History of Gary Moore guitars and equipment 1969-89

[Emerald]

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Emerald Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Valhalla, Earth Posts: 532 Thanks: 1 Thanked 97 Times in 30 Posts

History of Gary Moore guitars and equipment 1969-89 Rough draft here of history of Gary Moore's guitars and equipment from roughly 1969 through the end of his rock period 1989 After the War. Guitars, amplifiers and equipment used by Gary Moore in the period from 1969 through 1989. Gary received his first guitar, an acoustic at age 8. At 14 years he got his first electric a Fender Telecaster. Gary was a left handed person who learned to play the guitar right handed. At age 16 he traveled from Belfast to Dublin where he met Phil Lynott and at age 17 joined Skid Row with Brush Sheils. From very early in his career Gary developed an affinity for his guitar equipment that would carry on throughout his career. Gary approached his guitar playing with a very knowlegable attitude and developed a very technical approach to playing. Besides a Telecaster Gary had a Gibson Les Paul in Skid Row that was red, had black covered P-90 pick ups with a gold tuneamatic bridge and a trapeze tail piece that was similar to a 1952 style but was of a different appearance. Also a Fender Stratocaster that was early seventies sunburst with a black pick guard. He also had a Gibson SG guitar that he would later sell to help purchase the famous Peter Green 1959 Les Paul Standard. For amplifiers in Skid Row Gary used Orange heads and cabinets, also a Hiwatt amp with Wem 4x12” cabinets. Skid Row supported Fleetwood Mac in Ireland and that is where Gary first met Peter. Gary ended up moving to London where he ended up leaving Skid Row and the famous story took place of how Gary ended up purchasing Peter’s ’59 Les Paul. Peter offered to lend the guitar to Gary and eventually offered the guitar to Gary if Gary sold his current guitar, the SG and Gary ended up paying Peter a pithy sum for the famous guitar, perhaps 100 pounds or so. As Gary relates the story of acquiring the guitar from Peter: “One night at the Marquee Peter said “Do you want to borrow my guitar?” “Well yeah!” “So I went and picked it up at his parent’s place, it was in this battered old case” As befits the passing of the torch, even the guitars case was imbued with karma- it was the same that housed Eric Clapton’s Bluesbreakers LP Standard, the one guitar possibly more sought after than Green’s For a couple of weeks Moore literally lived with the guitar – because his Belsize Park flat had no locks on the doors he’s have to take it with him everywhere he went. A police search for drugs managed to dispense with the case’s handle and Gary was soon struggling down the road with the encased guitar cradled like a baby. Green phoned soon afterward and asked Moore if he wanted to buy the instrument. Following his current anti-materialistic philosophy Green said he would take whatever money Moore could het from the sale of his then main guitar, a Gibson SG for L40, and offered the money to Peter. Green would only take L110. The guitar continued to live a Hard Road with Gary as since Gary had a premonition that the guitar would be stolen so he had it in the boot of a car he was traveling in. The car was promptly rear-ended by a lorry! The guitar had been in a flight case by this time but was severly damaged nonetheless. Charlie Chandler, who worked on Gary’s guitars for many years, repaired the fractured Les Paul with metal rods at the headstock end and joining the neck to the body. Gary recorded his first solo LP Grinding Stone in 1973 and he had the famous Les Paul by that time serial # 9-2308. On a visit to Hamer guitars in the future, Gary had Jol Danzig of Hamer disassemble the guitar to detect what was the basis of the haunting tone of both pickups together. The neck pickup had been installed backwards at some point and one of the magnets had reversed polarity so when both pick ups were engaged it gave a haunting tone that was unique to this guitar. Gary rejoined Phil Lynott in Phil’s band Thin Lizzy in 1974 replacing Eric Bell who had a personal meltdown on stage and left the band. Gary was using Marshall amps with Thin Lizzy and primarily the Greeny Les Paul. Gary then joined Colosseum II in 1975 with Jon Hiseman on drums. Gary used the Greeny Les Paul, a Fender Strat and for amps a Vox AC30 and Marshall 100 watt amp and cabinets. Gary remained with Colosseum through 1978 but again temporarily rejoined Thin Lizzy in 1977 replacing the injured Brian Robertson for a tour. Gary worked on Andrew Lloyd Weber’s LP Variations during his stint with Colosseum. When Gary finally left Colloseum II in 1978 he rejoined Thin Lizzy as a permanent member recording the album Black Rose. Gary used a late fifties single cutaway Gibson Melody Maker with Lizzy live. He had this guitar modified by placing a DiMarzio Super Distortion crème colored humbucking pickup in the bridge position replacing the stock single coil pick up. In Lizzy Gary used various Marshall JMP amplifiers including a 50 watt Marshall combo amp on stage. Also in 1978 he recorded his first major solo record Back On The Streets with various guest artists including Phil Lynott. Gary was again using the ’59 Les Paul for this project. Gary formed the first Gary Moore Band and recorded 1982’s Corridors of Power. On the song Don’t Take Me For A Loser Gary explains his use of different guitar tones: “Yes I used different instruments. The solo’s got kind of a strange sound because the guitar was split in two and one side went through a Maestro octave divider and then directly to the mixing desk, and the other side went through a little monitor on a 2-track tape recorder. We routed the guitar through that and turned it up until it distorted, and then we put a mike on it. So we had a dirty guitar sound coming through this tiny speaker, and this kind of very clean open sound with an octave divider on it.” Asked how he gets feedback and sustain in the studio Gary replied, “I just drive the **** out of my amp with the Strat and the distortion. You know, it’s like I’ve got three gain stages, I suppose because it’s going through the Roland digital stuff, which has extra gain on it. So I drive that as hard as I can. Of course, there’s so much gain that I can’t take my hands off the guitar without it screaming (laughs).” This era was the first where Gary used 3 volume pedals on the stage to control other players signal through his top Marshall cabinets. Asked if he sent his guitar signal through one of his monitor cabs Gary replied, “No. The only thing that goes through the monitors onstage is vocals and drums. I do have a pretty elaborate monitoring system that comes through my spare Marshall cabinets. I’ve got four stacks behind me, but the top cabinets have bass, keyboards, and Neil Carter’s guitar. Then I have three Boss FV-100 volume pedals on the floor in front of me so that I can balance them out as I’m playing, without having to yell at the monitor guy. I’ve had too many years of doing that.” Are your Strat’s stock? “Yeah they’re all stock. They’re stupid guitars. One of them is a real old one- like a ’61. I guess it’s pink. It’s my main one that was stolen before I went on tour and it was later returned. I think one of the British Customs people must have stolen it. It went on the Interpol computer, and then the FBI over here was after it, and suddenly it reappeared in Houston. The guy must have gotten cold feet, and put it on a plane to somewhere he knew I’d get it. In the meantime I bought this white one, which is a brand new version of a ’62, with a rosewood finger-board. It’s also stock. I just got to like it, so I’ve been using it for most of the shows.” When Gary joined Greg Lake to record and tour , Gary came to acquire the ’61 Fiesta Red Strat. The story goes that Greg was looking for guitars that were in pristine condition and Gary hoped he would pass on the red Strat as it was a really good player and he wanted it! It had some wear on it and Gary ended up with it. It had been owned by famous British rocker Tommy Steele previously. Victims of the Future followed in 1983. Gary described how he modified his Strats: “I use three tremolo springs. I’ve had the frets done, too. Fender frets are very sharp so I had fatter ones like on Les Pauls put in – Jim Dunlops. Can you describe your stage effects? “I use a Roland SRE-555 Chorus/Echo and a Roland SDE-3000 Digital Delay which has a programmable memory. It’s great for me onstage because I can preprogram all my flanging and chorusing parameters, so I can have them exactly the way I want them. It’s great because I only need two switches onstage for recalling presets and turning it on and off. You can bend the pitch of the echo with this other pedal of you want, and you can lengthen or shorten the echo the same way. It’s very easy to work with onstage. So, all my sounds are stored in those two units. The echo you hear