Gary Moore

For other uses, see Gary Moore (disambiguation).

Gary Moore
Moore in 2008
Background information
Birth name	Robert William Gary Moore
Born	4 April 1952(1952-04-04) Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
Died	6 February 2011(2011-02-06) (aged 58) Estepona, Malaga Province, Spain
Genres	Blues rock, hard rock, heavy metal, blues, jazz fusion
Occupations	Musician, songwriter, producer
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, harmonica
Years active	1969–2011
Labels	Virgin, Eagle
Associated acts	Skid Row, Thin Lizzy, Colosseum II, Phil Lynott, Greg Lake, BBM
Website	gary-moore.com
Notable instruments
Gary Moore Signature Les Paul Fender Stratocaster

Robert William Gary Moore (4 April 1952^[1] – 6 February 2011), better known simply as Gary Moore, was an Irish musician from Belfast, best recognised as a blues rock guitarist and singer.

In a career dating back to the 1960s, Moore played with artists including Phil Lynott and Brian Downey during his teens, leading him to memberships with the Irish bands Skid Row and Thin Lizzy on three separate occasions. Moore shared the stage with such blues and rock luminaries as B.B. King, Albert King, Colosseum II, George Harrison and Greg Lake, as well as having a successful solo career. He guested on a number of albums recorded by high profile musicians, including a cameo appearance playing the lead guitar solo on "She's My Baby" from Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3.

Moore died of a heart attack^[2] in his hotel room while on holiday in Estepona, Spain, in February 2011.^[3][4]

Early life and career

Moore started performing at a young age, having picked up a battered acoustic guitar at the age of eight. He got his first quality guitar at the age of 14, learning to play the right-handed instrument in the standard way despite being left-handed. He moved to Dublin in 1968 at the age of 16. His early musical influences were artists such as Albert King, Elvis Presley, The Shadows and The Beatles. Later, having seen Jimi Hendrix and John Mayall's Bluesbreakers in his home town of Belfast, his own style was developing into a blues-rock sound that would be the dominant form of his career in music.

Moore's greatest influence in the early days was guitarist Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac who was a mentor to Moore when performing in Dublin. Green's continued influence on Moore was later repaid as a tribute to Green on his 1995 album Blues for Greeny, an album consisting entirely of Green compositions. On this tribute album, Moore played Green's 1959 Les Paul Standard guitar which Green had lent to Moore after leaving Fleetwood Mac. Moore ultimately purchased the guitar, at Green's request, so that "it would have a good home".^[5]

Moore performing at the Manchester Apollo, 1985

While less popular in the US, Moore's work "brought substantial acclaim and commercial success in most other parts of the world – especially in Europe".^[6] Throughout his career, Moore was recognised as an influence by many notable guitarists including Vivian Campbell,^[7] Patrick Rondat,^[8] John Norum, Paul Gilbert,^[9] Gus G, Slash, Orianthi, Joe Bonamassa, Adrian Smith, Zakk Wylde,^[10] Randy Rhoads, John Sykes and Kirk Hammett^[11]

He collaborated with a broad range of artists including Phil Lynott, George Harrison, Trilok Gurtu, Dr. Strangely Strange, Colosseum II, Travelling Wilburys, Albert Collins, Jimmy Nail, Mo Foster, Ginger Baker, Jack Bruce, Jim Capaldi, B.B. King, Bob Dylan, Vicki Brown, Cozy Powell, Rod Argent, the Beach Boys, Ozzy Osbourne, Paul Rodgers, Keith Emerson, Roger Daltrey, Albert King and together with Colosseum II with Andrew Lloyd Webber on the composer's Variations album in 1978. He experimented with many musical genres, including rock, jazz, blues, country, electric blues, hard rock and heavy metal.^[12]

In 1968, aged 16, Moore moved to Dublin to join the group Skid Row with Noel Bridgeman and Brendan "Brush" Shiels. It was with this group that he earned a reputation in the music industry, and his association with Phil Lynott began.^[3]

Solo career

Moore released his first solo album in 1973, Grinding Stone (billed as "the Gary Moore Band"). 'Grinding Stone' was issued in North America on Neil Kempfer-Stocker's fledgling record label imprint Cosmos. It received 'Album of the Year' accolades on KTAC-FM/Seattle-Tacoma, Washington in 1974. In 1978 his solo career continued with help from Phil Lynott. The combination of Moore's blues-based guitar and Lynott's voice produced "Parisienne Walkways", which reached the Top Ten in the UK Singles Chart in April 1979 and the Thin Lizzy album Black Rose: A Rock Legend which reached number two in the UK album chart. Moore appears in the videos for Waiting for an Alibi and Do Anything You Want To.

