It was on this day in 1986, January 4th, when we lost Philip Parris Lynott, the Irish musician and songwriter, and founding member of Thin Lizzy. After the band broke up, Lynott increasingly suffered drug-related problems, particularly addiction to heroin, leading to his collapse on Christmas Day 1985, at his home in Kew. He was discovered by his mother, who was not aware of his dependence on heroin. She contacted his wife Caroline, who took him to an Infirmary where he was diagnosed as suffering from septicemia. His kidneys, liver, and heart failure due to blood poisoning and multiple internal abscesses caused by drug abuse. Although he regained consciousness enough to speak to his mother, his condition worsened by the start of the new year and he was put on a ventilator. He died of pneumonia and heart failure due to septicemia in the hospital's intensive care unit on January 4, 1986, at the age of 36.
In Phil's memory, check out the documentary Outlawed: Thin Lizzy And The Real Phil Lynott above.