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.
Rest In Peace
Gary Moore Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But as he turns, she starts to fade.
He hears her footsteps behind him.
But when he looks, she's gone again.
He hears her voice in the darkness.
As he awakes, she calls his name.
He sees her shadow on the wall
She has passed away
A long, long time ago.
Why she haunts him to this day,
He'll never know.
Rest, rest in peace.
You have gone, please leave me alone.
Rest, rest in peace.
You must go, heaven is your home now.
Rest, rest in peace.
You have gone, please leave me alone.
Rest, rest in peace.
You must go, heaven is your home now.
Rest, rest in peace.
You have gone, please leave me alone.
Rest, rest in peace.
You must go, heaven is your home now.
The lyrics of Gary Moore's song Rest In Peace tell the story of a man who is haunted by the memory of a woman who has passed away long ago. The man sees the woman's face in the mirror, but as he turns, she disappears. He hears her footsteps and her voice but cannot see her. He even sees her shadow on the wall and counts her tears in the falling rain. The man is tormented by her memory, and he cannot understand why she is still haunting him.
The chorus "Rest, rest in peace. You have gone, please leave me alone. Rest, rest in peace. You must go, heaven is your home now" seems to be the man's plea for the woman to find peace in the afterlife and stop haunting him. He acknowledges that she has gone to a better place, but he cannot find peace until she leaves him alone.
The song expresses a sense of loss and longing, as well as the inability to move on from the memory of someone who has passed away. The haunting melody and lyrics evoke a powerful sense of emotion and reflect on the universal theme of grief and loss.
Line by Line Meaning
He sees her face in the mirror.
The man still sees the image of his deceased loved one and cannot let go of her memory.
But as he turns, she starts to fade.
When he tries to confront and face his loss, the memory of his loved one escapes him.
He hears her footsteps behind him.
The man believes that he can perceive his loved one's essence around him.
But when he looks, she's gone again.
However, when he tries to pursue the memory of his loved one, he realizes it has slipped away.
He hears her voice in the darkness.
The man perceives his loved one whispering to him in his consciousness.
As he awakes, she calls his name.
He dreams of his lost loved one and hears her call to him.
He sees her shadow on the wall
The man believes he sees the outline of his loved one's presence.
And counts her tears in the falling rain.
He imagines his loved one's tears mixing with the rain and falling from the sky.
She has passed away
The man's loved one has died.
A long, long time ago.
It has been a significant amount of time since she passed.
Why she haunts him to this day,
The man cannot understand why the memory of his loved one still troubles him.
He'll never know.
He has accepted he may never have answers to his questions.
Rest, rest in peace.
The man acknowledges his loved one's passing and wishes her to find rest.
You have gone, please leave me alone.
He wants to let go of her memory and his grief.
You must go, heaven is your home now.
He finally comes to terms with his loved one's passing and hopes she has found peace in the afterlife.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ANTHONY IAN BERKELEY, ARNOLD E. HAMILTON, PAUL E. HUSTON, ROBERT F. DIGGS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Shelly Lewis
What a tune. And what a guy he was. A true legend.
Calvin King
Shelly Lewis the truth!
CPE PRODUCTIONS LLC Pfluegler
He will be always with us....his music lives on forever!
Paul Raymond
Beautiful song by Gary Moore. One of those songs with so much feeling. Dirty Fingers is a very good album.
Yiannis Drosos
Three years have passed and still I can not believe that You passed away...!!
I grew up like many others with Your great songs!!! Great career either with His own band, either with Thin Lizzy or with Colosseum II and etc.
You are always in My heart...!!! R.I.P Gary Moore!!
GreenerHill
The most haunting and tragic song I've ever heard. Yes, that final solo literally takes your breath away. Wonder if Gary based the lyrics on a real story. And I wonder if Bon Jovi based Always on this song! RiP, Gary.
iaimstraight
The outro solo was literally one of the best ever fr him...
Lord Prutsikas
I know really good that he is, was, and will be the best guitarist in history of mankind...Noone could play like him
Olav Stensheim
You rest in peace, Gary. Beautiful song.
Jerry Oliver
gary moore master guitarist man's a genius sadly missed!!!!