Gary Moore | |
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Gary Moore performing at the Jelen Pivo Live festival in Belgrade, in September 2007 |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Robert William Gary Moore |
Born | 4 April 1952 Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK |
Genres | Blues-rock, hard rock, heavy metal, blues, jazz fusion |
Occupations | Musician, songwriter, producer |
Instruments | Guitar, bass, vocals |
Years active | 1969–present |
Labels | Various |
Associated acts | Skid Row, Thin Lizzy, Colosseum II, Phil Lynott, Cozy Powell, Greg Lake, Paul Rodgers, BBM |
Website | Official website |
Notable instruments | |
Gary Moore Signature Les Paul Fender Stratocaster |
Gary Moore (born Robert William Gary Moore, 4 April 1952, Belfast, Northern Ireland) is a Northern Irish guitarist and singer.
In a career dating back to the 1960s, Moore has played with artists including Thin Lizzy, B.B. King, Colosseum II, Greg Lake and the blues-rock band Skid Row (not to be confused with the glam metal band of the same name), as well as having a successful solo career. Among many cameo appearances over the years, he performed the lead guitar solo on "She's My Baby" from Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3.
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Moore grew up on a road opposite Stormont, off the Upper Newtownards Road in east Belfast and started performing at a young age, having picked up a battered acoustic guitar at the age of eight. Moore 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. Like so many others, Moore's early musical influences were artists such as Elvis Presley 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 come to dominate his career.
Moore's greatest influence in the early days came from guitarist Peter Green, of Fleetwood Mac fame, 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 loaned to Moore after leaving Fleetwood Mac. Moore ultimately purchased the guitar, at Green's request, so that "it would have a good home".[1]
While somewhat less popular in the US, Moore's work has "brought substantial acclaim and commercial success in most other parts of the world – especially in Europe".[2] Moore throughout his career has been recognised as an influence by many guitarists including Randy Rhoads, John Sykes and Kirk Hammett.[3]
Moore has collaborated with a broad range of artistes including George Harrison, Trilok Gurtu, Dr. Strangely Strange, Colosseum II, Albert Collins, Jimmy Nail, Mo Foster, Ginger Baker, Jack Bruce, Jim Capaldi, Vicki Brown, Cozy Powell, the Beach Boys, Ozzy Osbourne and Andrew Lloyd Webber. He has experimented with many musical genres, including rock, jazz, blues, country, electric blues, hard rock and heavy metal.[4]
In 1969 Moore joined the group Skid Row with Noel Bridgeman and Brendan "Brush" Shiels. It was with this group that Moore earned a reputation in the music industry, and his association with Phil Lynott began.
Moore released his first solo album in 1973, Grinding Stone (billed as "the Gary Moore Band"). 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.
In 1987, Moore collaborated on the UK charity record "Let It Be", a cover of The Beatles track. Moore 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, Moore was included on a cassette called Rock Classics Vol. 1 with "Run to Your Mama", and "Dark Side of the Moog".
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. Moore 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. Back to the Blues saw Moore return 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).
Moore also took part in a comedy skit titled "The Easy Guitar Book Sketch" with comedian Rowland Rivron and fellow British musicians Mark Knopfler, Lemmy from Motorhead, Mark King from Level 42, and David Gilmour.
α Credited to Gary Moore and Phil Lynott. β Cover version of The Easybeats 1966, No. 6 UK hit.
Moore played in Thin Lizzy for several periods and worked with Phil Lynott subsequently in his solo career.
Colosseum II is a band that came from the ashes of Colosseum and featured Don Airey, John Mole, Jon Hiseman and Moore.
Moore participated in the recording of Greg Lake's two solo albums, Greg Lake (1981) and Manoeuvres (1983). He also played live in Greg Lake's line-up. Some notable performances of his touring stint with Lake, were the live covers of King Crimson songs "21st Century Schizoid Man", "In the Court of the Crimson King", as well as "Parisienne Walkways".
Moore's 1980 album Dirty Fingers (which also featured ex-Ted Nugent vocalist Charlie Huhn, former Rainbow/Wild Horses and later Dio bassist Jimmy Bain, and ex-Black Oak Arkansas/Pat Travers and later Ozzy Osbourne/Whitesnake/Ted Nugent drummer Tommy Aldridge) had a song called "Nuclear Attack", which he also performed on the Greg Lake album.
Formed in 1994 the group comprised Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker (both formerly performers with Cream) and Moore.
Formed in 2002 the band issued an eponymous album Scars which was released on 10 September 2002. The band featured Moore (vocals/guitar), Cass Lewis of Skunk Anansie (bass guitar/backing vocals) and Darrin Mooney of Primal Scream (drums).
Note: This group is not to be confused with the Scottish punk/post-punk band called Scars, which existed from 1977 to 1982.
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