from me all the time is kind of a medium-length repeat from the 555, which I use a lot. It’s on almost all the time – especially on the solos. But when I’m playing through a fast rhythm part of something, I leave it off because it turns into a mess otherwise. Do you use the chorus section of the SRE-555? No, just the programmable one. I don’t like the sound of the one on the 555 very much, so I just modified the chorus preset on the other unit, and gave it a bit more depth and a bit more range. It suits me better. It’s a slower chorus – a bit more subtle. In general, I don’t like how some choruses mess with the pitch. That’s why I like the Roland SDD-320 Dimension D, for example. It gives you constant pitch, but it also gives you the chorus at the same time. The other chorus sound I have stored in the SDE-3000 is faster, like a Leslie – type chorus, kind of a flanger effect. I use that on “Empty Rooms” for the arpeggio rhthym part. Are fuzztones included in your setup? I use a Boss DS-1 Distortion on the Stratocaster. I found it’s a really good unit for my particular guitar because it complements the sound. Having gone through just about all the other distortion units available, this is the one that doesn’t make your guitar sound thin. It doesn’t take away the natural sound. It just gives the Strat a real kick up the arse. In fact, I have it on most of the time. I don’t use it on the Les Paul, though. I go straight into the mixing desk. I don’t use my rack or effects in the studio that much. I record with the guitar and the amp, and add the effects afterwards, which gives me a little more flexibility. You don’t want to be stuck with an effect, and I figure you can get much better quality by using the studio’s effects; obviously they’ve got ultra high – quality stuff, and I haven’t. Get a good signal to the tape and anything you do with it later is going to sound much better. My guitars are very hard to play. They have pretty high action. I like it like that because I learned to play on real cheap guitars, and I’ve never gotten over that. I don’t take my guitars for granted, and I appreciate having good ones now, so I kind of let them fight back a bit. I use Dean Markley strings, which I find to be consistent, gauged .010, .013, .017, ..030, .042, and .052. I like the real heavy low E – just to get more balls out of it. It’s good for my picking technique because I hit them. I use a very hard pick – a Fender – and if I use lighter strings, they flap around a lot and break easily. During touring in 1986 Gary had developed his stage setup touring for the Run For Cover LP this would continue to be the same for the very famous and well received 1987 tour supporting the Wild Frontier LP. There was a change clearly perceptible in Gary’s guitar playing. Until about two and a half years ago Gary never took to stage without his Fiesta Red Stratocaster and his 1959 ex-Peter Green 1959 Les Paul Standard. In the meantime, Gary has become more and more interested in new guitars. He started off the G-Force project playing a Charvel guitar and would begin using two special Charvels as well as a Jackson Soloist for the Wild Frontier live and recording use. Since Gary found a reliable guitar tech in Keith Page, the Floyd Rose temolo system has become a stronger component of his show. “I always used the Fender Stratocaster for a particular sound. As I brought my equipment up to date, I thought I should give the Floyd Rose system another chance. Two Charvel Strat head style San Dimas guitars which Keith Page converted from twin humbucker style to single EMG 81 bridge mounted style with pick guards and a single volume knob, became Gary’s main guitars. “It’s a Charvel. Well actually it’s made up of all different pieces of other Charvels I had before. The pickup is a single EMG 81 humbucker…Keith put it together in about two days and I just fell in love with it and started using it in the shows.” The first built was the white coloured body with matching headstock and a single piece maple neck with chrome hardware and a black anodized R2 Floyd nut. Later Gary would add the red coloured example with a rosewood finger board and also chrome hardware with a white single ply pick guard as both were equipped with. Gary had first used the Floyd Rose tremolo in 1985 in custom built Hamer guitars, which he owned two examples of, a black and a white one. These had solid bodies of necks of mahogany with ebony finger boards. The bodies were of a double – cutaway design with flush mounted Floyd Rose tremolos. Gary can be seen playing the white one in the live video with Phil Lynott for “Out In The Fields.” “I use the Hamer guitars simply because I find them really good. A few years after I discovered the Charvels, it was a great experience getting acquainted with Hamer guitars. I wrote the album Run For Cover with these guitars, for example. They’re based on the principle as the old Les Paul Juniors.” Gary owned a single cutaway 1955 Les Paul Junior which he had obtained from Paul Jones of the Sex Pistols which he used live in 1983-4. “When I first tried out the Floyd Rose system, it didn’t have a very fine sound, and I didn’t think you could do much with it live. Now I see the whole thing differently, and I must say I’ve gotten used used to it. The voice ability is enormous, and I prefer the Floyd Rose system in every case to the Kahler system, because the sustain on the Kahler system is definitely worse. You just have to play the guitars dry to hear the difference. The Floyd Rose sound is much more natural. It’s my opinion that the sound of a chrome-plated Floyd Rose tremolo is far and away better than, for example a black anodized one. The sound is fuller, with more sustain. An obvious difference. I don’t have any advertising deal with Hamer. At the time I visited the factory in Chicago, I had a contract with Ibanez. They paid me a bundle just for an advertising campaign because I don’t play their dingers on stage, I just don’t like them that much. So I said to Paul Hamer.’The best I can do is just play your guitar. I didn’t want any money for it, because when I like a guitar, I just like it.’ For acoustic work Gary had been using a black laquered finished Takamine 12 string of which there only existed two, the other owned by Greg Lake, and another single cutaway Takamine. Also Gary was the first artist in England to have examples of the new Paul Reed Smith guitars a red and blue one. Thanks to Keith Page the equipment set became standardized for live work. The center piece is Gary’s legendary 1972 Marshall Super Bass which had been painted purple by the previous owner, Gary restoring it to stock appearance. This 100 watt amp head was paired with two other Marshall Super Lead 100 watt heads. Each head had a Marshall 1960B cabinet loaded with Celestion G12-75 watt speakers. The third amp has two cabinets, to provide the necessary fullness to the sound. Before the guitar signal reaches the amps it runs through an Ibanez Tube Screamer, a Roland 555 Space Echo connected to a volume pedal, then into a Roland SDE-3000 Digital Delay, and from there into a Roland Dimension D, where the signal is split into the two stereo channels. Gary used Gallien Kruger solid state amps in the studio along with a Dean Markley amp. “On stage I prefer the Marshalls simply because the places we play are very big and only the Marshalls pack the power that I must have. Gary’s last rock album of that era was 1989’s “After The War.’ By this time Gary had acquired some further guitars With Greeny being temporarily retired from 1987 onwards Gary turned to a different version of a Les Paul built by the Heritage guitar company in the old fifties Gibson factory in Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA. Gary had a few different versions of the Heritage guitars including his main model the CM-150 which is featured on the cover of the “After The War”LP. This featured a mahogany body and set neck with a flamed maple top. Gary had fitted a P.J. Marx active humbucking pickup in the neck position and an EMG 81 active pickup in the bridge. Gary would use this guitar on the track Blood of Emeralds. Heritage would later build an extremely limited Gary Moore signature model guitar of two runs of 75 worldwide each. Gary continued to use Hamer guitars, having a Flying V appearing Vector K.K.Downing of Judas Priest model in blue with a single bridge humbucking pickup. Also in Gary’s collection were several Hamer Chapparal solid body guitars, Gary also possessed a Hamer Standard since 1984, this had a flamed maple top and headstock and is pictured in promo pictures from the 1984-5 era, Gary never using it live though. Also the long serving white Charvel guitar had it’s neck replaced with a rosewood finger boarded Jackson logoed Strat head version. Gary’s amp setup was similar adding the Marshall JCM 800 amps and cabs by this time. This is a rough draft and many guitars have deliberately been left off but will be addressed eventually. Emerald