In 1987, he collaborated on the UK charity record "Let It Be", a cover of the Beatles track. He performed a guitar solo for inclusion on the recording, which was released under the group-name of 'Ferry Aid'. The record raised substantial funds for the survivors of the MS Herald of Free Enterprise disaster.

In 1993, he was included on a cassette called Rock Classics Vol. 1 with "Run to Your Mama", and "Dark Side of the Moog".

Moore performing, 23 October 2010

After a series of rock records, Moore returned to blues music with Still Got the Blues, with contributions from Albert King, Albert Collins and George Harrison. The album was well received by fans. He stayed with the blues format until 1997, when he decided to experiment with modern dance beats on Dark Days in Paradise; this left many fans, as well as the music press, confused. He also contributed guitar sections to Richard Blackwood's 2000 album, You'll Love to Hate This.

With Back to the Blues, Moore returned to his tried and tested blues format in 2001: he continued with this style on Power of the Blues (2004), Old New Ballads Blues (2006), Close As You Get (2007) and Bad For You Baby (2008).

In January 2005, Moore joined the One World Project, which recorded a song for the 2004 Asian Tsunami relief effort. The group featured Russell Watson, Boy George, Steve Winwood, Barry Gibb, Brian Wilson, Cliff Richard, Dewey Bunnell, Gerry Beckley and Robin Gibb on vocals (in their order of appearance), and featured a guitar solo by Moore. The song, entitled "Grief Never Grows Old", was released in February 2005, reaching #4 on the UK Singles Chart.^[13]

In what has been described as "a brave and principled stand",^[14] Gary declared his support for the cultural boycott of Israel. At a press conference in Russia he announced that he would not visit the ‘criminal state’ of Israel ‘because of its racist policies against the Palestinian people’.^{[citation needed]}

He also took part in a comedy skit entitled "The Easy Guitar Book Sketch" with comedian Rowland Rivron and fellow musicians Mark Knopfler, Lemmy from Motorhead, Mark King from Level 42, and David Gilmour.

Personal life

Moore grew up on Castleview Road opposite Stormont's Parliament Buildings, off the Upper Newtownards Road in east Belfast, as one of five children of a promoter named Bobby and housewife, Winnie, but he left the city as a teenager, because all was not well in their household. His parents parted a year later. He left just as The Troubles were starting in Northern Ireland.^[15]

Aiming to become a musician he moved to Dublin at the age of 16 and joined Skid Row, a band that then included Phil Lynott. Moore would later join Lynott again in 1973 when he first joined Thin Lizzy, after the departure of founding member Eric Bell and again in 1977. He moved to England in 1970 and remained there, apart from two short periods in America. In 2002 he bought a five-bedroom detached Edwardian house in Hove, just west of Brighton, Sussex, to be near his sons, Jack and Gus, from his former marriage which had lasted from 1985 to 1993. Since 1997 he was living with his partner, an artist named Jo, and their daughter Lily (b. 1999) and Saoirse.^[15] His residence was reported to be on Vallance Gardens in Hove, East Sussex.^[16]

Death

Gary Moore died of a suspected heart attack,^[2][17] at the age of 58 during the early hours of 6 February 2011. At the time, he was on holiday at the Kempinski Hotel in Estepona, Spain, with his girlfriend, who raised the alarm at 4:00 am. His death was confirmed by Thin Lizzy's manager Adam Parsons.^[3][4][18]

Legacy

Since his death, many fellow musicians have commented on Gary Moore's talents including Ozzy Osbourne,^[19] Eric Singer,^[20] Doug Aldrich,^[21] T mi,^[22] Bob Geldof,^[23] Roger Taylor,^[24] Brian Downey,^[25][26] Andy DiGelsomina,^[27] Ricky Warwick,^[28] Glenn Hughes, Bryan Adams, Henry Rollins, Scott Gorham,^[29] Ignacio Garay,^[30] Mikael Åkerfeldt.^[31] In March 2011 Guitarist produced their tribute special with unreleased footage from 2009. Musicians including Former Thin Lizzy Guitarist Eric Bell, Silverbird and Mick and Dave Pyro from the Republic of Loose on the 18 April, gathered for a tribute concert in Whelans bar in Dublin, Ireland entitled 'The Gig For Gary'.^[32]

