(NEW YORK) — A group of oil-producing nations imposed a significant cut in oil output with far-reaching consequences for U.S. gas prices, industry analysts told ABC News.
The alliance of countries known as OPEC+, led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, agreed on Sunday to cut oil output by 1.2 million barrels per day starting in May, which amounts to removing roughly 1% of oil from the global market.
Regardless of the production cut, prices typically rise in the summer due to a spike in demand as car owners take road trips and families fly to vacation destinations.
The OPEC+ output decision, however, will send gas prices as much as 30 cents higher per gallon than they would have spiked otherwise, the analysts said.
“I certainly think there’s going to be upward pressure on prices as a result of these production cuts,” Patrick de Haan, the head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, told ABC News.
The announcement from OPEC+ met disapproval from the Biden administration.
“We don’t think that production cuts are advisable at this moment, given market uncertainty, and we’ve made that clear,” White House Spokesman John Kirby said on Monday.
The production cut coincides with an ongoing rise in gas prices. The national average price for a gallon of gas stands at $3.50, which marks a 2% increase over the past week and 3% spike over the past month, AAA data showed.
In California, the state with the highest gas prices, the average price per gallon is $4.83, according to AAA.
Average gas prices nationwide remain nearly 20% lower than where they stood a year ago.
Despite the anticipated rise in gas prices as a result of the OPEC+ production cut, analysts do not expect gas prices to reach the eye-popping levels on display last summer.
“People are waving their hands and feel like their hair is on fire: What does this mean for the U.S. consumer?” Peter McNally, a global sector leader for industrial materials and energy at Third Bridge, told ABC News about the production cut.
“Year over year, we’re still looking at lower prices,” he added.
McNally said he expects U.S. gas prices to rise between 20 and 30 cents in additional cost as a direct result of the production cut; while de Haan, of GasBuddy, said he anticipates a more modest increase of between 5 and 15 cents.
The OPEC+ production cut announced on Sunday follows a previous cut in October that saw the group of oil-producing countries slash output by 2 million barrels per day.
The latest production cut will prove more impactful because it coincides with heightened demand in the summer season, as opposed to the previous cut that took place during the annual drop in gas prices that occurs in the fall, McNally said.
To be sure, the exact price implications of the Sunday announcement remain murky, analysts said.
As the financial system teeters and the Federal Reserve raises interest rates, a possible global economic slowdown could weaken oil demand and limit the upward effect on gas prices, some analysts said.
In fact, indicators of a coming recession likely contributed to the recent decision from OPEC+, since the group wants to avoid a potential oversupply of oil that could accompany a downturn, Timothy Fitzgerald, a professor of business economics at Texas Tech University, told ABC News.
“They’re making what may effectively be a preemptive cut anticipating weaker economic conditions coming during the rest of this calendar year and trying to balance their production with what they perceive the demand will be,” Fitzgerald said.
However, potential decline in oil consumption from a recession could be more than offset by a bounce back in Chinese economic activity, McNally said, noting that the country consumed 200 million fewer barrels than expected last year amid coronavirus lockdowns.
“The big wildcard is China,” McNally said. “If China does finally come out of this COVID funk, it’ll use an awful lot of oil.”
(NEW YORK) — Former President Donald Trump is expected to surrender to law enforcement in New York City early this week, sources familiar have told ABC News, after being indicted by a Manhattan grand jury on Thursday.
Sources familiar have told ABC News that the former president has been charged with around two dozen counts, including felonies. For previous coverage, please click here.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Apr 03, 3:41 PM EDT
Biden says he has faith in legal system, not worried about unrest
President Joe Biden said Monday he has faith in the legal system as he made his most extensive comments yet on former President Donald Trump’s indictment.
While touring a manufacturing facility in Minnesota, a reporter asked Biden if he was worried about unrest, and the president replied, “No. I have faith in the New York Police Department.”
Asked if he has faith in the legal system at this point, the president responded, “Yes.”
On Friday, in an exchange with reporters outside the White House, Biden repeatedly declined to comment on the indictment.
-ABC News’ Ben Gittleson
Apr 03, 3:37 PM EDT
Trump lands in New York City
Former President Donald Trump has just touched down in New York, ahead of his arraignment Tuesday.
Trump’s plane landed at LaGuardia Airport, and is now expected to head to Trump Tower.