[Emerald]

Harry the official biographer was well pleased with my compilation and he will pick out what he wants to use, I had 5 pages of handwritten notes. There are many guitars that I know Gary owned but they aren't of major importance to his music or he didn't use them live ect, such as the Synthax which he was one of the first in Britain to pioneer as he did with Paul Reed Smith guitars in 1986 having brought them back from the US.
I have tried to point out how pivotal Gary's Charvels in particular at the point of his career in the early to mid late eighties. For the 1987 Wild Frontier tour Gary exclusively used his two Keith Page modded Charvels and a Jackson Soloist.
He based his songs then and playing around the Original Floyd Rose Tremolo system and arguably Gary was one of the most skilled users of the bar:
The Loner was perhaps the best example of him playing a guitar on the verge of feeding back and the incredible control Gary had over the volumes and the bar:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdfKhHUnUAU
another video of the song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-G-PtmcPyK0
Wild Frontier and Over The Hills and Far Away, also Military Man:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhArQeRXtZ0

The Stockholm is perhaps my favorite show/recording of the eighties as it covers the huge stadium rock sound Gary had them and what a master of it he was!
Here from the last year I was covering Gary's gear for the book here is the white Charvel having been re-necked with a rosewood Jackson Strat head.
Gary was using more JCM800's by then and though still immensely powerful the setup from 1986-7 was in my estimation the best of his rock era. The version of Military Man here demonstrates Gary's improvistaion around the beautiful first slow solo.
Blood of Emeralds performed on his Heritage CM-150 with a PJ Marx active pickup in the neck and a bridge EMG 81 was the prototype for his Heritage signature model issued a few years later.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5L426SaDzQ
I did the best I can in Gary's memory and hope that I've done him justice and though it's not my project I was honored to be invited to be a part of it in whatever way it works out!
Emerald

[Hellbat]

Do you know if he ran the EMG's at 9V?

