56 Facts About Gary Moore

Robert William Gary Moore was a Northern Irish musician.

Gary Moore began his solo career in the 1970s and achieved major success with 1979's "Parisienne Walkways", which is considered his signature song.

Gary Moore continued to release new music throughout his later career, collaborating with other artists from time to time.

Gary Moore died on 6 February 2011 from a heart attack while on holiday in Spain.

Gary Moore was often described as a virtuoso and has been cited as an influence by many other guitar players.

Gary Moore was voted as one of the greatest guitarists of all time on respective lists by Total Guitar and Louder.

Irish singer-songwriter Bob Geldof said that "without question, [Gary Moore] was one of the great Irish bluesmen".

For most of his career, Gary Moore was heavily associated with Peter Green's famed 1959 Gibson Les Paul guitar.

Robert William Gary Moore was born in Belfast on 4 April 1952, the son of Winnie, a housewife, and Robert Moore, a promoter who ran the Queen's Hall ballroom in Holywood.

Gary Moore grew up near Belfast's Stormont Estate with four siblings.

Gary Moore credited his father for getting him started in music.

When Gary Moore was six years old, his father invited him onstage to sing "Sugartime" with a showband at an event he had organised, which first sparked his interest in music.

Gary Moore's father bought him his first guitar, a second-hand Framus acoustic, when Moore was 10 years old.

Gary Moore later joined Platform Three and The Method, amongst others.

Gary Moore left Belfast for Dublin in 1968 just as The Troubles were starting in Northern Ireland.

Gary Moore had become frustrated by Skid Row's "limitations", opting to start a solo career.

In 1977, Gary Moore rejoined Thin Lizzy for a tour of the United States after guitarist Brian Robertson injured his hand in a bar fight.

Gary Moore took his place , this time for long enough to record the album Black Rose: A Rock Legend, which was released in 1979.

Gary Moore had become fed up with the band's increasing drug use and the effects it was having on their performance.

Gary Moore recorded the album Dirty Fingers, which was shelved in favour of the more "radio-oriented" G-Force album, which came out in 1980.

In 1984, Gary Moore released the album Victims of the Future, which marked another musical change, this time towards hard rock and heavy metal.

In 1985, Gary Moore released his fifth solo album Run for Cover, which featured guest vocals by Phil Lynott and Glenn Hughes.

In 1990, Gary Moore released the album Still Got the Blues, which saw him returning to his blues roots and collaborating with the likes of Albert King, Albert Collins and George Harrison.

Gary Moore now sported a smart blue suit for videos and live performances instead of being "all dolled up like some guy in Def Leppard".

In 1995, Gary Moore released Blues for Greeny, a tribute album to his friend and mentor Peter Green.

Additional unreleased recordings of Gary Moore's were released on the album How Blue Can You Get in 2021.

In 1975, Gary Moore joined progressive jazz fusion group Colosseum II, which was formed after the demise of bandleader Jon Hiseman's previous band Colosseum.

Gary Moore recorded three albums with the group, before leaving to join Thin Lizzy in 1978.

Gary Moore declined, but G-Force helped Osbourne audition other musicians for his band.

Gary Moore was then recruited to play guitar in Greg Lake's solo band.

In 1982, Gary Moore was considered for the guitarist position in Whitesnake, but vocalist David Coverdale opted not to recruit Gary Moore as the band were in the process of severing ties with their management.

In 1987, Gary Moore collaborated on the UK charity record "Let It Be", which was released under the group name Ferry Aid.

From 1993 to 1994, Gary Moore was a member of the short-lived power trio BBM, which featured Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker, both formerly of Cream.

The project was marred by personality clashes between members as well as "ear problems" Gary Moore sustained during the tour.

Gary Moore performed on the One World Project charity single "Grief Never Grows Old", which was released in 2005.

Gary Moore was married to his first wife Kerry from 1985 to 1993.

Gary Moore later had a daughter, Lily, during a relationship with Jo Rendle.

At the time of his death, Gary Moore was in a relationship.

Gary Moore's death was confirmed by Thin Lizzy's manager Adam Parsons.

Gary Moore was buried in a private ceremony at St Margaret's Churchyard in Rottingdean on the south coast of England, with only family and close friends in attendance.

Gary Moore was known for having an eclectic career, having performed blues, hard rock, heavy metal and jazz fusion.

At times he was accused of chasing trends, which Gary Moore denied, stating that he'd always just done what he liked at the time.

Gary Moore was absolutely fantastic, everything about him was so graceful.

Gary Moore has been described as a virtuoso by numerous publications.

Gary Moore was known for his melodic sensibilities, as well as his aggressive vibrato.

Gary Moore was often described as "grumpy" and he had a reputation of being hard to work with.

Don Airey would later state that Gary Moore's perfectionism was often to his own detriment.

In 2012, an exhibition celebrating the life and work of Gary Moore was held at the Oh Yeah Music Centre in Belfast.

On 12 April 2019, a tribute concert for Gary Moore was held at The Belfast Empire Music Hall to help raise funds for a memorial statue.

Gary Moore has been cited as an influence by many notable guitarists, including Doug Aldrich, Joe Bonamassa, Vivian Campbell, Paul Gilbert, Kirk Hammett, John Petrucci, John Sykes, and Zakk Wylde.

In 2018, Gary Moore was voted number 15 on Louder's list of "The 50 Best Guitarists of All Time".

On Still Got the Blues, Gary Moore used another 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard, nicknamed "Stripe", which he bought in 1989.

On Corridors of Power and Victims of the Future, Gary Moore used a 1961 Fiesta Red Fender Stratocaster, which had previously belonged to Tommy Steele.

Gary Moore utilized other brands from time to time as well, including Dean Markley, Gallien-Krueger and Fender.

Some effects pedals Moore used during the 1980s included a Boss DS-1, an Ibanez ST-9 Super Tube Screamer, a Roland Space Echo, a Roland SDE 3000 Digital Delay and a Roland Dimension D Later he used a variety of effects by T-Rex, an Ibanez TS-10 Tube Screamer Classic and a Marshall Guv'nor, the last of which was featured most notably on "Still Got the Blues".

Gary Moore was an early adopter of the pedalboard, namely the Boss BCB-6 "Carrying Box", which he used in the early 1980s.