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Gary Moore Biography Part 1 1952-1979 7 August 1997 
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1952 On April 4th Gary Moore is born in Belfast, Northern Ireland. (Thanks Lennart for rectifying my mistake) Late 1960s After moving to Dublin, Gary Moore joins local band Skid Row. Early line-ups of the band include the following musicians: Brendan "Brush" Shiels on bass, Noel "Nollaig" Bridgemore on drums, Bernhard Cheevers on guitar, and Phil Lynott on vocals (he hadn't learned to play bass yet!). Later Bernhard Cheevers and Phil Lynott leave Skid Row, the latter to form Thin Lizzy. Gary Moore does some work with Granny's Intentions. Skid Row release their first single, New Places Old Faces on the Song label. Skid Row (now a trio) opens for Fleetwood Mac in Dublin. Peter Green (then guitarist of 'Mac) is quite impressed with Gary Moore's playing; so much so that he invites him to join a jam session after the show in his hotel room. The legend has it that Peter Green asked 'Mac's manager to help Skid Row get a record deal with CBS. Indeed, soon after moving to London, Skid Row record their first album, Skid (released in 1970). 1970 Skid Row's first single on CBS, Sandie's Gone, is released in March. Their first album, Skid, is also released that year. Then the second CBS single, Saturday Morning Man is released and followed by a tour through the US and Europe. Irish band Dr. Strangely Strange (Ivan Pawle, Tim Goulding, Tim Booth) release their Heavy Petting album; Gary Moore has participated to the album. Towards the end of the year (or maybe early in 1971) Skid Row record their second album in 34 hours; hence the album title 34 Hours... 1971 Skid Row's second album, 34 Hours, is released and in July the band embark on a US tour, followed by a European tour. That year a popularity poll in Irish magazine New Spotlight rates Skid Row as the no.1 non-resident Irish band. 1971 or 1972 Skid Row record their third album, but while planning for their third US tour, Gary Moore leaves the band and decides to try his hand at a solo career. That album will not be released until Castle Communications gets a hold of it in 1990! Peter (or is it Paul?) Chapman replaces Gary Moore in Skid Row and the tracks for the third album are re-recorded; but that version will not be released either. Later Ed Dean, Eric Bell (!), and Jimmy Slevin successively assume the guitars in Skid Row. Shields and Bridgemore eventually return to Ireland and tour there under the names Skid Row and/or Brush. 1973 Gary Moore resurfaces with his first solo album, Grinding Stone. The Gary Moore Band is GM (guitars and vocals), Pearse Kelly (drums) and John Curtis (bass). The album receives little praise at the time, but it's interesting to listen to the last track, Boogie my Way Back Home, now that we know of Gary Moore's blues trip in the 1990s.  1974In January Gary Moore joins Thin Lizzy upon Phil Lynott's invitation, but he leaves during the following spring. That first (but not last) short stay with Thin Lizzy produces Still in Love with You, the only track with Gary Moore which makes it on the band's album of the year, Nightlife (released in October). 1975 Gary Moore participates to the recording of Eddie Howell's Gramophone Record. And thus begins Gary's session work, intruding his solo career on a regular basis until today even. Later that year he is offered a job (by Jon Hiseman) in fusion outfit Colosseum II (which he accepts). Colosseum II is: Gary Moore (guitars/vocals), Don Airey (keyboards), Jon Hiseman (drums), John Mole (bass). 1976 Colosseum II's first LP, Strange New Flesh, is released. After a European tour the boys meet at Morgan Studio 1 shortly before Christmas to record their second album (in seven days!). That year, the Thin Lizzy compilation LP Remembering Part 1 uncovers two songs from Gary's short stay with the band in 1974: Sitamoia and Little Darling.  1977 Colosseum II's second album, Electric Savage is completed within the first few months of the year and is released, followed later in the year by War Dance. On the Thin Lizzy front, a compilation LP resembling Remembering Part 1 is released in the US; It's called Rocker 1971-1974 but contains the same two tracks with Gary Moore. 1978 This is the year Gary Moore's career really takes off! Three appearances on other people's LPs and one solo LP in one year! I'm not quite sure in what order they were released, but here are his contributions for the year: Andrew Lloyd Webber's Variations (Yes, Mr. Waters, that very same Andrew Lloyd Webber!), Rod Argent's Moving Home, and Gary Boyle's Electric Glide. But the big one is the solo album, Back on the Streets; an album which is still re-released periodically on different labels. This album is noticed (unlike his 1973 effort) for at least two reasons (1) Phil Lynott is on it and (2) the soon-to-be single Parisienne Walkways is also on it! 1979  Back on the Streets produces the sublime single Parisienne Walkways, Gary Moore's first chart success (reaching no.8 in May). And the cycle starts again... Gary Moore then joins Thin Lizzy (again!) and records Black Rose with them. The release of the LP is followed by a European tour, then a US tour. For whatever reason Gary Moore leaves Thin Lizzy right in the middle of their American tour! He then goes to Los Angeles to form a new band called G Force. Sometime during 1979 he also manages to find the time to record a little guitar for Cozy Powell's Over the Top. |
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