[Emerald]

Yes, none of Gary's active pickup guitars ran at 18V.
Emerald

[msaint65]

Emerald, know this is a guitar thread....but at the 1990 Montreaux Festival it appears he is using Soldano amps. Was this a long or short term deal for Gary?

[Emerald]

msaint65 good question. From the period of 1990 for a few years, at least through the Midnight Blues Band tours and up until the live VHS show Live Blues supporting the After Hours LP where Gary used a Soldano Hot Rod 50, Gary used two Soldano SLO100 amps live. He used two heads on stage, one head and 4X12" cab was a spare. On the live head Gary used the rhythm channel with a Marshall Guv'nor pedal for his lead and rhythm sound allied with his two 1959 Les Paul Standards #9-2803 Greeny and #9-2227 also known as Stripe though the guitar was named this by the famous Les Paul collector and dealer Tom Witterock, Gary and his crew never called the guitar Stripe.
On the Still Got The Blues LP which the Montreux 1990 show you are referring to was supporting Gary used the prototype reissue Marshall JTM-45 head on that record along with his original first series Marshall Bluesbreaker combo.
Gary's Marshall 4X12"s back then were loaded with EV-12 lead speakers. Gary also used his 1961 Fiesta Red Strat and his Heritage CM-150 guitar the predecessor for the Heritage Gary Moore signature which was Gary's first signature model guitar of which I had two, one from each limited worldwide run of 75 guitars only. I had to sell one but still have my one from the first series of the two. The Heritage Gary used live was loaded with a PJ Marx active pickup in the neck and an EMG 81 in the bridge. The first three numbers at the Montreux show features Gary using that guitar!
Please feel free to ask any questions about any era of Gary's guitars and equipment, Gary's guitar tech with him since 1990 is covering the 1990 period onwards in the forthcoming biography of Gary by the English author Harry Shapiro. I was asked to contribute the history of Gary's gear since he was 8 years old until the last rock tour, 1989's After The War. Gary's Heritage can be seen pictured on the cover of that LP.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyqgesB_m-g

Have a great day.
Emerald

[msaint65]

Thanks!

[ulijdavid]

I was asked to contribute the history of Gary's gear since he was 8 years old until the last rock tour, 1989's After The War.

Have a great day.
Emerald

That is pretty awesome to contribute to the biography of a one of a kind guitar God. Congrats to you. You must have some great knowledge and writing skills. Keep us informed as to when this will be released.

[Emerald]

That is pretty awesome to contribute to the biography of a one of a kind guitar God. Congrats to you. You must have some great knowledge and writing skills. Keep us informed as to when this will be released.

Thanks I have published a lot on the Interwebs already. I am a huge Gary Moore fan and have been for many many years. He was one of a kind that's for sure. One of Ireland's finest sons along with Phil Lynott and Rory Gallagher. I plan on writing my own tribute/bio of Gary after I see how Harry's book comes out. I had approached Gary in 2007 to write his autobiography but his manager declined. Of course I will keep everyone informed of what happens with the book and when. Yes I am honored to contribute towards the story of one of the greatest ever!

http://www.garymoorefc.com/guitars_hamer
http://www.garymoorefc.com/guitars_heritage
http://www.treblebooster.net/bolin.html
http://www.vintagewashburn.com/Elect...veStevens.html
Lots more as well!
Emerald

[KevinDguitar]

What an excellent and informative post! Thanks for posting and sharing this.

[Emerald]

What an excellent and informative post! Thanks for posting and sharing this.

Thanks for your kind words! It is my pleasure to share information I have with fellow fans. Guitarists that I admire and have written about include Gary Moore, Tommy Bolin and Steve Stevens. I enjoy my contributions to JCF as lots of great people here.
Here are some of my vast Gary Moore Photobucket pictures which I hope will be of interest, also I have scanned many rare magazines as well!!
This is a collection of scans from my 1989 After The War tour program:
http://s57.photobucket.com/user/davi...?sort=3&page=1

Photo collection from Gary's last tour in 2010:
http://s57.photobucket.com/user/davi...?sort=3&page=1

Gary's Charvels:
http://s57.photobucket.com/user/davi...?sort=3&page=1

Gary Moore from many eras:
http://s57.photobucket.com/user/davi...?sort=3&page=1

Magazine scans:
http://s57.photobucket.com/user/davi...?sort=3&page=1

Gary's Greeny 1959 Les Paul Standard ex-Peter Green:
http://s57.photobucket.com/user/davi...?sort=3&page=1

Gary Moore Band Live in '85 tour program scans:
http://s57.photobucket.com/user/davi...?sort=3&page=1

Tabs for the great Phil Lynott written tune Military Man:
http://s57.photobucket.com/user/davi...?sort=3&page=1

Mostly pics from the 1987 Wild Frontier tour:
http://s57.photobucket.com/user/davi...?sort=3&page=1

Enjoy!! Any questions just ask me.
Emerald

[Emerald]

Here is an interview I did with Gary Moore band member Neil Carter back in 2009. The emphasis is on the rock era he and Gary went through primarily focusing on the period 1987-9 and the Wild Frontier After The War tour and LP's.
This interview, which I provided Neil with DVD rips of VHS tapes from back in the day and CD bootlegs, turned out to uncannily precede an actual reunion of Neil and Gary where they went on to do the final Celtic rock tour in 2010.
Neil actually went round Gary's house in Brighton and they watched and listened to my material and I humbly believe it helped ignite a spark where Gary wanted to do a rock tour again and had written three new songs in that vein.
They used my Wild Frontier VHS rip actually during their rehearsals Neil told me later. So in a way I helped pave the way for that incredible reunion of the two and the fantastic tour which followed.
I can't begin to tell you how cool all that was. During the tour Neil got a promo picture from the After The War tour with Cozy Powell in the picture and he and Gary signed it to me!!
Here is my interview with Neil who was keyboardist/vocalist/2nd guitarist with Gary's band since 1983-9 as it appeared on the Gary Moore fan page Lord of the Strings. The photos are absent unfortunately as I copied this from a pdf.