-ABC News’ Olivia Rubin
Apr 03, 1:50 PM EDT
Trump opposes cameras in court
Former President Donald Trump on Monday opposed the presence of cameras in the courtroom for his Tuesday arraignment.
“It will create a circus-like atmosphere at the arraignment, raise unique security concerns, and is inconsistent with President Trump’s presumption of innocence,” Trump’s attorney Susan Necheles said.
A coalition of news organizations, including ABC News, has filed motions with the court, seeking access to cover and record the hearing Tuesday.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office declined to take a position on the matter.
Judge Juan Merchan has not yet ruled.
-ABC News’ Josh Margolin
Apr 03, 1:18 PM EDT
Trump expands legal team with top white-collar defense attorney
Former President Donald Trump is expanding his legal team, hiring a former federal prosecutor and white-collar defense attorney to lead his defense ahead of Tuesday’s arraignment, sources said.
Todd Blanche, a former assistant U.S. attorney in the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office, recently resigned from his law firm to take on this new role, according to sources. Blanche has represented high-profile clients like Paul Manafort, Trump’s former campaign chairman, and Igor Fruman, an ex-associate to Rudy Giuliani.
Blanche is expected to travel with Trump from Trump Tower in Midtown Manhattan to the courthouse in lower Manhattan on Tuesday, the sources said. Blanche didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
-ABC News’ John Santucci and Katherine Faulders
Apr 03, 1:00 PM EDT
Trump en route to New York
Former President Donald Trump has departed Florida’s Palm Beach International Airport bound for New York City.
Dozens of Trump supporters lined the streets to cheer the former president on as his motorcade headed to the airport.
Some wore shirts saying, “Trump did nothing wrong.”
“People want to support [Trump] because, basically, they see him as an underdog at this point, and which he is,” Whit Taylor told ABC News as he watched the motorcade. “He’s being harassed and pushed around by people who are just haters. I mean that’s the bottom line — they just hate people.”
Trump is expected to stay in Manhattan Monday night before appearing in court for an arraignment on Tuesday.
Apr 03, 12:38 PM EDT
No specific credible threat in NYC, mayor says
As New York City gears up for former President Donald Trump’s arraignment on Tuesday, Mayor Eric Adams said “there has been no specific credible threat.”
“All New Yorkers should go on with their regular activities” on Tuesday, Adams said at a news conference Monday, adding that New Yorkers should expect “some disruptions,” including traffic and street closures.
New Yorkers may also see an additional police presence, NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell said. She encouraged people to use mass transit when possible.
Sewell said any protests should be peaceful and orderly.
The mayor warned that violence and vandalism won’t be tolerated, and said anyone caught participating in violence will be arrested.
Adams called out Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., who said she’s planning to come to New York to support Trump, urging her and others to “be on your best behavior.”
Apr 03, 6:32 AM EDT
Poll shows plurality of the public supports Trump indictment
A plurality of Americans think former President Donald Trump should have been charged by a Manhattan grand jury with a history-making indictment.
According to the poll, 45% think Trump should have been charged with a crime in this case, whereas 32% don’t think so and 23% say they don’t know.
Democrats are, unsurprisingly, rallying behind the grand jury’s decision.
Almost nine in 10 Democrats (88%) think Trump should have been charged in the investigation by the Manhattan D.A., which has been probing a $130,000 hush money payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels who alleges the two had an affair. Trump has long denied these claims.
-ABC News’ Brittany Shepherd
Apr 03, 6:01 AM EDT
‘I just don’t know what to expect to see,’ Trump’s lawyer says
Donald Trump’s lawyer doesn’t know what to expect when the former president is arraigned on Tuesday in New York City given the historic nature of Trump’s indictment, he said on Sunday.
“This is unprecedented. I don’t know. I’ve done a million arraignments in that courthouse with celebrities and whatnot. But this is a whole different thing. We have Secret Service involved. I understand they’re closing the courthouse for the afternoon. I just don’t know what to expect to see,” Joe Tacopina told ABC This Week anchor George Stephanopoulos.
“What I hope is that we get in and out of there as quickly as possible, that it’s, at the end of the day, a typical arraignment where we stand before the judge, we say ‘not guilty,’ we set schedules to file motions and whatnot or discovery, and we move forward and get out of there,” Tacopina said.
