HARRY SHAPIRO - GARY MOORE

Gary Moore: The Official Biography

Harry Shapiro

Published by arrangement with Hannibal Verlag, an imprint of Koch International GmbH, A-6604 Hfen

www.hannibal-verlag.de

This edition published in the UK and the USA by Jawbone Press, Office G1 141157 Acre Lane, London SW2 5UA, England

www.jawbonepress.com

Copyright 2022 Orionstar Ltd/Harry Shapiro. All rights reserved. No part of this book covered by the copyrights hereon may be reproduced or copied in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in articles or reviews where the source should be made clear. For more information contact the publishers.

Cover design by Paul Palmer-Edwards. Cover photograph by Sam Scott-Hunter/Renta/Photoshot. Unless otherwise noted, all photographs used in this book are Orionstar Ltd. All efforts have been made to contact copyright holders, but if you feel there has been a mistaken attribution, please contact the publishers.

For Kayfor everything

For Bobby and Winnie Moore

CONTENTS

Ive been searchin for somethin I might never find

Ive been looking for something I have left behind

Ive been searchin every day ok in the risin sun

Ive been trying to find my way till the day is done

Ive been searchin

Ive been reachin for something I might never touch

And Ive been dreaminOf something that I want so much

Ive been counting all the tears in the falling rain

Ive been trying to hide my fears but its all the same

And I dont know if Ill ever pass this way again

I cant wait until tomorrow

Its somethin I might never see

I cant wait until tomorrow

For tomorrow never waits for me

PREFACE

Ian Hunter, a friend of Garys in his teenage years, caught up with him many years later at a concert. Gary came off stage, sweat pouring down his face, the packed, heaving crowd baying We want Moore we want Moore

Gary, how on earth do you relax after that? asked Ian.

Quick as a flash came the reply: I play guitar.

The thing that makes you exceptional is inevitably the thing which must also make you lonely . Lorraine Hansberry

Q MAGAZINE What do you never leave home without?

GARY My reputation.

RECORD COLLECTOR Who would you do for Stars In Their Eyes ?

GARY Eartha Kitt!

After I finished writing my last music book in 2010, the biography of the late and greatly missed Jack Bruce, thoughts inevitably turned to What next? The months went by and nothing caught my imagination. And then in February 2011, Gary Moore tragically passed away. I was obviously aware of Gary, had a few of his albums and had seen him in various bands, but what took me by surprise were the glowing tributes paid to him by the likes of Joe Bonamassa, Joe Elliot, Brian May, Bob Geldof, Slash, Paul Rodgers, Kirk Hammett, the members of Saxon and Europe, and many others, citing how much of an inspiration and influence Gary had been in the world of guitarists.

Over the following weeks, I looked online and found the same outpourings from ordinary fans across the world. His guitar playing was favourably compared to the very best guitarists ever. Garys music and his songs had clearly touched the hearts of millions. Yet, there was a puzzle. Reader polls on greatest musicians are of little value. Music is not like boxing, where you might be able to say who the greatest is on the basis of the number of fights won. Current popularity and commercial success also play their part in determining poll positions. Still, magazines like to run reader polls and they are popular. So, checking through recent reader polls of greatest guitar players, I found they rarely if ever mentioned Gary, whether it was a Top 50 or even Top 100. Why not? It seemed like a story waiting to be told.

This was confirmed once the book was under way and people subsequently asked what my next book would be. When I said Gary Moore, brows were furrowed until I filled the silence with He was in Thin Lizzy. I soon realised that I was dealing with a musicianlike Jack, in factwho was hidden in plain sight, known for high-profile but brief moments in a career that spanned five decades. It became even more interesting because reading magazine interviews told me little or nothing about Gary Moore the person. While always erudite and intelligent, with plenty to say, Gary kept his comments confined to the business of being a musician and band leaderlatest albums and line-ups, favourite guitars and ampsand I learned that personal questions were quickly deflected or laughed off. Who was Gary Moore, this stellar guitarist who was so revered by musicians and fans alike, yet not really in the public eye?