Neil Carter, the unsung hero of the Gary Moore Band's greatest years

[IMG]file:///C:\Users\DAVIDT~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtml1\01\c lip_image002.jpg[/IMG]Without a doubt, as one who has studied the music of Gary Moore from quite early on in his career, the introduction of the multi-talented Neil Carter to Moore's rock band lineups, was indeed the catalyst for some of the finest and most enduring musical milestones in this phase of Gary's career. That Neil would unselfishly contribute his dynamic writing, playing abilities and performances, being such a gifted one in all these areas, truly is the mark of a great musician. To me the zenith of this collaboration, was the "Wild Frontier" era, even though Neil's actual contributions to the recorded album are not as substantial as other of Gary's albums, this LP and to a great deal as well, the "After The War" album, are standouts to me, though earlier albums have Moore/Carter compositions that are just as great.
Recently Neil was kind enough to contribute some of his valuable time to answer some questions, about this time frame and the demise as it turned out of Gary's rock era. What I have personally learned from Neil as a writer, is to place oneself somewhat apart from the subject, and to not make assumptions, no matter how well informed! To the true dyed in the wool Moore fan, the guitar, keyboard and vox contributions from Neil, contribute that final percentage of magic. This really brought out the best in the bands leader. Certainly Neil has had a well rounded rock music career and would be successful no matter what group he contributed to, but the magic elixir that is Carter and Moore, cannot be denied...