-ABC News’ Tal Axelrod
Apr 03, 5:26 AM EDT
Trump expected to travel to New York on Monday
Former President Donald Trump is expected to travel to New York on Monday, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
He is expected to appear in court on Tuesday at the earliest, the sources said, on what is expected to be around two dozen counts – including felonies.
The exact charges are unknown since the indictment will not be unsealed until Trump appears in court.
-ABC News’ Aaron Katersky, Katherine Faulders, John Santucci
Apr 02, 11:09 AM EDT
Trump to speak at Mar-a-Lago Tuesday night
Following his expected arraignment on Tuesday in New York City, former President Donald Trump announced he would speak that evening from Mar-a-Lago.
The former president is slated to give remarks at 8:15 p.m., according to a press release.
-ABC News’ Olivia Rubin
Apr 02, 10:33 AM EDT
America split on Trump indictment: Poll
While 45% of Americans believe former President Donald Trump should face charges in an investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, 32% say he shouldn’t have been indicted, according to a new ABC News/Ipsos poll.
Another 23% of American say they don’t know whether the nation’s 45th president should face charges.
While the charges have not been announced, a Manhattan grand jury that indicted Trump had been hearing evidence in a $130,000 hush money payment Trump allegedly made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, who claims they had an affair. Trump has denied the allegations.
The poll showed a split in opinions along party lines. While 88% of Democrats said Trump should face charges, 62%, of Republicans said the former president should not have been charged while 16% said he should be charged, and the remainder was uncertain.
About 47% of Americans polled say the charges are politically motivated, echoing the sentiment from top GOP figures. About 79% of Republicans hold that view.
-ABC News’ Brittany Shepherd
Mar 31, 6:08 PM EDT
Why Trump indictment might hinge on a ‘novel legal theory’
As legal experts speculate on what charges lay inside the sealed indictment ahead of former President Donald Trump’s expected surrender on Tuesday afternoon, many predict that prosecutors could try out a new legal theory to justify bringing the charges.
“This could be a novel legal theory,” said Kate Shaw, a law professor at Cardozo and ABC News contributor, speculating on what charges the public could see against Trump while stressing it’s unknown until the indictment is unsealed.
-ABC News’ Libby Cathey
Mar 31, 5:31 PM EDT
Trump faces around 2 dozen counts, including felonies, sources say
Former President Donald Trump has been charged with around two dozen counts, including felonies, sources familiar with the sealed indictment told ABC News.
The exact charges remain unknown since the indictment will not be unsealed until Trump appears in court on Tuesday.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office declined to comment.
Mar 31, 4:51 PM EDT
Senate sergeant at arms warns of potential demonstration activity
The Senate sergeant at arms is warning of potential demonstration activity related to the indictment of former President Donald Trump.
“While law enforcement is not tracking any specific, credible threats against the Capitol or state offices, there is potential for demonstration activity,” an email obtained by ABC News said.
Capitol Police “is working with law enforcement partners, so you may observe a greater law enforcement presence on Capitol Hill,” the email said, adding that there could be “nationwide impacts to Senate state offices.”
The Capitol Police declined to comment and the sergeant at arms didn’t immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
-ABC News’ Luke Barr
Mar 31, 12:56 PM EDT
Ivanka Trump speaks out
Former President Donald Trump’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, reacted to the indictment on Instagram Friday, writing, “I love my father, and I love my country. Today, I am pained for both.”
She added, “I appreciate the voices across the political spectrum expressing support and concern.”
Mar 31, 12:30 PM EDT
How DA could use hush money payment to Playboy model Karen McDougal to bolster Trump case
Sources familiar with the matter told ABC News the Manhattan district attorney’s office is also investigating a $150,000 payment to Playboy model Karen McDougal, who, like Stormy Daniels, claimed to have had an affair with Donald Trump.
The former president has denied having an affair with either woman and has called the investigation a witch hunt.
McDougal was paid for the rights to her story in August 2016 by American Media, publisher of the National Enquirer, which did not publish it, a practice known as catch and kill.
Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and fixer, has said he recorded Trump discussing reimbursement to American Media for the payment to McDougal, but the payment was never made.
Trump has not responded to ABC News’ request for comment but in a 2018 interview with Fox News, he claimed he wasn’t aware of any payment made to AMI to facilitate the alleged hush agreement.
