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.
Moore 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, including jazz rock jazz, blues, electric blues, hard rock, celtic rock and heavy metal.
One of his most famous non-blues records is Wild Frontier, his first studio album after a trip back to his native Belfast, Northern Ireland in 1985, this album has several songs about Ireland and even the music itself is steeped in Celtic roots. The title track was intended to be sung by Phil Lynott, however Lynott's death in January 1986 prevented that. The album is dedicated to Lynott's memory, with the words "For Philip" on the rear cover.
Wild Frontier contains the hit "Over the Hills and Far Away", which reached #20 in the UK as well as a cover of the Australian band The Easybeats' hit of the middle of the 1960s, "Friday on My Mind". The Max Middleton-penned "The Loner" was originally recorded by Cozy Powell for his Over the Top album in 1979 (which Moore did perform on, albeit not on Powell's recording of "The Loner"), but was substantially altered by Moore for his own recording, thus he was credited as a co-writer.
For blues fans, Moore's best recorded, live performance on video is "LIVE BLUES" recorded in a small night club in London and was released in 1992 on VHS. It is now available on DVD as well. "LIVE BLUES" also features two songs with B.B. King appearing on stage with Moore. "The Thrill Is Gone" on this recording is probably the best version of this, complete with More's Midnight Horns, female backup singers and dueling guitars. Many of Moore's standard songs are on this 90 minute show and were mixed better than most of the studio versions of the same tunes for a very rich and full sound. Even Moore's voice sounds better than it usually does in the studio. Moore did not seem interested in touring the United States.
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 the day of his death, Green and Moore remained good friends.
Guitars used
Over the years Gary has used numerous guitars. These include: Peter Green's 1959 Gibson Les Paul, Peter Green's 1961 Fender Stratocaster and 1950s Gibson Les Paul Junior. He has also used guitars from Charvel, Ibanez, Hamer, Jackson and Heritage. Amplification has generally come from Marshall, though Soldanos and Fender have also been used, as well as transistor-driven Dean Markley units (especially in the studio). He also has used numerous effects over the years. these include; Delay units such as the Echoplex, Overdrive/Booster units such as the Boss DS-1, Ibanez Tubescreamer variants, Marshall Bluesbreaker and Guv'nor pedals as well as Wah-Wah pedals such as the Vox Wah. He appears nowadays to favour Gibson and Fender Guitars through Marshall amps with any of the above Overdrive pedals and Wah pedals to make his sound.
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 and the no.2 album 'Black Rose'. 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
* Old New Ballads Blues, 2006
* Close As You Get, 2007
* Bad For You Baby, 2008
Singles
* Parisienne Walkways
* Out in the Fields
* Empty Rooms
* Wild Frontier
* Still Got the Blues
The Future (2005-present)
Later on in 2006, Gary will support BB King on his 'Farewell UK Tour'. It unfortunately did not lead to a tour of the United States with BB King.
The studio album entitled 'Old New Ballads Blues' was a follow up of 2004's 'Power of the Blues' and it featured new material as well as new versions of fan favourites 'Midnight Blues' and 'All your Love'
Gary Moore has also sold his Les Paul that was given to him by Peter Green to a private owner.
On February 6th 2011, he died from a heart attack in his sleep while on holiday in Spain.
External links
* The Official Gary Moore World Wide Website: http://www.gary-moore.com/
* The Lord Of The Strings - World Wide Gary Moore Fansite: http://www.garymoore.hu/eng.htm Thanks for the music.
Cold Day in Hell
Gary Moore Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
So many times, now you're gonna take the rest of me.
Better look at what you're doing before it's too late.
It's a fine line you're treadin' between love and hate.
There'll be a cold day in hell
before I'm coming back to you.
So many times you tried to play a dead end game.
Yes, you did.
Now you've pushed me to the limit, and I can't take no more.
You'd better take one last look before I'm out the door.
There'll be a cold day in hell
before I'm coming back to you.
You never listened when I told you
that you were way out of line.
Too busy talkin' to listen,
accusing me of telling lies.
