Respected blues rock guitarist Gary Moore has died suddenly whilst on holiday in Spain. His death was reported in the early hours on Sunday 6th February 2011.
Known for his eclectic career in blues, jazz, rock, heavy metal, and 'guitarist's guitarist' status, he will be sadly missed by peers and fans alike.
Originally from Belfast, Moore's career covered many and varied phases, including three stints with legendary Irish rockers Thin Lizzy and a glittering solo career. He was famous not only for his rock chops but for his heartfelt and solid blues technique that saw him play alongside luminaries such as B.B. King and George Harrison.
In 1969, aged 16, a young Robert William Gary Moore moved to Dublin to join Skid Row, where he met Thin Lizzy founder Phil Lynott. After his first solo album, Grinding Stone in 1973, he joined Lynott for his own phenomenally successful Parisienne Walkways and Thin Lizzy's Black Rose: A Rock Legend albums in 1979. The pair went on to release Out In The Fields in 1985, a year before Lynott's own early death in January 1986. His final reunion with his former Lizzy bandmates came in 2006 when he played the One Night In Dublin tribute to Lynott.
Moore's career spanned twenty studio solo albums as well as six live albums. As well as being part of Thin Lizzy Moore was a lynchpin in the Seventies supergroup Colosseum II, also featuring Don Airey, Jon Hiseman, and John Mole.
After three albums with Colosseum II Moore went on to record on Greg Lake's two solo albums and continued to play live with Lake's touring band. Never one to sit on his laurels, Moore consistently released solo albums. In 1994 he formed another supergroup, BBM, featuring former members of Cream Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker, which produced only one album before Moore moved on to form Scars with Cass Lewis(Skunk Anansie) and Darrin Mooney (Primal Scream).
In the early noughties Moore returned to his first love - the blues - releasing a string of albums including 'Back To The Blues' and 'Old New Ballads and Blues'. His last album was 2008's 'Bad For You Baby'.