Mar 31, 12:27 PM EDT
Judge signs order allowing DA to publicly acknowledge indictment
Judge Juan Merchan has signed this order allowing the Manhattan district attorney’s office to publicly acknowledge the indictment.
The People v Donald J Trump. This is the order allowing the DA to publicly acknowledge the indictment pic.twitter.com/leg9vDascr
(NEW YORK) — The Laundress is recalling hundreds of thousands of laundry products four months after issuing a separate recall of millions of laundry detergent and cleaning products.
On Friday, the company announced it was issuing a voluntary recall of about 800,000 of its fabric conditioners, which are billed as products that help “eliminate static and soften fabric,” according to a description on The Laundress website.
According to The Laundress, the products may contain ethylene oxide, a chemical impurity and a known carcinogen that both the company and the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which posted a recall announcement for the products on March 31, say “can cause adverse health effects if there is significant and direct long-term exposure.”
“All fabric conditioners included in this recall notice were already covered by our previous market actions in December 2022,” the company added in a statement.
Carcinogens are substances that can cause cancer and exposure to ethylene oxide specifically can lead to headaches, diarrhea, vomiting, sleepiness, eye and skin burns and breathing difficulties, among other symptoms. Long-term exposure to ethylene oxide has been associated with cancer, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
According to the National Cancer Institute, “Lymphoma and leukemia are the cancers most frequently reported to be associated with occupational exposure to ethylene oxide,” and “stomach and breast cancers may also be associated with ethylene oxide exposure.”
The Laundress shared the March 31 recall notice across its various social media platforms and on its company website. In its latest announcement, the company expressed regret at the latest recall and said it was working to rectify its processes.
“We again deeply apologize for this situation and look forward to returning soon with a renewed commitment to the highest standards of product safety and quality,” The Laundress said in a statement.
The CPSC and The Laundress recommend that anyone with recalled fabric conditioners stop using the product immediately. Consumers are advised to contact The Laundress for a full refund and then close the container without emptying it and discard it in the trash. There have been no reports of injuries or incidents related to the fabric conditioner recall so far.
Recalled products retailed anywhere between $1 and $20 and were sold over the last decade between 2011 and November 2022, according to the CPSC. They were available both in major stores like Target and through online retailers including Amazon.com and The Laundress website in the U.S. and Canada.
The Laundress notes that consumers who previously requested a refund of Laundress fabric conditioners as part of their December 2022 recall need not file a new refund request. To contact The Laundress, consumers can email customerservice@thelaundress.com or call 800-681-1915 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET on weekdays.
A full list of The Laundress’ recalled products can be found at TheLaundressRecall.com.
(NEW YORK) — Four astronauts are making history as the first team to head to the moon in more than 50 years.
Victor Glover, Christina Hammock Koch and Reid Wiseman of NASA and Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency make up the Artemis II team that will fly by the moon. Koch will be the first woman and Glover will be the first person of color who will eventually go on to step foot on the lunar surface.
They spoke with ABC News’ Gio Benitez on “ABC News Live” Monday afternoon about their upcoming mission as well as their excitement.
“I think the thing that’s most going through our minds right now is the team,” said Wiseman, who will be the commander of the flight. “This is a huge effort for NASA for the United States of America, for Canada, for the whole world. And it’s great to have this tiny step completed today. And we are really pumped to take on this challenge.”
Koch made history with fellow astronaut Jessica Mer in October 2019 when they performed the first all-female spacewalk together.
Koch was also selected as an astronaut in 2013 and has completed six spacewalks. She currently holds the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman at 328 days. Benitez asked her how it felt to hold that record.
“The thing about records is that it’s not about any one individual’s success or contribution even,” she said. “It’s about the fact that it marks a milestone of where we’re at and where we’re choosing to go.”
Koch continued, “I always say my biggest hope for any record is that it’s broken as soon as possible because that means we’re continuing to push the boundaries, we’re continuing to go as a team and I look forward to the day that we continue to break boundaries even at the moon.”
Glover said he found out less than a month ago that he would be part of the Artemis II team, but it wasn’t hard to keep it a secret.
Koch said she was excited to tell her family, but her parents admitted they were nervous.
“They told me it’s a little bit different as a parent to watch your child go that far,” Koch said.
