Gary Moore – Rest in Peace

Last night I returned home on cloud nine after gigging down on the Playa in Mojacar. It had been a while since I’d been on stage and I’d missed it. Arriving home, I was in great spirits after getting that ‘fix’ again.  A mere four hours down the coast, something had happened that was to hit me like a sucker punch.

On Friday, sitting in our local at lunchtime, I’d met one of Gary Moore’s backstage technicians, taking a short break from touring. We were discussing how Gary achieved his wonderful tone, partly through the heavy gauge strings that he used – incredibly hard to bend, but rich sounding.

Now, as I fired up the Mac upon returning home late Sunday night, I discovered that Gary had passed away in a hotel in Estepona. He was just 58. I was dumbfounded. Gary Moore has always been one of my guitar heroes. He was the real deal, and the complete package, not only a genius guitarist, but a great singer and writer. There were few if any, that could touch him. As if that weren’t enough, he was equally at home playing fusion, blues, jazz and metal.

I first became aware of Gary’s music on “Little Darlin'” by Thin Lizzy. I was always a Lizzy fan, even going so far as to impersonate Phil Lynott on Stars in their Eyes. I also met Gary’s predecessor, Eric Bell.  But when Gary joined their ranks, briefly, for that first time, and Little Darlin’ exploded from the speakers, I knew he was special.  I discovered his earlier work with Skid Row, amazing skills at just 16!

One of my favourite albums of his  is “Run for Cover” because it brings together three of my all-time favourite musicians, Gary, Glenn Hughes and Phil Lynott. But I’m not going to feature anything from that, nor “Still got the blues”. Instead, here’s a lesser-known single from Gary, unbelievably poignant and eerily prophetic, given the last line.  Gary, the word genius is often over-used, but in your case it hardly begins to cover your mastery of the guitar. Rest in Peace, your music will live on forever. I want to extend my condolences to his friends and family at this sad time.

Kev Moore