Let's start with the leaving of UFO and your call from Gary, asking you to audition/join his band. How did it feel to suddenly be in the presence of a much more organized creative musical experience?
It was very refreshing and also to get the chance to play with Ian Paice was quite a pull for me. Initially I was just going to do the US tour supporting Def Leppard but I got on well with Gary and stayed for quite a long time as it turned out! The main difference was that UFO was very much perceived as a band and I felt, initially, rather uncomfortable with being part of what could have been interpreted as a "backing group". A bit of the old UFO ego coming to the surface! However my initial fears were groundless as in reality it never felt totally like that. What was a bit strange was playing third on the bill to Def Leppard when they had, 2 years prior to that, supported UFO and 5 years before carried my amps into a gig in Sheffield when I was with Wild Horses. But I thought "if Ian can rise above this, I can"!
Gary had already recorded "Corridors Of Power" when you joined and you contributed to the writing of "Victims Of The Future". Can you describe what it was like to first of all write with Gary and then transferring that to the recording process?
[IMG]file:///C:\Users\DAVIDT~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtml1\01\c lip_image004.jpg[/IMG]Gary was always keen to get ideas for songs and I actually was the most involved with the recording process of that album, more than any of the others. I had a load of unused riffs and ideas so it was good having someone to "bounce off" like that. We worked the ideas into basic song format and then Gary went away and wrote lyrics. I don’t think we did that many demos for that album, but I could be wrong.
You have said that "Empty Rooms" was a work in progress when you joined Gary's band, can you recount when you first had the genesis for the beautiful melody of this song?
I had only really written the bare bones of it and my input was to the chord structure and mood, I wrote it in a hotel room in Texas if I remember rightly! The version I have from the UFO times sounds quite like it in some ways but Gary must take full credit for the melody and overall finish on that one!
I am interested in the time frame from "Victims Of The Future" to "Run For Cover". Did Gary's working with Phil Lynott in a way, plus his experimentation with Glenn Hughes as lead vocalist, plus the multiple producers, and other players, contribute to what I feel to be Gary's least cohesive LP of that era?
Hmmm. I suppose it was a touch fragmented and perhaps there was a bit of ‘direction finding’ involved. He hit gold with Peter Collins though and I think the best work is with him by far. I liked the rerecorded Empty Rooms, sadly the Glenn Hughes vocal is in a vault somewhere. I wish I’d had the foresight to take a copy home!
Also Andy Richards playing keys on the version of "Empty Rooms" on "Run For Cover", how did that happen?
The connection with Andy came through Peter Collins I think, he used a Fairlight and there was lots of "fairy dust" courtesy of him. I think they were keen to use as much of the new technology as they could so he did the "expensive" keyboard parts. He worked a lot with the Pet Shop Boys who were sort of ‘cutting edge’ with keyboards etc. and Gary wanted a bit of that.
By what time period did you feel the completion of the core group of Gary's band, with different drummers and then no drummer at all on "Wild Frontier"?
Actually around the aftermath of "Run for Cover" and the tour that followed it. Bob had become a regular feature but we still could never quite settle on a drummer. They always seemed to come and go. The best all round was probably Gary Ferguson although he only did one tour.
It is my impression that once the band consisting of yourself, Bob Daisley, Eric Singer and Gary was finalized, that band lineup never recorded another album post the touring for "Wild Frontier", and that after that long tour, this band was ready to do such a fantastic album it would seem, again what happened post the Wild Frontier tour and again the gap to "After The War"?
[IMG]file:///C:\Users\DAVIDT~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtml1\01\c lip_image005.jpg[/IMG]I look back on it and there were always flaws with each drummer, hard to believe but there were. Gary was always a stickler for tempos and the maintaining of them. Drummers can speed up and slow down, there are numerous examples in the live material, and in the studio it became very frustrating. So the sampled drums were the answer. I am still to this day actuely aware of this and my poor kids at school, particularly the drummers in our Big Band get hell from me if the tempo shifts! Mind you it hasn’t harmed any of them through the last 15 years. Therefore when it came to "After The War" we used machines and by the time we toured I think Eric was busy or it was felt that a new guy would be the best way forward. This all goes against the ethos of laying backing tracks as a band, rather strange that nowadays the nature of Gary’s music is more feel based. The one with the best feel was actually Bobby Chouinard but unfortunately he was the one who was a wee bit unreliable and something of a loose cannon. But also an entertaining character!
I am not aware of the circumstances surrounding the recording of "After The War", other than I had read you regretted Eric Singer, either not being available or Gary's reuniting with Cozy Powell, as somewhat of a disappointment for you personally.
Yes, I wasn’t a great Cozy fan (quite a lot of baggage there) and I liked Eric a lot as a person. He was always really easy to work with and very funny. I think he is a real "stadium rock" drummer but not cocky with it which is probably why people like Alice Cooper and Kiss have him around to this day. A very genuine guy.
I have read other books, especially on Black Sabbath, where Cozy became quite involved with the production of the records he was asked to play on. What were your feelings Neil, after the huge success of the WF lineup and the sheer ability and power of that band, and then it seemed another cut and paste type effort during the recording of "After The War"?
I liked that way of working to be honest and live/studio situations were always quite separate entities. Initially it was Gary, myself and the drum guy (whose name eludes me) in Denmark recording the basic tracks. Although not all were done there and Gary did some stuff when I wasn’t around. He has always been his own man so there are tracks along the years that I had little or absolutely no input to.
I have read that you wrote your contribution to "Blood Of Emeralds" in Dublin. How was the song writing collaboration between you and Gary working by that time?
[IMG]file:///C:\Users\DAVIDT~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtml1\01\c lip_image007.jpg[/IMG]Actually I wrote the basis of that at home during a break from touring and then Gary and I played around with it. We did a lot of demoing in Dublin though and spent a number of weeks working on material. Gary was doing a tax year out of the UK so I was commuting between home and Ireland each week. That was a really nice time. I always used to give Gary tapes of song ideas and he would sift through them, picking out riffs he liked or even moods and then formulate them into a song idea. We rarely sat down and said ‘let’s write a song’ it never really worked like that. But we did bounce a lot of ideas around on After the War, more so than any other album. I really loved the ‘celtic rock’ thing and Dublin was the ideal place to do it, obviously.
Eric Singer is a key to the tightness of that lineup, with Bob Daisley and this solid rhythm section, I'm sure allowed you and Gary, greater freedom to concentrate on the vocals, rhythm guitars and keys, than with the other lineups.