The only Canadian on the team, Hansen, currently helps NASA with astronaut training and mission operations.
Not only will this be Hansen’s first mission in space but he will also be the first Canadian to ever travel to the moon.
“It’s a real tribute to American leadership because the United States did not need Canada to go back to the moon,” Hansen said. “They decided to intentionally invite an international partnership to go back to the moon and they’ve lifted Canadians up and they’ve challenged Canadians. Canadians are rising to that challenge. I think it is an important example for the globe today.”
This will be the first set of missions that NASA has used to send a crew to the moon since the Apollo 17 mission in December 1972, more than 50 years ago.
The mission broke several records, including the longest spacewalk and largest lunar samples brought back to Earth and also involved several experiments, including sending five mice into space with the crew.
However, Koch said this mission will be very different from any previous mission to the moon.
“We’ve never gone to the moon to stay and we’ve never gone to the moon in an era where we know how important it is to go for all and by all and that’s what it means to me,” Koch said. “The fact that we are truly answering humanity’s call to explore. If we represent all of humanity, we recognize how important it is that every single person who has a contribution to make is going to be able to make that contribution and our missions will be more successful as a result.”
Artemis II is scheduled to send four astronauts into space in 2024 for a lunar flyby before returning to Earth. If the mission is successful, Artemis III — a moon landing — is scheduled for 2025.
“We’re so excited to take humanity with us,” Wiseman said. “Every one of us on that planet, 7 billion people, [Earth is] going to be about the size of a golf ball out the window when we’re on the far side of the moon and that is going to just take our breath away.”
Glover, the pilot of the mission, said as excited as he is to go into space, he is most excited to land back home.
“I love all the inspirational messages but splashdown. A safe splashdown,” he said.
Lynyrd Skynyrd has announced they plan to continue on following the March death of guitarist and founding member Gary Rossington.
In a statement, Johnny Van Zant, who has been the band’s lead singer for 36 years, calls Rossington “my brother, bandmate and friend,” adding, “We would do anything for each other.”
“Gary, along with my brother Ronnie (Van Zant) and Allen (Collins) started this band and left us all a legacy of music that has stood the test of time, and crossed three generations of fans,” he shares. “The music they created, and the music we created, together since 1987, was always meant to be experienced LIVE … the music should continue for everyone to love and enjoy. So we will continue to perform for the Skynyrd Nation.”
Rossington’s widow, Dale, adds that Gary “made it known at every chance to express how timeless the music was, and it was always his goal to keep the music alive for his brothers because that was always their dream.” She notes “his dream will continue thanks to Johnny, Rickey (Medlocke) and the rest of our band mates to continue to carry his legacy and music on for future generations.”
And Rossington’s legacy will be celebrated in June when Encore airs a November 2022 Lynyrd Skynyrd concert filmed at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium, which was Rossington’s final public performance with the band. The concert film will air in movie theaters before airing on PBS in August.
Meanwhile, Lynyrd Skynyrd will go on with the upcoming The Sharp Dressed Simple Man Tour with ZZ Top, which kicks off July 21 in West Palm Beach, Florida. A complete list of dates can be found at LynyrdSkynyrd.com.
Marco Piraccini/Archivio Marco Piraccini/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images
Madonna is paying tribute to record exec Seymour Stein, who passed away Sunday at the age of 80.
“Seymour Stein Has Left Us! I need to catch my breath,” she writes. “He Was one of the most influential Men in my Life!! He changed and Shaped my world. I must Explain.”
Stein signed Madonna to Sire Records in 1981. In her tribute she recounts the story of auditioning for him when he was in the hospital for a heart ailment.
“When I met him he was laying in a hospital bed wearing his boxer shorts and a wife beater!” she writes. “He had a cannula up his nose and a saline Drip in his arm! He was grinning like the Cheshire Cat.” She explains that she had her boombox with her to play him some of her music, noting, “He smiled and laughed when he saw me and asked me if I was related to the Virgin Mary!! … I knew we would hit it off.”
Madonna played him some music and he signed her that day.
“This moment changed the course of my Life Forever. And was the beginning of my journey as a Musical Artist,” she says. “Not only did Seymour hear me but he Saw me and my Potential! For this I will be eternally grateful!”
