Ian Moor (born Ian John Moor, 4 January 1974, North Ferriby, East Riding of Yorkshire) is an English singer,[1] and the Stars in Their Eyes Champion of Champions.
He was brought up in West Hull, living first in Anlaby, and then later in Willerby. His brother, Paul Moor, is one of Europe's top Ten-pin Bowlers, and is a three time winner of the European Bowling Tour.
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Moor was educated first at Anlaby Junior School, where he was first introduced to singing, by music teacher Gwen Staveley. Moor joined the "Music Makers" choir, and was a member throughout his time at the school, regularly performing solos at the school concerts. He also tried his hand at playing the violin, but was unsuccessful and stopped playing after a few years.
Moor then went into secondary education at Wolfreton School in Kirk Ella and left with 9 GCSEs.
In February 1993, Moor enrolled in a government sponsored course in entertainment, the first of its kind in the country, which was organised and run by local Hull based entertainer Johnny Pat. This gave Moor the necessary experience to eventually turn professional and earn a living as a singer.
From April 1994 Moor worked at Croda Paints (later becoming Ameron Coatings) in Hull, as a laboratory technician, and left at the end of 1999 to pursue a career in entertainment.
In 1999 Moor won the hit ITV show Stars in Their Eyes produced by Granada Television, Manchester in 1999, with his impersonation of Irish musician and songwriter Chris De Burgh.
Moor sang De Burgh's 1986 UK #1 hit, "The Lady in Red", and polled over 500,000 votes in the 1999 live grand final. Moor also won the subsequent Stars in Their Eyes - Champion Of Champions later that same year, a tenth anniversary special which brought together the first 10 series winners, which included impersonations of Shirley Bassey in 1990, two different versions of Marti Pellow, Neil Diamond and more. Moor polled more than 50% of the total vote.
The following year, in 2000 Moor returned for his final appearance on Stars in Their Eyes as a guest, returning for the eleventh series live grand final, (won by the Freddie Mercury impersonator). Moor was joined on stage during his performance by De Burgh for a duet. Following success on Stars in Their Eyes, in 2000, Moor went on to record an album with BMG. Entitled Naturally it achieved Top 40 status in the UK Albums Chart in its first week.
A concert video was also released to coincide with the album, and was recorded at the Hull New Theatre, with Mike d'Abo as musical director. The video was produced by Granada Media.
A national theatre tour followed, which included appearances at the City Varieties Music Hall in Leeds, the York Opera House, and the Hull New Theatre.
In late 2001, Moor travelled to Malta, and won the title of "Best Singer" at the Maltese Song Contest, an award presented to the best overseas singer. He won with an English lyrics version of one of the previous years entries. He also performed "The Lady In Red" during the contest, which was broadcast on Maltese Television.
In December 2001 and into January 2002 Moor starred alongside Martin Daniels, Alvin Stardust and Diane Youdale in a pantomime version of Peter Pan, which played first at the Grimsby Auditorium before moving onto the Leeds Grand Theatre.
Moor is a member of The Society of M.I.C.E., a charitable organisation founded in 1961 by entertainers in Kingston upon Hull and based on the Grand Order of Water Rats.
From January 2000 to December 2002, he was managed by Derek Franks. Following success on [Stars in Their Eyes Moor was honoured with a civic reception from the Beverley County Council. Moor is a shareholder of the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. In Moor's early days as a cabaret singer, during and after leaving Johnny Pat's entertainment course, he was known by his stage name of 'Ian Johns' using his middle name to form his surname. This was relatively short-lived, and he soon reverted to using his real name.