Punctuality is the thief of time. —Oscar Wilde.

This article was supposed to begin with an utterly irresistible bit of backroom decadence—you know the ploy —Phil Lynott, Scott Gorham and yours truly are stretched out on the floor of the penthouse suite at the swank Pontchartrain Hotel in beautiful downtown Detroit, guzzling champagne before Thin Lizzy's gala concert (it's all OLD YELLOW EYES Lynott can drink after his recent bout with hepatitis).