Brian Ireland

Back On The Streets

Over a decade after his untimely death, Gary Moore remains something of an enigma. A private, sometimes troubled man, he nevertheless chose a profession that exposed him to public scrutiny. He coped with that contradiction by channelling his energies into his songwriting and guitar playing, expressing himself almost entirely through his music. This biography focuses on Moore's public life. It traces his five decade long musical journey from his early amateur gigs in Belfast, joining his first professional band in Dublin and meeting Phil Lynott, touring with Thin Lizzy and helping the band record one of their most accomplished albums, 1979’s Black Rose: A Rock Legend, experimenting with jazz-rock fusion in Colosseum II, and then pursuing a solo career which saw him transform from heavy rock ‘guitar hero’ to modern-day blues legend. This book explores Moore’s musical heritage. It provides analysis of his creative process and provides context for his album releases and live tours. It discusses album and single releases, as well as live performances. There are chapters on his collaborations with Skid Row, Colosseum II, and Thin Lizzy, and on his solo career. A chapter on Moore’s blues albums addresses charges of imitation and appropriation by contextualising that music within the history of the genre. Rather than being an imitator, Moore was actually a trailblazer, becoming the first hard rock and heavy metal guitarist to successfully bridge the gap between those genres and the blues. Written in accessible fashion and based mainly on primary source magazine and newspaper articles, Back On The Streets: The Gary Moore Story is a highly detailed and thoroughly researched tribute to the man who gave us ‘Parisienne Walkways‘, ‘Róisín Dubh (Black Rose): A Rock Legend’, and ‘Still Got the Blues (For You)’, and who was perhaps the greatest guitarist of his era.