Profile of Gary Moore on Famous Like Me

For the former TV host, see Garry Moore.

Gary Moore, b. April 4, 1952 Robert William Gary Moore in Belfast, Ireland, is acknowledged as one of the finest guitarists to have originated in Ireland. In a career dating back to the 1960s he has played with bands including Thin Lizzy, Colosseum II, Greg Lake and Skid Row as well as having a successful solo career.

Gary started performing from a young age and got his first good guitar at the age of 14. In a career lasting over 30 years he has demonstrated that he is a fine musician, and his unique style of playing has adapted to very different music genres.

Connection with Peter Green

According to numerous interviews he has given to guitar magazines, he was the protege of British Blues pioneer Peter Green, whom he had always admired ever since the Bluesbreakers days. When Green quit Fleetwood Mac and the entire music scene, he sold his famous nasal-sounding 1959 Gibson Les Paul to Moore for the same price that Moore had managed to sell his then guitar (a Gibson SG) for. The nasal sound of the neck pickup on Green's guitar was not, as used to be believed, the result of the pickup having been turned backwards, but instead its two coils had been - perhaps accidentally - reconnected in parallel and out of phase, as per the "in between" positions of a Fender Stratocaster. Moore has used this guitar in the recordings of some songs of his albums Still Got The Blues, After Hours and Blues For Greeny. Green and Moore also reportedly had a disagreement regarding what guitar the former was playing in the song "Albatross". Moore insists it was the Les Paul, because the guitar tone was particularly warm and rich in the bass, while Peter Green maintains he was using a Strat, as the vibrato in that song was not finger vibrato, but subtle tremolo arm vibrato. Up to this day, Green and Moore remain good friends.

Skid Row

In 1970 he formed the group Skid Row with Noel Bridgeman and Brendan Shiels. The music was eclectic, covering a wide range including jazz, rock and blues. It was with this group that he earned himself a reputation in the music business and his association with Philip Lynott began.

Albums

• Skid Row
• 34 Hours

Colosseum II

This band featured Don Airey, John Mole, Jon Hiseman and Gary Moore.

Albums

• Strange New Flesh
• Electric Savage
• War Dance

Thin Lizzy

Gary played in Thin Lizzy for several periods and worked with Phil Lynott subsequently in his solo career.

Albums

• Night Life
• Remembering Part 1
• Black Rose
• Continuing Saga
• The Adventures of Thin Lizzy
• Life
• Dedication

Greg Lake

He participated in the recording of Greg Lake's two solo albums, "Greg Lake" (1981) and "Manoeuvres (1983). He also played live with Greg Lake's lineup. Some noteable 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"

Solo career

In 1973 he released his first solo album as the Gary Moore Band. In 1979 his solo career started again with help from Phil Lynott, the combination of Gary's blues based guitar and Phil's voice produced "Parisenne Walkways" which reached the UK Top Ten in April 1979. After a series of powerful rock records Gary returned to blues music with Still Got the Blues, with contributions from B. B. King, Albert King and Albert Collins the album was well received by fans and a huge success. Gary stayed with the blues format until 1997 when he decided to experiment with modern dance beats in Dark Days In Paradise; this left many fans as well as the music press confused. Back to the Blues saw Gary return to the tried and tested blues format.

Albums

• Grinding Stone, 1973
• Parisienne Walkways, 1977
• Back on the Streets, 1978
• Corridors of Power, 1982
• Live at the Marquee, 1983
• Rockin' Every Night - Live in Japan, 1983
• Victims of the Future, 1983
• Dirty Fingers, 1984
• We Want Moore, 1984
• Run for Cover, 1985
• Wild Frontier, 1987
• After the War, 1989
• Still Got the Blues, 1990
• After Hours, 1992
• Blues Alive, 1993
• Ballads & Blues 1982-1994, 1994
• Blues For Greeny, 1995
• Dark Days in Paradise, 1997
• Out in the Fields - The Very Best of Part 1, 1998
• Blood of Emeralds - The Very Best of Part 2, 1999
• A Different Beat, 1999
• Back to the Blues, 2001
• Power Of The Blues, 2004

Singles

• Parisienne Walkways
• Out in the Fields
• Empty Rooms
• Still Got the Blues

BBM

Formed in 1994 the group comprised Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker (both ex. Cream). The band made a single album of solid blues.

Albums

• Around The Next Dream

Scars

Formed in 2002 Scars is the eponymous album released on September 2, 2002. The band are Gary Moore (Vocals/Guitar), Cass Lewis (Bass guitar/Backing vocals) and Darrin Mooney (Drums).

Albums

• Scars, 2002

This content from Wikipedia is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Gary Moore