How many guitarists do you know who have actually played in lineups from different genres like Hard Rock and Heavy Metal, Blues Rock, Jazz Fusion and mastered all these genres at high level?
(Photo: Paul Bergen)
So guitarist Gary Moore is one such and we want to tell you some facts about him:
1. Moore was born Robert William Gary Moore on April 4, 1952 in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
2. At the age of 10 he started playing the acoustic guitar and at the age of 14 he switched to the electric guitar.
3. Since he was left-handed he taught himself to play on it like any other right-handed player.
Moore was initially influenced by artists such as "The Shadows, Albert King Elvis Presley, "The Beatles".
5. Later when he saw Jimi Hendrix and "John Mayall's Bluesbreakers" and "Cream" at shows in Belfast, his style evolved into blues rock.
6. In his youth, Moore was involved in a brawl that left him with scars on his face, as a result of cuts caused by a broken bottle.
7. Moore was greatly influenced by Peter Green from "Fleetwood Mac". He was also a kind of mentor to him.
8. In 1995, Moore released the album "Blues for Greeny" as a tribute to Peter Green.
9. Moore even plays on this tribute album on the same guitar he purchased from Peter Green after the latter left "Fleetwood Mac", his the 1959 Les Paul Standard.
10. In 1969 Moore joined "Skid Row" - an Irish blues rock band, not the one from the US with Sebastian Bach. He was only 17 years old when he released the album "Skid" from 1970. Later in 1971, he will also release the album "34 Hours" with the band. The album title came from the number of hours it took to record it.
11. By the way, that the same American "Skid Row" will later pay Moore royalties for the use of it's name.
12. In 1970 Moore released the album "Honest Injun", as part of a band called "Granny's Intentions".
13. In 1973 he began his solo career with the album "Grinding Stone", which he released under the name of "Gary Moore Band".
14. Already in 1974 he began collaborating with Phil Lynott, on the album "Nightlife" by "Thin Lizzy".
(Photo: Hulton Archive)
15. In 1976 he joined the jazz fusion band "Colosseum II" and released the album "Strange New Flesh". Moore will release three more albums with the aforementioned band in 1977-1978 (the latter being a collaboration with Andrew Lloyd Webber).
16. In 1978 he released the album "Back on the Streets", which includes the hit "Parisienne Walkways". The album featured bassist Phil Lynott, keyboardist Don Airey and drummer Simon Phillips.
17. In April 1979 he released the album "Black Rose: A Rock Legend" with "Thin Lizzy".
18. That same year he also collaborated with drummer Cozy Powell on the album "Over the Top". Moore released with Powell another album in 1981.
19. In 1980 he released a solo album under the "G-Force" project.
20. That same year he was featured on the album "Solo in Soho", Phil Lynott's solo album.
21. Moore collaborated with Greg Lake - ex-"King Crimson" and "ELP" bassist and singer, on his two solo albums from 1981 and 1983.
22. Since 1982 he has released a streak of Hard Rock and Heavy Metal albums as part of his solo career, the first being "Corridors of Power" featuring Ian Paice, Don Airey and Jack Bruce, among others.
23. In 1985 Moore returned to collaborate with Phil Lynott who featured on his album "Run for Cover", wrote and sang the big hit from it.
24. In 1987 Moore released the album "Wild Frontier"ת in which he combined among others influences of Celtic music.
25. That same year Moore participated in the recordings of the song "Let It Be"ת with the band "Ferry Aid", as part of the "MS Herald of Free Enterprise" disaster charity project.
26. In 1990 Moore made the switch and moved from Hard Rock to Blues Rock, reaching the peak of his popularity with the album "Still Got the Blues". This album was undoubtedly responsible for reviving the Blues Rock style and bringing it to mainstream.
24. Moore will continue to release blues-style albums until 1997, then he will come up with the album "Dark Days in Paradise", which included electronic and programming influences.
25. In 1994, Moore collaborated with Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker in the band "BBM" (Bruce-Baker-Moore), with whom he released the album "Around the Next Dream".
26. In 2001, Moore released "Back to the Blues", in which he returned to the roots of blues.
27. In 2002 he founded the project "Scars" in collaboration with Cass Lewis - bassist of "Skunk Anansie" and Darrin Mooney the drummer of "Primal Scream".
28. On February 6, 2011, Moore died of a heart attack in his sleep, at the hotel where he was staying during a vacation on the "Costa del Sol", Spain. He was staying there with his girlfriend at the time and a very high amount of alcohol was found in his blood. He was 58 at the time of his death.
29. In 2019, a fundraising campaign was launched aiming to build a monument in his memory in his hometown of Belfast.
30. As part of his solo career Moore has released 18 studio albums and a similar number of studio albums along with other lineups.
And now let's listen to a playlist of his songs we've prepared for you: Spotify