizzy history than I do because, you know, he lived it: he lived the phenomenon, the success, he saw the whole thing from the beginning - he lived it... as a fan, and a big fan.

So, he absolutely does a great job: he's a great frontman, he's a great singer - and, now, his writing is going to come to light. His writing is beautiful: it's very deep and perfect for what we do for Lizzy.

It was meant to be. Timing in life sometimes works itself out and I can't think of another guy that would fit in there... On top of everything else, he's a great guy: he's a great father, he's a great human being, he's a great husband and a great friend. And on stage, he just kills it - he just kills it! We go out there confident, knowing he's just going to do a kicking job - and we have to do the same...

So, now, our next move is to start writing new songs, to represent Lizzy: that's gonna be our next step - and it's coming.

So, with the Irish connection in Lizzy's very firm Irish heritage obviously very firmly reconnected, the time is obviously right to resurrect the band's great songwriting heritage...

Yeah. The timing is right. There are a lot of writers in the band, obviously: there are a lot of influences that we can bring to the table, and different styles, but in the keeping of the legacy of Lizzy - and the sound. We're all taking that into consideration. But, I think we're up for the job: I really think we are, as a band. As a unit, we're really working - it's like a well-oiled machine, starting from the management: I've gotta give credit to those guys, because they also believe in it and they love it with a passion, so they treat it with a lot of respect: it's not just another band wanting to go out there and tour and make a few bucks. This is about continuing the legacy.

The Lizzy legacy, to many fans, became greatly tarnished in the decades since Lynott's death, with many viewing the band as a 'tribute act' cashing in on his memory. It's something Mendoza doesn't shy away from - but also very much wants to put behind him as the band seek to build a credible future, especially with younger fans now discovering the beauty of the band's material...

Working with Brian, Scott and Darren, for me, is like coming back home because we've put in a lot of years, back in the Nineties. When it all fell apart, I think it happened for a reason: I think it all fell apart because this is supposed to happen today, in this form. I really think this is a really, really strong group, musically speaking, spiritually speaking. We're all together and we're very much working together, proficiently, so the timing is right.

Like the rest of the current Lizzy line up, Mendoza is quick to admit that there are those who will not accept them no matter what they do... those who regard the band as dying the day their charismatic, irreplaceable leader passed on (this interviewer, as one whose early musical career the late Phil Lynott helped to shape, will admit to be one with a foot very firmly in that camp). Rightly, he respects this view but also has a challenge...

There's a lot of interest (in what we're doing now). Ninety-nine point nine per cent of the fans are into it, when they come to the shows. There's that one per cent, or fraction of a one per cent, who are really fighting it, and that's fine, and you can have that, but those people I say: OK, open your mind, come to a show and give us your opinion - we can have a talk after the show. It's undeniable. The shows are very strong and, obviously, the catalogue speaks for itself - the music is so powerful, lyrically, in every way... and the spirit...

Ricky and I talk about it all the time: I had a dream the other night... and, this gives me chills - I'm not making this up - where Phil was there and he was giving us the thumbs up: he's giving us his blessing... he's happy (with what we're doing)... how could he not be? (Lizzy) is a part of rock 'n' roll history and needs to continue for the new generations: people need to understand that... as opposed to just another wanking band out there trying to make a few bucks. All of us are deeper people than that: there's a lot of things we could all be doing separately to continue in the music business but I believe in Thin Lizzy and I really believe in carrying the flag to the next generation.

Marco Mendoza's solo tour starts in Sutton-in-Ashfield tonight Thursday (April 19th) and finishes in Belfast on Monday April 23rd. For full details visit http://www.marcomendoza.com/

He then hits the road with Thin Lizzy, playing Leamington Spa on May 15th and Guildford on May 16th before supporting Guns N' Roses, starting in Nottingham on May 19th, and then returning to Belfast to headline the Belsonic festival on August 18th. A further series of UK headline shows follow later in the year, starting in Bournemouth on November 29th.  For full details visit http://www.thinlizzyband.com/

To pick up your copy of 'Live for Tomorrow' - CLICK HERE