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Lynott memorabilia sold under false pretences

Phil Lynott fans beware – supposedly ‘rare’ Thin Lizzy artefacts being sold by an English dealer are not what they seem.

Niall Stokes, 21 May 2007

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.



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