“Anyone who knew Seymour knew about his passion for music and his impeccable taste,” Madonna concludes. “He had an Ear like no other! He was Intense -Wickedly Funny-a little bit Crazy And Deeply intuitive. Dearest Seymour you will never be forgotten!!”
Peek into Kane Brown‘s “last request” in his haunting new single, “Bury Me In Georgia.”
Penned by Kane, Jordan Schmidt, Josh Hoge and Matt McGinn, the barn burner features a riveting storyline that centers around Kane’s final wish to be buried in his beloved home state of Georgia.
“Bury me in Georgia/ Lemme rest in peace/ Underneath the pines/ Yeah, yeah, yeah/ Where my roots run deep/ When it’s my day/ Put me in that clay/ And remember what I told ya/ When I die/ Bury me in Georgia,” Kane professes in the chorus.
“‘Bury Me In Georgia’ is just a song you know about the home state that I grew up in. That’s where I want to go whenever it’s my time. Especially the Georgia Bulldogs, they on top of it right now about three-peat so anyway, no, Georgia is just, you know, it’s always gonna place in my heart,” shares Kane.
“Bury Me In Georgia” is the newest single from Kane’s 2022 album, Different Man. The 17-song record includes the hits “One Mississippi,” “Like I Love Country Music” and “Thank God,” a duet with his wife, Katelyn Brown.
Most recently, Kane and Katelyn won Video of the Year at the 2023 CMT Music Awards.
Tyler, the Creator is treating fans to yet another visual. On Monday he released the music video for “Heaven to Me,” which finds the rapper performing the track from his home studio.
“Heaven to Me” features a sample of “Heaven Only Knows” by Monk Higgins. It follows previously released visuals for “Sorry Not Sorry,” “Dogtooth” and the A$AP Rocky-assisted “Wharf Talk,” all songs off Tyler’s new album.
Call Me If You Get Lost: The Estate Sale follows the Grammy-winning Call Me If You Get Lost original. The Estate Sale features songs that didn’t make the first cut.
On Monday, Warner Bros. Pictures debuted an action-packed trailer to its upcoming DC Comics-based movie Blue Beetle — the first Latino-led superhero movie for the studio.
Cobra Kai‘s Xolo Maridueña [SHOW-low Mar-i-DWANE-ya] plays Jamie Reyes, an everyday teenager who finds himself the recipient of an alien scarab that gives him super abilities and an Iron Man-like exoskeleton.
The trailer shows that his transition into a superhero takes some getting used to, however. “It’s some kind of world-destroying weapon,” he’s told. “It’s designed to protect its host — sometimes it does what you want, and some times it doesn’t.”
Susan Sarandon plays the villainess, Victoria Kord, who will stop at nothing to get the power back. “The scarab chose you, but it belongs to me,” she hisses.
As we’re treated to shots of Blue Beetle in action, we hear George Lopez as his Uncle Rudy advising, “The universe has sent you a gift, but you have to figure out what you’re gonna do with it.”
Jamie later says of his new gear, “It’s like Batman stuff.” Lopez fires back, “Batman’s a fascist.”
The movie also stars What We Do in the Shadows‘ Harvey Guillén, Belissa Escobedo, Bruna Marquezine and Mayans M.C.‘s Raoul Max Trujillo as one of the baddies, Carapax the Indestructible Man.
Kevin Kane/Getty Images For The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Def Leppard’s Vivian Campbell is sharing his admiration for the late Thin Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott.
While appearing on BBC’s The Rock Show with Johnnie Walker, Campbell was asked to pick his “Rock God,” and made the case for Lynott.
“Phil was an absolute rock star. When Phil walked into the room, everyone noticed and he held everyone’s attention,” he explained. “It was such an inspiration to me and to my musician friends.”
Vivian added, “Growing up in Ireland, in Belfast in the ’70s, it wasn’t a fun place. But to witness this band Thin Lizzy get this international success, to be on shows like ‘Top Of The Pops,’ but yet they were the cool rock band when everyone else was doing disco music.”
Vivian says he met Lynott “so many times,” especially around Dublin, where Lynott would get onstage with Campbell’s teen band, Sweet Savage, to play Thin Lizzy tunes.
Campbell notes, “It really kind of helped us to look up to this man and to this band and to say, you know, it’s possible to move beyond what it is that we see around us in our daily lives and to dream big.”