Almost the very first thing Garys wife Jo said to me was, You will come across people who will say Gary was the biggest arsehole in the world, but when you were hugged by Gary Moore, you stayed hugged. And how right she wasshe had captured the paradox of Gary in a sentence. Here was a guitarist of quite exceptional talent, driven to great artistic heights both by his natural abilities and by his insecurities, fathoms-deep canyons of doubt that could cripple him, who could be extremely difficult and arrogant, often letting his mouth rule his head with untethered comments that, over the years, won him few friends in the industry. Yet he was an absolute perfectionist and a serious self-critic who set the bar incredibly high for himself and expected the same of all those around him. Once he was offstage and out of the studio, and when, crucially, the guitar came offa guitar that was for Gary as much a shield as it was an axea different person was revealed. Here was an extremely shy, sensitive, warm, funny and generous individual who never took his abilities for granted and was forever learning, searching and looking around the next corner. I too went searching for the real Gary Moore, hoping in the process to bring more of his music out into the light. How successful that journey has been, of course, is for others to judge.

With few points of published reference, such a quest very much relied on the people who knew and worked with Gary. I extend my thanks to Garys family for their endorsement of the project and particularly to Garys wife Jo for all her help and support. A huge debt of gratitude also goes to Graham Lilley, who started out with Gary as his guitar technician way back in 1988 and is quite literally the fount of wisdom on all things Gary. Thanks also to Darren Main, Garys personal assistant for many years, for his insights, help and encouragement. And much appreciation to Garys business manager, Colin Newman, who made the whole project happen.

It seemed like every time I interviewed somebody, I would come away with another clutch of names of people you really need to speak topeople who were not on my already extensive list. There was also a gratifying by-product of the interview process: putting people in touch who had been out of contact, in some cases since school days, half a century ago. Unless a published source is mentioned, all the interviews were conducted by me while writing the book. I conducted one interview with Gary for my biography of Jack. All other direct quotes from Gary are from published sources.

Sadly, since the book was completed, eight of those interviewed have passed away: Noel Bridgeman, Jack Bruce, Jon Hiseman, Greg Lake, Craig Gruber, Frank Murray, Chris Tsangarides and Steve York, as have Garys father and mother. So, thanks to them and all the others for sharing their memories of Gary:

Don Airey, Bill Allen, Prue Almond, Stuart Bailie, Gerry Raymond-Barker, Steve Barnett, James Barton, Eric Bell, Smiley Bolger, Kerry Booth, Tim Booth, Andy Bradfield, Rob Braniff, Ceri Campbell, Donna Campbell, Jeannie Campbell, Ted Carroll, Neil Carter, Clem Clempson, Peter Collins, Chris Cordington, Andy Crookston, Brian Crothers, Steve Croxford, Pete Cummins, John Curtis, Bob Daisley, Ed Deane, Barry Dickins, Steve Dixon, Harry Doherty, Bill Downey, Brian Downey, Johnny Duhan, Hans Engel, Gary Ferguson, Magnus Fiennes, Steven Fletcher, Mo Foster, Melissa Fountain, Lisa Franklin, Jeff Glixman, Scott Gorham, Tim Goulding, Rob Green, Richard Griffiths, John Henry, Nik Henville, Bill Hindmarsh, George Hoffman, Tim Hole, Glenn Hughes, Billy Hunter, Graham Hunter, Ian Hunter, Gary Husband, Andy Irvine, George Jones, Pearse Kelly, Roger Kelly, Sylvia Keogh, William Lamour, Austen Lennon, Dave Lennox, Cass Lewis, Dave Lewis, Ivan Little, Bernie Marsden, Neville Marten, Colin Martin, John Martin, Vic Martin, Paul McAuley, Pete McLelland, Dick Meredith, James Meredith, Malcolm Mill, Alan Moffatt, Darrin Mooney, Charlie Morgan, Neil Murray, Mark Nauseef, Tony Newton, Geoff Nicholson, Jon Noyce, Chris ODonnell, Terry ONeill, Sharon Osbourne, Ian Paice, Jim Palmer, Teddie Palmer, Willie Palmer, Ivan Pawle, Simon Phillips, Tony Platt, Guy Pratt, Peter Price, Andy Pyle, Pete Rees, Ian Robertson, Jan Schelhaas, Paul Scully, Brush Shiels, Eric Singer, Nigel Smith, Dirk Sommer, Mike Starrs, Joe Staunton, Ian Taylor, Otis Taylor, Tony Tierney, Graham Walker, Jon Webster, Stuart Weston, Terry Woods and John Wooler.