Fans have called for popular magazines such as Classic Rock, Guitarist and Total Guitar to do tributes. Twitter was flooded with tributes from fans for several days after the news was revealed.^[33]

Discography

Main article: Gary Moore discography

• Grinding Stone (1973)
• Back on the Streets (1978)
• G-Force (1980)
• Corridors of Power (1982)
• Dirty Fingers (1984)
• Victims of the Future (1984)
• Run for Cover (1985)
• Wild Frontier (1987)
• After the War (1989)
• Still Got the Blues (1990)
• After Hours (1992)
• Blues for Greeny (1995)
• Dark Days in Paradise (1997)
• A Different Beat (1999)
• Back to the Blues (2001)
• Scars (2002)
• Power of the Blues (2004)
• Old New Ballads Blues (2006)
• Close As You Get (2007)
• Bad for You Baby (2008)

Tributes:

• We Want Moore! - Gary Moore Tribute (Lion Music 2004)

References

1. ^ "Mirror.co.uk". Mirror.co.uk. http://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/news/2011/02/07/gary-moore-1952-2011-10-things-you-need-to-know-about-the-thin-lizzy-guitarist-115875-22905904/. Retrieved 5 April 2011. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Box-Turnbull, Greig (8 February 2011). "Thin Lizzy star Gary Moore died of natural causes". Daily Mirror (UK). http://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/news/2011/02/08/thin-lizzy-star-gary-moore-died-of-natural-causes-115875-22906893/. Retrieved 8 February 2011. 
3. ^ ^{a b c} "Rock guitarist Gary Moore dies". BBC. 6 February 2011. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-12377862. 
4. ^ ^{a b} "Former Thin Lizzy guitarist Moore dies". The Irish TImes. 6 February 2011. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2011/0206/breaking25.html. Retrieved 6 February 2011. 
5. ^ "Green Lantern! - The Peter Green Les Paul Guitarist Magazine, April 1995 (viewed 12 April 2010)
6. ^ Prato, Greg. "Gary Moore Bio". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p4950. Retrieved 8 February 2011. 
7. ^ "Vivian Campbell Interview : Guitar Interviews". GuitarInternational.com. http://guitarinternational.com/wpmu/2010/10/25/vivian-campbell-the-two-sides-of-if-interview/. Retrieved 5 April 2011. 
8. ^ FR. "Patrick Rondat Biography". Myspace.com. http://www.myspace.com/patrickrondat. Retrieved 5 April 2011. 
9. ^ "Paul Gilbert pays tribute to the late, great Gary Moore". Myspace.com. http://www.myspace.com/marshall_amps/blog/542027474. Retrieved 27 July 2011. 
10. ^ Bosso, Joe (15 August 2007). "The Man, The Myth, The Metal: Gibson Interviews Zakk Wylde". Gibson Lifestyle. http://www.gibson.com/en-us/Lifestyle/Features/ZakkWylde/. Retrieved 8 February 2011. 
11. ^ Fox, Darrin (7 August 2007). "Gary Moore". Guitar Player. http://www.guitarplayer.com/article/gary-moore/aug-07/30184. Retrieved 8 February 2011. 
12. ^ Gary Moore Collaboration's, archived from the original on 6 February 2008, http://web.archive.org/web/20080206231242/http://www.gary-moore.com/Discography/Sessions/sessions.html, retrieved 8 February 2011 
13. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 407. ISBN 1-904994-10-5. 
14. ^ "Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign condolences to the family and friends of Gary Moore". Cosmos.ucc.ie. 7 February 2011. http://cosmos.ucc.ie/cs1064/jabowen/IPSC/ipsc/displayRelease.php?releaseID=433!. Retrieved 5 April 2011. 
15. ^ ^{a b} "Moore's almanac." Belfast Telegraph, 24 May 2007. Retrieved 7 Feb 2011.
16. ^ "Hove rock star found dead". The Argos. 6 February 2011. http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/8836198.Hove_rock_star_found_dead/. Retrieved 8 February 2011. 