Well yes, it was very powerful certainly. I think the roles were becoming more established and the splitting of vocals was good as it provided variety and gave Gary chance to play without being lassoed to the mic.
Was the "Wild Frontier" album fairly complete in many aspects once you became involved with it?
Yes, my contribution is probably the least on that although I am there somewhere! I would need to jog my memory and listen to it! I mainly did backing vocals and some keyboards. The "big" tracks were done with "expensive keyboards" so Andy was used a lot. To this day I have never met him!
The similarities of yours and Gary's voices, certainly worked well on tunes like "Shapes Of Things", "Rockin' Every Night", ect. What kind of experience was it playing guitar on stage with a player of Gary's stature?
It helped to confirm my inability to play lead! No in all honesty I am a competent rhythm player and am quite "solid" in my very basic ability so it suited that sound. To play with someone like Gary is inspirational and he injects so many different colours into his playing. I never once saw him play under par, he always delivered the goods! It was fortunate our voices were similar and I did enjoy singing, always have, and the only thing I truly miss about my old life is that I never sing these days which is a pity.
It is my personal feeling , as I have mentioned before, that the "Wild Frontier" lineup could have carried on to make an incredible record and Gary certainly hadn't said it all with the Celtic rock approach. From interviews I have read with Gary, he states management and producers were forcing him to take a more broad based approach to the material for "After The War" and obviously the same enthusiasm, he does not show live for that tour compared with the 1987 "Wild Frontier" era. What are your thoughts regarding all of this?
[IMG]file:///C:\Users\DAVIDT~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtml1\01\c lip_image009.jpg[/IMG]You know I don’t remember it being like that, but a lot of time has elapsed. I am aware that he was fed up with the stuff we were doing and wanted a change so that may have come across. I didn’t enjoy that tour as much for sure mainly because I was playing keyboards so much and felt a bit "restricted" on stage. Also I never felt the "kick" playing with Chris Slade that I got from Eric or Gary Ferguson or even Paul Thompson who wasn’t a heavy drummer really. The "show" looked good but perhaps the energy was less than 100%.
On the technical side, you were playing Hamer and Washburn guitars, were you also using Marshall amplification?
Yes always Marshall 50 amps and 4x12" cabinets. On the "After The War" tour I used a Les Paul that Gary gave me for my 30th birthday.
The circumstances surrounding the live video of the Stockholm show are of great interest to many fans, still to this day. Do you feel that the video accurately captured the band at their best?
It did yes although it was a "one hit" so there was a lot of pressure to get it right. It captured the time and place really well and the crowd reaction, venue and material are all spot on. It’s good and I can look at it without cringing. I can quite say the same about the Emerald Aisles one….those outfits!
In particular the keyboard parts you developed for the material from the "Wild Frontier" album and the earlier songs, add so much dynamics to the arrangements, that these are the definitive versions of all these songs, in my opinion, Empty Rooms included. Also your enthusiasm adds greatly to the video, were you enjoying it as much as it appears?
Without a doubt. I loved that size crowd and the electricity of that night is really well captured. It’s quite sophisticated for its time and we were playing well as a unit. It also has a real feeling of, dare I say, success. I have a "taken from the audience" DVD from Milton Keynes and I look like I am really having a ball on that one. Natural enthusiasm I suppose and a desire to please! I still have it. (just).
As far as Gary's guitar setup for the WF tour, the voicing of his guitar, both for lead playing and rhythm, is strikingly different than his earlier live rig.
I know he was using the same amplification arrangement as on earlier tours, with his '72 Super Bass, as the main amp, feeding several other 100 watt Marshall heads.
The use of the active electronic EMG pickups and the Floyd Rose tremolo systems, certainly helped to shape this voice. As a fellow guitarist, what do you think was maybe a secret to the amazing tone he got on that tour, particularly on the live video?
Actually he does have quite a different sound on that video. It suited the material really well, especially "Thunder Rising" which is great on the video. Secret...hmmmm not sure on that one although he had a really clear vision of how the tone should sit with the songs. It is very stylish and has a unique quality.
As a fan of yourself and Gary, Neil, one can't help but feel some sadness and regret that what was such a powerful , certainly live lineup, couldn't have carried on in the same vein.
Do you feel that Gary, perhaps, was "burned out", by the constant touring and pressure to top the previous albums?
Well yes, also perhaps a desire to get back to the roots, a wise move as it turned out, and not to repeat yourself again and again. I had been with him a long time by 1989 and perhaps we had run our course creatively. I didn’t really give it a lot of thought at the time of the tour but in hindsight it was obvious something had to change for him.
I know that when Gary made the decision to develop the blues band concept, that you weren't particularly interested in this. Were you invited to join at first?
No, and I don’t blame him for not including me as I was a less than enthusiastic when they had their blues jamathons at sound checks. It really isn’t my sort of music although it’s enjoyable in small doses and I appreciate how well Gary does it and how a part of him it is. I like a lot of the songs Gary has done since but like I say, in small doses.
Post the last LP and tour with Gary, what musical projects were you involved in?
Bob and I did some work with a young guitarist managed by Peter Grant, I know his name was Tommy and he may still be playing today for all I know. I did some London theatre work as a favour to a friend and spent a lot of time writing and did some demos. I explain on my website that the "epiphany" came one day when I sat at the publishers playing some stuff I had recorded and looked at the banks and banks of tapes he had. It was obvious that without a vehicle nothing was going to happen and I thought, "that’s it!" I had no idea how life would progress from there at that point.
It appears that it gives you great satisfaction to be able to pass on to future generations your love and talent for music and your work at Brighton College, must certainly be applauded. How did you get involved in playing woodwinds?
[IMG]file:///C:\Users\DAVIDT~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtml1\01\c lip_image011.jpg[/IMG]My principal instrument at school had been the clarinet and prior to my going down the "evil path" I had been offered a place for further study on it. But to my parents horror I jacked it all in to become a rock musician. So when I stopped all that my partner who is a harpist suggested I do a few lesson to busy myself. Typically me I plunged into it in a big way and went back and gained my qualifications. It wasn’t necessary that I did that but teaching somewhere like Brighton College which is currently "the" independent school in our part of England it is expected. Also I am great one for having a "goal" to achieve. Now I teach clarinet/saxophone and am full time Head of Woodwind and Brass at the College doing a wide variety of things.

