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.
Running From the Storm
Gary Moore Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And the sky is falling.
The thunder cracks,
And the sea is rolling.
Wonder if we'll ever see tomorrow.
Ride with our backs to the wind,
Don't know if I'll make home again.
Running from the storm.
Running from the storm.
Running from the storm.
Running from the storm.
The sky is black,
And the wind is howling.
The lightning strikes,
And the sea is raging.
Wonder if we'll ever see tomorrow.
Turning our ships to the sun,
This time there is no place to run.
Running from the storm.
Running from the storm.
Running from the storm.
Running from the storm.
Running from the storm.
Running from the storm.
Running from the storm.
Running from the storm.
Running from the storm.
Running from the storm.
Running from the storm.
Running from the storm.
In Gary Moore's song "Running From the Storm," the lyrics describe a stormy, dangerous situation that the singer and their companion are trying to escape. The wind is howling, the thunder is cracking, and the sea is rolling and raging. There is a sense of urgency and fear as the singer wonders if they will ever make it through to tomorrow. They ride with their backs to the wind, not knowing if they will make it home again. The storm is so intense that there is nowhere to hide or run to, and the only option is to keep moving forward and hope they make it out alive.
The repeated refrain of "Running from the storm" adds to the sense of urgency and danger in the song. It highlights the idea that the singers are not just weathering the storm but actively trying to escape it. The imagery in the lyrics, such as turning the ships to the sun, creates a sense of hope and determination amidst the chaos. The storm is a metaphor for a difficult and dangerous situation that the singers are facing, and their ability to keep moving despite the adversity shows their strength and resilience.
Line by Line Meaning
The wind is up,
The wind is blowing strongly
And the sky is falling.
The sky is getting darker and it seems like something bad is happening
The thunder cracks,
There's a loud sound of thunder
And the sea is rolling.
The sea is rough and tumultuous
Wonder if we'll ever see tomorrow.
There's fear and uncertainty about what will happen next
Ride with our backs to the wind,
Trying to move forward despite strong opposition
Don't know if I'll make home again.
There's worry and fear about survival
Running from the storm.
Trying to avoid danger or harm
The sky is black,
The sky has turned very dark
And the wind is howling.
The wind is making a loud noise
The lightning strikes,
There's a sudden strike of lightning
And the sea is raging.
The sea is very wild and turbulent
Turning our ships to the sun,
Trying to find a way out of danger
This time there is no place to run.
There's a feeling of being trapped and unable to escape danger
Running from the storm.
Continuing with the attempt to avoid danger
Running from the storm.
Trying to escape danger, staying vigilant
Running from the storm.
Staying in motion to avoid being caught by the storm
Running from the storm.
Not willing to give up or surrender despite obstacles
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
SpanishBass1
An amazing track! Gary was the best rock guitarist in the world in my opinion!
Dijilas Roberto
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Tullfan
Gary Moore's a legend. He always muscled up in his epic guitar solos. The bigger the occasion, the greater he got.
Vinay Mulukutla
Definitely a heavy metal song with a very similar feel to Out In The Fields. It's got a Judas Priest-esque driving metal intensity to it as well.
ANOTHER ACCOUNT
look at how little views this has! the whole planet is fucking deaf if they can't find music this good RIP Gary moore truly irreplaceable
ZeroNOnaruto
i don't know why people say that this is the worst rock Gary's album, It's the most powerfull album for me and Dirty Fingers too
Rolla Coasta Ride
I never get tired of these songs, his tunes never seem to be dated like a lot of other rock songs from the same era, timeless rock classics, his solos are like little compositions, total perfectionist to the core
little johns brewing
what an album.......one of the only cassette's I still own.
Kerri Braddock
1982 - 1989 is Gary at his best
Johan Raven
Fantastisch guitar solo!