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Gary Moore: The Official Biography
£13.20£16.10 (-18%)
Gary Moore delighted entire generations with his passionate guitar playing, from the driving rock of Thin Lizzy in the 1970s to his explorations in subsequent decades of jazz fusion, heavy metal, hard rock, blues rock, and more. Throughout that time, he could be seen on the world s biggest stages, yet the real Gary Moore was always hidden in plain sight, giving little away. Now, however, through extensive and revealing interviews with family members, friends, and fellow musicians, acclaimed rock biographer Harry Shapiro is able to take readers right to the heart of Gary s life and career. Despite his early death in 2011, Moore still has legions of devoted fans across the world who will be enthralled by this unique insight into the life of a guitar genius who did it his way and whose music lives on. Beginning with Gary as a teenage guitar prodigy in war-torn Ireland and continuing through the many highs and lows of more than forty years in rock, Shapiro paints an intimate portrait of a musician widely hailed as one of the greatest Irish bluesmen of all time.
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Additional information
| Publisher | Jawbone (27 Sept. 2022) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 360 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 1911036971 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1911036975 |
| Dimensions | 15.24 x 2.54 x 21.59 cm |
by P. G. Wilson
A very comprehensive record of Gary’s music, career and personal life, which manages to capture his insecurities and lack of direction as well as his enormous musical talent and colossal energy. Plenty here for lovers of his music, the guy himself and anyone interested in the field and time period.
by Nessi
The book is a good insight to Gary, a very complex sort of guy. A wizard on the guitar he is missed.
by Andrew S Bolton
As a huge and long-time Gary Moore / Thin Lizzy fan I`d been looking forward to this since it was announced a few years ago. Well, it`s finally here, doesn’t disappoint and is certainly well worth the wait. Harry Shapiro has done a terrific job, the detail is rich, and you really feel you get to know the man behind the guitar. The book rattles along nicely covering every aspect of Moore’s career.
An excellent read, would have liked a few more rare photos but an ideal gift for the Gary Moore / Thin Lizzy fan in your life !
by Derek Clacton
The front cover of this long-awaited official biography of Gary Moore appears particularly well chosen: the man and his guitar tightly framed – Gary appearing deep in thought, his face half in shade; his music so familiar, his private self mostly hidden from the press and public. If a picture can say a thousand words … But words are what this book is (mainly) about and author Harry Shapiro knows how to write about music and the people who make it. Authoritative, well-researched and very readable, it will be a must buy for fans of the, sadly, late guitar great.
I’ve just received my copy and although I’ve only given it a glance over, so far, I think any criticism is likely to be minor. Apart from telling Gary’s life story (his personal life mainly providing the backdrop to his unparalleled musical journey) there are also welcome feature sections at the end, with: quotes, both from Gary and many of his musical collaborators; information about the main gear he used (he acquired a vast amount); his touring band line-ups; and a complete discography – Moore’s session and guest appearances are of real interest but only the albums are listed, not the tracks he played on, which is something of a missed opportunity. The sixteen pages of photos included are also of interest but the selection could have been a better-chosen, to avoid repetition and represent more of Gary’s incredible career.
One of Gary’s earliest and biggest influences was Eric Clapton. The two never shared a stage (although I’m a massive fan of them both, I don’t think that would have gone well) but the respect Slowhand had for the Lord of the Strings was obvious when, not long after Gary’s sad and untimely passing, he performed in tribute a heartfelt acoustic take on “Still Got The Blues (For You)” at the Royal Albert Hall. In the book, Eric comments: “He introduced himself to me a long time ago and I got an incredible feeling for the guy that he was a genuine good man and a great player.” He was indeed – and so much more. Over ten years since we lost Gary Moore, he’s still much missed and I’d say this official biography, as the ultimate written tribute, was well worth the wait.
by Zeek.
Great book.
by Pete
I am persevering with this book being a fan of Gary’s for many years. However so far if I have one criticism, it is the fact that the book seems very muddy. In respect that the writer has tried to cram so much information into the book. So much so that Gary himself tends to get lost amongst the over busy and completely irrelevant material which for me is rendering the book a very difficult read, bordering on the boring. The material seems to concentrate far to much on other people and scenarios where Gary tends to pop up every so often, then just as quickly disappears again into the background. It’s hard work and you are never quite sure where we are or what’s going on…
by Renegade
I’ve followed GM from 1982 corridors of power getting every album and seeing him on all the tours up to 2010 including both monsters of rock and the Phil lynott Dublin concert. Always on top of his game on stage and his career is well documented here and explained in time interwoven with his personal life and the demons he had throughout. So much talent but so unsure of himself and so many changes in direction. Some good, bad and bizarre. The guy never seemed happy in 1 style or band for long with changes throughout his career often at critical times that meant he never progressed to become the household name he should have become. The firebrand guitarist throughout the 80’s making it the hard way to then reinvent himself with the blues in 1990 after getting fed up with the rock scene, making it big time but then to spiral into different projects- lineups with diminishing success from the mid 90s to then try and get back to blues that was clearly morphing back to rock. This book pulls it all together and leaves most GM fans thinking what could have been given his imminent return back to the rock scene that we all had waited for but for him finally to move back into this genre before his sudden death leaving a new album and tour in Celtic rock unfinished.
by Jbh335
I have quite a number of Harrys’ books (Hendrix, Korner, Bruce, Bond, Clapton etc) and they are each a very interesting and informative read. This biography of Gary Moore can be added to that list. Personally, I’m not a massive fan of his music, but there is no doubt he was a stunningly brilliant guitarist, able to play in a number of styles with equal skill. That was possibly one of the reasons he didn’t make it as big as he perhaps deserved to be, as he could never be hung on one peg, and was always looking to experiment. His chameleon-like changes of music style, together with restlessness in his personal life, must have made this a difficult book to write in a coherent way, but Harry has managed it with some style. Like virtually all of his books, it’s very difficult to put down – I finished it in 3 days (I kept making excuses for sitting down and reading!). Like every good music biography, it makes you want to explore their music again, so I’ll have to beef up my Gary Moore collection, which currently consists of 3 blues albums and 1 dvd! Highly recommended!