tour Johnny the Fox was released on 16 October 1976, and reached No.11 in the UK charts. The single "Don't Believe a Word" reached No.12 in the UK and No.2 in Ireland. Thin Lizzy toured the UK during October and November, supported by American band Clover, led by Huey Lewis. The tour was successful enough that an extra date was added at the Hammersmith Odeon in November. There was also a successful appearance on Rod Stewart's BBC TV show in the UK, where Thin Lizzy upstaged their host by playing live, whereas Stewart mimed. The tour was scheduled to continue in the US in late November, but was cancelled after Robertson suffered a hand injury in a fight at the Speakeasy Club in London. Robertson's friend Frankie Miller was about to be attacked with a glass bottle by the Gonzalez guitarist Gordon Hunte, and Robertson tried to intervene. The bottle cut his hand, badly damaging an artery and a nerve, preventing him from playing guitar effectively for several months. The tour was postponed until January 1977, when Thin Lizzy began a three-month US tour opening for Queen with Gary Moore standing in for Robertson. Reception Harry Doherty of Melody Maker, praised the album, comparing it to Jailbreak, writing there is "more subtlety, the melodies are stronger, and, most importantly, the scope of the material is much wider than the hard rock associated with Lizzy", showing a band more versatile than on the previous recording. To the contrary, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic stated that Johnny the Fox fell short in comparison to the previous album, Jailbreak, suggesting that the album veers towards "an odd, half-baked concept album", despite showing the same strengths as its predecessor, i.e. Lynott's lyrics and the group's musical power. Praising "Don't Believe a Word" and "Borderline" as great moments, he said that the album "never falls flat", but is "never quite as gripping as Jailbreak". Canadian journalist Martin Popoff considered Johnny the Fox Thin Lizzy's first real masterpiece and described it as "a rich textural work of melodic, soft-edged metal, lyrically soulful, melancholy, in many places tragic". Stuart Bailie, reviewing the 2011 reissue for Classic Rock, described the album as "an exercise in tight, rousing tunes with the chiming Les Paul guitars and Phil's patented blarney", but wrote that the bonus tracks were "less revealing" than on other Thin Lizzy expanded editions. The track "Johnny the