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One of rock's most underrated guitarists (both from a technical and compositional point of view), Gary Moore remains relatively unknown inthe
U.S., while his solo work has brought him substantial acclaim and commercial success in most other parts of the world -- especially inEurope.
Born on April 4, 1952, in Belfast, Ireland, Moore became interested in guitar during the '60s, upon discovering such blues-rockmasters as Eric
Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, and perhaps his biggest influence of all, Fleetwood Mac's Peter Green. After relocating to Dublin laterin the decade, Moore
joined a local roc ...read more
One of rock's most underrated guitarists (both from a technical and compositional point of view), Gary Moore remains relatively unknown inthe
U.S., while his solo work has brought him substantial acclaim and commercial success in most other parts of the world -- especially inEurope.
Born on April 4, 1952, in Belfast, Ireland, Moore became interested in guitar during the '60s, upon discovering such blues-rockmasters as Eric
Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, and perhaps his biggest influence of all, Fleetwood Mac's Peter Green. After relocating to Dublin laterin the decade, Moore
joined a local rock group called Skid Row, which featured a young singer by the name of Phil Lynott, who would soonafter leave the group to
double up on bass and form Thin Lizzy. Skid Row persevered, however, eventually opening a show for Moore'sheroes, Peter Green and Fleetwood
Mac, and making such an impression on the veteran group that Green personally requested theirmanager help secure Skid Row a recording
contract with CBS (in addition, Green sold Moore one of his most-used guitars, a maple 1959Gibson Les Paul Standard, which would become
Moore's primary instrument).
Skid Row would go on to issue several singles and albums (including 1970's Skid and 1971's 34 Hours), and although the group mounted afew
tours of Europe and the U.S., it failed to obtain breakthrough commercial success, leading to Moore's exit from the group in 1972. Moorethen
formed his own outfit, the Gary Moore Band (along with members drummer Pearse Kelly and bassist John Curtis), for which the guitaristalso
served as vocalist. But after the trio's debut album, 1973's Grinding Stone, sunk without a trace, Moore hooked up once more with ex-bandmate
Lynott in Thin Lizzy. Moore's initial tenure in Lizzy proved to be short-lived, however, as his fiery playing was featured on only ahandful of tracks.
Moore then set his sights on studio work (appearing on Eddie Howell's 1975 release, Gramaphone Record), before joiningup with a prog
rock/fusion outfit, Colosseum II. But once more, Moore's tenure in his latest outfit was fleeting; he appeared on only threerecordings (1976's
Strange New Flesh, plus a pair in 1977, Electric Savage and War Dance), as Moore accepted an invitation by his oldbuddy Lynott to fill in for a
Thin Lizzy U.S. tour, playing arenas opening for Queen.
Moore proved to be quite busy in 1978, as the guitarist appeared on three other artists' recordings -- Andrew Lloyd Webber's Variations,Rod
Argent's Moving Home, and Gary Boyle's Electric Glide. The same year, Moore issued his second solo release (almost five years afterhis solo
debut), Back on the Streets, which spawned a surprise Top Ten U.K. hit in May of 1979, the bluesy ballad "Parisienne Walkways,"and featured
vocal contributions by Lynott. Moore joined forces with his Lizzy mates once more in 1979, appearing on arguably the fineststudio album of their
career, Black Rose, which proved to be a huge hit in the U.K. (for a fine example of Moore's exceptional guitar skills,check out the album's epic
title track). But predictably, Moore ultimately exited the group once more (this time right in the middle of a U.S.tour), as a rift had developed
between Moore and Lynott. Undeterred, Moore lent some guitar work to drummer Cozy Powell's solo release,Over the Top, in addition to forming
a new outfit, G Force, which would only remain together for a lone self-titled release in 1980.
During the early '80s, Moore united with former ELP guitarist/bassist/singer Greg Lake, appearing on a pair of Lake solo releases (1981'sself-
titled release and 1983's Manoeuvres), in addition to guesting on another Cozy Powell solo release, Octopuss. But it was also duringthe '80s that
Moore finally got serious with his solo career -- issuing such heavy metal-based works as 1982's Corridors of Power, 1983'sVictims of the Future,
1984's Dirty Fingers and the in-concert set We Want Moore!, 1985's Run for Cover, 1987's Wild Frontier, plus1989's After the War -- establishing
a large following in Europe, despite remaining virtually unknown stateside. The decade wasn't all rosyfor Moore, however -- although he was able
to patch up his friendship with Phil Lynott (appearing with Lizzy for several tracks on Life/Live,and teaming with Lynott for a pair of tracks in
1985, "Military Man" and "Out in the Fields," the latter a U.K. hit), years of hard living finallycaught up with Lynott, leading to his passing in
January of 1986. Moore would subsequently dedicate "Wild Frontier" to Lynott, and honoredThin Lizzy's former frontman on the track "Blood of
Emeralds" (from After the War).
Fed up with the pressure to pen hit singles and tired of his metallic musical direction, Moore returned to his blues roots for 1990's Still Gotthe
Blues, the most renowned and best-selling release of his career, as the album featured such special guests as Albert Collins, AlbertKing, and
George Harrison. Moore continued in his newly rediscovered blues style on such subsequent releases as 1992's After Hours and1993's Blues
Alive, before forming the short-lived supergroup BBM along with Cream's former rhythm section -- bassist Jack Bruce anddrummer Ginger Baker
-- which lasted for a single album, 1994's Around the Next Dream. Up next for Moore was a tribute album for PeterGreen, 1995's Blues for
Greeny, which saw him put his own personal stamp on 11 tracks either penned or performed at some point byGreen. Moore experimented with
different musical styles on his next two solo releases, 1997's Dark Days in Paradise and 1999's ADifferent Beat, before embracing the blues once
more on his first release of the 21st century, 2001's Back to the Blues.
Over the years, Gary Moore has been the subject of countless compilations, the best of the bunch being 1998's metal-oriented Collectionand
2002's blues-based Best of the Blues, as well as Out in the Fields: The Very Best of Gary Moore, which was split 50/50 between hismetal and
blues excursions. Teaming with Skunk Anansie bassist Cass Lewis and Primal Fear drummer Darrin Mooney, Moore started workon much harder
and alternative-influenced rock in the spring of 2002 and released the results as Scars. The powerful Live at Monsters ofRock from 2003 proudly
declared "no overdubs used" while 2004's raw Power of the Blues featured nothing but the blues, as did 2006's OldNew Ballads Blues on Eagle
Records, 2007's Close As You Get (which featured some drum contributions from his old Thin Lizzy friend BrianDowney), and 2008's Bad for You
Baby. This turned out to be Moore's final studio album, as he unexpectedly passed away of a suspectedheart attack in the early morning hours of
February 6, 2011, while vacationing in Spain. « hide |
Similar Bands: Thin Lizzy, Skid Row (IRE), BBM, Peter Green, Colosseum II Contributors: AleksiS, rockandmetaljunkie, Voivod, Nagrarok, Manic_, TheRamblingElf, JamieTwort, walfernu, Dave de Sylvia, Voivod, rockandmetaljunkie, Nagrarok, melomaniac, JamieTwort,
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