So many times you tried to get the best of me.
Yes, you did.
So many times, but now you're gonna take the rest of me.
Well, it's too late for sorry and it's too late for tears.
Better take one last look before I disappear.
There'll be a cold day in hell
before I'm coming back to you.
There'll be a cold day in hell
before I'm coming back to you.
There'll be a cold day in hell
before I'm coming back to you.
Yeah!
(Gonna be a cold day in hell)
(Gonna be a cold day in hell)
(Gonna be a cold day in hell)
(Gonna be a cold day in hell)
(Gonna be a cold day in hell)
(Gonna be a cold day in hell)
(Gonna be a cold day in hell)
(It's gonna be a cold, cold day in hell)
The lyrics of Gary Moore's song "Cold Day in Hell" are cries of defiance and independence, as the singer declares that he won't let himself be taken advantage of anymore. He has recognized the other person's attempts to manipulate and control him ("So many times you tried to take the best of me"), and he has reached his breaking point ("Now you've pushed me to the limit, and I can't take no more"). Despite the other person's attempts to apologize and make amends, the singer has made up his mind and is resolute about his decision ("Well, it's too late for sorry and it's too late for tears"). He won't be swayed or manipulated anymore, and he declares that he won't come back ("There'll be a cold day in hell before I'm coming back to you").
The lyrics also highlight the importance of communication and listening to one another in a relationship. The singer feels that the other person never really heard him and accused him of lying, which caused further resentment and frustration. The chorus emphasizes the singer's refusal to change his mind and come back to the other person, using the metaphor of a "cold day in hell" to convey how unlikely that event is. Overall, the lyrics of "Cold Day in Hell" are powerful and reflect the theme of standing up for oneself and not allowing others to control or manipulate.
Line by Line Meaning
So many times you tried to take the best of me.
You have constantly tried to extract the finest qualities from me repeatedly.
So many times, now you're gonna take the rest of me.
Since you have taken the best from me numerous times, you are now going to take even more from what is left of me.
Better look at what you're doing before it's too late.
You should carefully evaluate your actions before you cannot change the outcome anymore.
It's a fine line you're treadin' between love and hate.
You are taking a very delicate path between emotions of love and hate.
There'll be a cold day in hell before I'm coming back to you.
I will not return to you until an unlikely event occurs in the afterlife.
So many times you tried to play a dead end game.
You have repeatedly tried to engage in a hopeless situation.
Yes, you did.
This is a simple confirmation of the previous statement.
I tried to tell you, but you'd never wanna take the blame.
I attempted to warn you, but you refused to accept responsibility.
Now you've pushed me to the limit, and I can't take no more.
You have exceeded the maximum amount of pressure that I can tolerate and cannot withstand any additional strain.
You'd better take one last look before I'm out the door.
You should examine my situation carefully before I leave for good.
You never listened when I told you that you were way out of line.
You constantly ignored me when I tried to explain that you were acting inappropriately.
Too busy talkin' to listen, accusing me of telling lies.
You were so preoccupied with talking that you did not hear me and suspected me of lying.
So many times you tried to get the best of me.
You have repeatedly attempted to extract the finest qualities from me.
Well, it's too late for sorry and it's too late for tears.
Apologizing and crying will not help now as it is too late for any kind of remedial action.
Better take one last look before I disappear.
You should examine my situation carefully before I vanish from your life.
There'll be a cold day in hell before I'm coming back to you.
I will not return to you until an unlikely event occurs in the afterlife.
There'll be a cold day in hell before I'm coming back to you.
I will not return to you until an unlikely event occurs in the afterlife.
There'll be a cold day in hell before I'm coming back to you.
I will not return to you until an unlikely event occurs in the afterlife.
Yeah!
This is an exclamation to emphasize the previous statements.
(Gonna be a cold day in hell)
An unlikely event will need to occur before I return to you.
(It's gonna be a cold, cold day in hell)
This unlikely event will be very unpleasant.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: TRACY K. BONHAM
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind