Johnson had been a fan of the band since seeing them perform in 1979, and had recorded a version of the Thin Lizzy song "Borderline" on his first solo album, "Dust", in 2000. With Cooper's blessing, Johnson accepted the offer and toured around the world with Thin Lizzy until early 2013. The line-up also included original drummer Brian Downey and keyboardist Darren Wharton. Johnson had always been influenced by the band: "Thin Lizzy has colored my career musically and in every aspect – as a performer, as a guitarist, as a songwriter." Gorham was very pleased with Johnson's appointment: "Everybody loves him to death. It's like a big happy family traveling all over the world again." By 2012, Thin Lizzy were working towards recording new material, but the band members had doubts about recording new songs under the Thin Lizzy name without the band's original frontman Phil Lynott. Johnson later said that, if he were not in the band, he would not have been happy to see new recordings being released without Lynott. So the group decided to record under a different name and put Thin Lizzy on hiatus. In December 2012, Johnson co-founded the Thin Lizzy spin-off band, Black Star Riders, whose first album "All Hell Breaks Loose" was released in May 2013. Johnson developed a songwriting partnership with frontman Ricky Warwick and the pair co-wrote all the songs on the album: "I joined Thin Lizzy because I wanted to play those great songs with Scott Gorham and Brian Downey. But let me be clear about this – I'm in the Black Star Riders because of Ricky Warwick." After touring across Europe, the US and Japan throughout 2013 and the first half of 2014, Black Star Riders recorded their second album, "The Killer Instinct", released in February 2015, reaching № 13 in the UK. Johnson stated: "The days of me hopscotching back to Alice Cooper or a Slave to the System album are past. This is the best band I've ever been in. We’re firing on all cylinders." Black Star Riders' third album, "Heavy Fire", was released on February 3, 2017, and was followed by tours of the UK and Europe, with further touring in the US during March and April 2018, alongside Judas Priest and Saxon. "Heavy Fire" reached № 6 in the UK album charts. After the US tour, it was announced that Johnson would be leaving the band at the end of 2018 to concentrate on his solo career and session work.