David Talkin (October 2009)
Dave goes by the forum name Emerald in The Lord Of The Strings Fan Forum, is also know as yngwie308 on most other music internet forums.
He has his own personal web blog: http://www.daveonrock.com and recently has become a major contributor to the website http://www.vintagewashburn.com. Also he has written about the music of Tommy Bolin for BSM Treble Boosters. Gary Moore has remained one of his strongest influences, right alongside, Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck and the masterful Peter Green.

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Hope you all enjoy this and I have heard from Darren Main, Gary's personal assistant from 1994 till the end that the Harry Shapiro biography which I contributed data on the guitars and equipment to, will be out at the end of the year.
I'll keep everyone informed of when the book appears.
Thanks for reading.
Here is my signed promo poster, RIP Gary and Cozy.

Emerald

[Emerald]

Here is a page from my poor lost web blog Dave On Rock which was a success for me personally, yet my lack of knowledge of how to successfully maintain a web blog led to poor viewing numbers, it was just an experiment for me anyway.
This is sort of a preamble to the interview above:

Neil Carter- The Unsung Hero of the Gary Moore band’s greatest years

May 21st, 2010
PI have been in communication for almost two years now with the great Neil Carter, ex- Wild Horses, ex-UFO, ex-Gary Moore Band.
I had requested an interview with Neil regarding the greatest period of Gary’s career so far, the years when Neil was in the band and basically Gary’s complete rock era.
My focus of the interview was mine and Neil’s as well, the Wild Frontier and After The War albums.
The touring lineup for the 1987 Wild Frontier tour was perhaps arguably Gary’s most successful era.
The release of “After The War” and subsequent ‘final’ rock tour, signaled the end of the Moore-Carter collaboration, which yielded some of Gary’s most memorable songs.
Any true dyed in the wool Gary Moore fan (unless they came on board during his blues period (1990-2009), would consider the recording of the show at Isstadion Stockholm during the Wild Frontier tour, as being one of the greatest rock shows, ever recorded.
Just a total professional effort, produced by the excellent NFL Films, who also did his Emerald Aisles video, this video, only available on VHS to this day, and out of print of course. I have two copies, one played the other never played and converted mine to DVD format as I did with all my Gary Moore videos, mostly bought on VHS Japanese Imports.
Those who know me and my writing, plus my great love for Gary’s music and that of Phil Lynott/Thin Lizzy, realize that that golden era. with Neil’s triple threat talents, rhythm guitar (his main instrument previously), keyboards and fantastic vocals, very similar to Gary’s in range and tone. As good as a vocalist as Gary has become, Neil could always deliver a superb vocal effort.
Particularly on Shapes Of Things, Rocking Every Night and his great backing vocals on Empty Rooms, which he co-wrote with Gary.
As a fellow guitarist, Gary’s tone and equipment setup for this era, I consider his finest hour.
The use of his finest Marshall, the 1972 Super Bass, which someone had painted purple and Gary returned it to it’s native black, slaved off to two other 100 watt 1959 spec heads, allied with the great sounding Roland outboard gear, including the Dimension D. Chorus/Echo and Delay units.
Also an Ibanez Tube Screamer, used with those two magical Charvel Custom Shop guitars, delivered to him in 1986, the Strat head single pickup, EMG 85 and 81 equipped with Original Floyd Rose Tremolo’s, delivered a sound that he was in incredible control of.
This massive wall of sound, just on the edge of breaking loose into feedback, but having such clarity amongst the huge volumes he was working with.
Also Gary’s guitar playing, the techniques he exhibits here, mark him as one of the true maestros pf the top mounted Floyd Rose system.
The incredible line up of Bob Daisley on bass, Eric Singer in drums, the most powerful stadium style drummer and of course Neil’s great keyboard parts, his interchanges with Gary’s guitar and Neils own strong rhythm work on his guitar.
This was a band firing on all cylinders.
I recently completed the e-interview with Neil which is published on his website and the Official Gary Moore Fan Club site, “Lord of the Strings”
http://www.neilcarter.org
http://www.garymoorefc.com/en/
Almost two years ago now, I started writing to Neil, who resides in Brighton, England on the south coast as does Gary Moore, and told him how much his contributions to Gary’s rock era, especially WF and ATW, though his contribution to WF wasn’t as great in quantity as say ATW, nevertheless, his mark is all over these albums.
One of my favorite Gary Moore/Neil Carter songs is Blood of Emeralds, the autobiographical story of Gary and Phil’s struggles to make it in England and the hardships they endured. Also the tension between these two, caused some great music to be created.
Blood of Emeralds emotionally conveys Gary’s feelings of hopelessness concerning a Phil Lynott who was circling the drain of his life, ultimately dying as a result of his excesses and lifestyle.
The great Military Man, which Phil sings on the original version, contains in the first slow solo for guitar, one of Gary’s most beautiful works ever.
During the 1987-89 era, this song was frequently a jumping off point for extended improvisations by Gary, around the first solo.
The exciting news in all of this is Gary is going back to the Celtic Rock, we all so enjoyed and has three new songs in this vein, including a new tribute song to Phillip.
The bands lineup includes Jonathon Noyce ex-Jethro Tull, who played on the excellent One Night In Dublin tribute to Thin Lizzy with Gary. Darin Mooney will be on drums, Neil on vox, guitars an keys and Gary, lead guitar and vocals.
That I sent Neil copies of my extensive Gary Moore video and CD collection, both official and unofficial and he told me he was going to have Gary over to watch them together, leads me to believe, that if I had any small part as a catalyst in getting them back together, that is #1 on my bucket list.
The plan is a European festival tour and the one in Montruex, has also my favorite Steve Stevens with Billy Idol band and Cinderella, another of my favorite bands, that is a show I would love to see.
Plus the recently announced line up of Thin Lizzy with Robbo rejoining Scott and also Brian Downey and Darren Wharton form the old band, plus a new singer and bassist, but the addition of Dublin’s own Viv Campbell on guitar, always a huge GM and Lizzy fan.
A jam with all of these would be incredible.
It is very brave of Gary to tackle songs like Out In The Fields, Thunder Rising, Empty Rooms, Over The Hills and Far Away,as they have some intricately complicated guitar parts, plus Gary will need a Floyd Rose style guitar for songs like The Loner, ect.
So I am interested in what he will choose.
So GM/NC fans enjoy, Neil is a super nice chap.
I also have a Tommy Bolin article coming out soon on BSM Trebleboosters website.
I have my own rock web blog http://www.daveonrock.com
My years if research on the Washburn Steve Stevens Signature guitars on the site http://www.vintagewashburn.com
So enjoy, that Gary will be playing these songs again and Lizzy is back with the strongest lineup in years, makes this a very exciting year.. [IMG]file:///C:\Users\DAVIDT~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtml1\01\c lip_image001.gif[/IMG][IMG]file:///C:\Users\DAVIDT~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtml1\01\c lip_image001.gif[/IMG][IMG]file:///C:\Users\DAVIDT~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtml1\01\c lip_image001.gif[/IMG][IMG]file:///C:\Users\DAVIDT~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtml1\01\c lip_image001.gif[/IMG]

Actually a correction to the above descriptions of Gary's two famous Charvel Strat head San Dimas guitars. Gary had them delivered circa late 1985 and they of course were originally slightly different than when in early 1986 Keith Page Gary's great guitar tech modded them both into single hum pick guarded monsters, they being top loaded and having extra pickup routes under the guards. Just to clarify. I know I have described these two awesome Charvels in detail on these pages before, just like to keep everything correct!!

Dave

Emerald

[Emerald]

Latest news is the biography of Gary Moore is scheduled for February 2016 in Europe I haven't heard of a US date yet but at least Harry the author has found a publisher.
I have written many many long posts on various related forums over the years and plan on collecting my writings and adding some new information so once I read the book, I hope to fill in the blanks as it were to further inform fans.
I will keep all here posted on when the book comes out here.
Emerald