Fans of Philip Lynott are being hoodwinked by an unscrupulous online dealer. In what has all the appearances of a pre-meditated con job, artefacts are currently being offered on the internet auction site eBay under false pretences.

HOTPRESS has identified Chris Hewitt, who lives outside Manchester, as eBay member 265 – the individual who has been putting ads on eBay offering what purport to be rare Thin Lizzy books.
One of those offered is My Boy, which is published by HOTPRESS Books, which Hewitt has been selling for £85 sterling. On eBay, it’s described as “Brand new, out of print, with signed loose insert page.”
This description is clearly misleading in that the book is not out of print. It is currently available from hotpress.Com for €15.95 and on Amazon.
In addition, the loose insert page is merely a printed sheet with the signature of Philomena Lynott. HOTPRESS has established that the signature has been reproduced without her authorisation.
In addition, Hewitt has been offering a twin pack of “rare poetry books” for £50 sterling. Hewitt claims that these are rare second run copies of the two books of lyrics that were published by Philip Lynott – Songs For While I’m Away and Phil Lynott. They purport to be signed by Philomena Lynott.
However, HOTPRESS has seen copies of the books and they contain no copyright references nor any information about who is the publisher. The signature of Philomena Lynott has been added to a blank page within the book, and once again is a printed copy rather than her actual signature. As with the signed sheet offered with My Boy, this has been reproduced without any authorisation.
The books look like laser prints, which nowadays can be executed relatively cheaply – especially given the low page count in the poetry books.
One of the victims of Hewitt’s hoaxes, who bought the poetry books, has spoken to HOTPRESS about what happened to her.
“I’m a big fan of Thin Lizzy and Philip Lynott and so I like to collect anything that I can. I love his lyrics and so when I saw the poetry books advertised on eBay I was really interested,” Carol Short tells hotpress.
At first Carol, who is living on her own with a young son who is autistic, decided that she couldn’t afford to splash out. But she couldn’t resist going back online, to see if there were developments.
“Those copies were sold and then another ad appeared,” she recalls, “and so I thought, ‘Sod it, I’ll treat myself’ – and so I bought them for £50.
“The parcel arrived quickly and at first I was thrilled. Then I saw the same thing being advertised again, by the same seller and that started to get me curious.”
Rather than being the beneficiary of a one-off sale of a rare item, Carol discovered that Hewitt was in a different kind of business.
“Well, what I discovered was that, every time one pair sells, he puts another pair up,” she explains. “Over a very short period of time, he’s sold hundreds of pounds worth. I remember saying to my mother: ‘Do you think it’s a scam?’”
At this stage, Carol – who has decided that she will not put up with being a victim – has come to definite conclusions.
“It has to be illegal, what he’s doing. From what I understand, they aren’t original editions at all, they’re copies – but he describes them as original editions, on eBay. I don’t think he should get away with it. It isn’t fair taking money off people under false pretences.
“He’s also selling copies of My Boy for £85, on the premise that the book is out of print – which, as I now know, isn’t true.”
Alerted to the scam, Philomena Lynott is understandably upset at the exploitation of her son’s name and work.
“I am really angry about it,” Philomena Lynott tells HOTPRESS. “These poetry books are not original copies at all. And my signature on them is just a photocopy. It doesn’t matter who printed them – I never gave authorisation for my signature to be copied in this way on any book.
“When you examine them, you see that there is no information about who published the book, where it was printed – or in relation to copyright. That can’t be right.
“Imagine taking money from a young woman like Carol, who has an autistic child that she is caring for on her own – I think it’s despicable.
“And she isn’t the only one,” Philomena adds. “There are loads more pople who have been conned into thinking they’re getting something that they’re not.”
Carol has now extracted an agreement from Hewitt that he will refund her the money.
Among the other items Hewitt has been offering for sale are £15 t-shirts featuring the cover from HOTPRESS’ 1986 tribute to Philip Lynott. At no time has hotpress given him or any other third-party permission to use this copyrighted artwork.