17. ^ "Guitar legend died of heart attack". Belfasttelegraph.co.uk. 8 February 2011. http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/gary-moore-thin-lizzy-guitar-legend-died-from-suspected-heart-attack-15076596.html. Retrieved 5 April 2011. 
18. ^ "Legendary rock guitarist, Gary Moore, dies in Estepona". Typically Spanish. 6 February 2011. http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_29070.shtml. Retrieved 8 February 2011. 
19. ^ "BLABBERMOUTH.NET - OZZY OSBOURNE On GARY MOORE: 'We've Lost A Phenomenal Musician And A Great Friend'". Roadrunnerrecords.com. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=153581. Retrieved 5 April 2011. 
20. ^ "Eric Singer Remembers Gary Moore". KISSopolis. 2011-02-09. http://www.kissopolis.com/2011/02/eric-singer-remembers-gary-moore.html. Retrieved 2011-07-06. 
21. ^ "Rest in Peace Gary Moore :Doug Aldrich.com News". Dougaldrich.com. 2011-02-13. http://www.dougaldrich.com/news/2011/0213.php. Retrieved 2011-07-06. 
22. ^ "Tony Iommi Official Website". Iommi.com. 7 February 2011. http://www.iommi.com/index.php?story=106. Retrieved 5 April 2011. 
23. ^ "Geldof pays tribute to Thin Lizzy guitarist Gary Moore". BBC News. 7 February 2011. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-12380704. 
24. ^ "Classic Rock » Blog Archive » Gary Moore: Ozzy, Roger Taylor Pay Tribute". Classicrockmagazine.com. http://www.classicrockmagazine.com/news/gary-moore-ozzy-roger-taylor-pay-tribute/. Retrieved 5 April 2011. 
25. ^ "Gary Moore tributes flow in after death". Music-News.com. 29 January 2009. http://www.music-news.com/shownews.asp?nItemID=39155. Retrieved 5 April 2011. 
26. ^ "Musicians Pay Tribute to Gary Moore, Former Thin Lizzy Guitarist Found Dead In Spanish Hotel | Showbiz News | Sky News". News.sky.com. http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Showbiz-News/Gary-Moore-Former-Thin-Lizzy-Guitarist-Found-Dead-Aged-58-In-Hotel-Room-On-The-Costa-Del-Sol/Article/201102115924590?f=rss. Retrieved 5 April 2011. 
27. ^ "LYRAKA Guitarist Andy DiGelsomina On GARY MOORE - "I Can't Count How Many Times I've Been Awed By Gary's Playing, Going Back Over 30 Years Now"". 7 February 2011. http://www.bravewords.com/news/155610. Retrieved 6 May 2011. 
28. ^ "Thin Lizzy tribute to Gary Moore as rockers roll back the years - Reviews, Film & TV". Belfasttelegraph.co.uk. 2011-02-17. http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/entertainment/film-tv/reviews/thin-lizzy-tribute-to-gary-moore-as-rockers-roll-back-the-years-15087429.html. Retrieved 2011-07-06. 
29. ^ "Classic Rock » Blog Archive » Gary Moore: Ozzy, Roger Taylor Pay Tribute". Classicrockmagazine.com. http://www.classicrockmagazine.com/news/gary-moore-ozzy-roger-taylor-pay-tribute. Retrieved 5 April 2011. 
30. ^ "Sitio Oficial de Ignacio Garay". Ignaciogaray.com.ar. http://www.ignaciogaray.com.ar/main.html. Retrieved 5 April 2011. 
31. ^ "BLABBERMOUTH.NET - OPETH Mainman: 'We Are Devastated To Hear About The Passing Of GARY MOORE'". Roadrunnerrecords.com. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=153461. Retrieved 5 April 2011. 
32. ^ "Whelan's » Blog Archive » GIG FOR GARY". Whelanslive.com. 18 March 2011. http://www.whelanslive.com/index.php/archives/1609. Retrieved 5 April 2011. 
33. ^ "Fans pay tribute to 'inspirational' Gary Moore on Twitter". Metro.co.uk. 7 February 2011. http://www.metro.co.uk/music/854843-fans-pay-tribute-to-inspirational-gary-moore-on-twitter. Retrieved 5 April 2011. 

External links

• Official website
• Gary Moore at the Internet Movie Database

Persondata
Name	Moore, Gary
Alternative names	Moore, Robert William Gary
Short description	Musician, songwriter, record producer
Date of birth	1952-04-04
Place of birth	Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
Date of death	2011-02-06
Place of death	Estepona, Spain