When Irish bassist Brush Shiels looks back on his ’60s-’70s blues rock band, he insists: “In Ireland, there’s a reason that more people copy Thin Lizzy than Skid Row – you can’t copy Skid Row.”
The group, which featured a teenage Gary Moore, aimed to take hard blues and push it into the stratosphere. “We were all ready to become millionaires,” Shiels laughs. “Then Gary left, and I had to come home and go on the dole.”
He adds: “We were fairly frenetic, to say the least. We pushed hard and played with complete abandonment. We used what we used to call ‘controlled freedom’.”
Soon after Skid Row released two critically acclaimed and highly influential albums – Skid (1970) and 34 Hours (1971) – they secured opening slots with The Allman Brothers and Mountain. Even though Moore went solo in 1971, he and Shiels remained close.
“Gary would call me and say things like, ‘What was I thinking when I played that solo?’ I’d say, ‘Gary you were a young boy; the world was your oyster and you could play anything with so much confidence.’ It was his imagination running wild. The energy was everything.”
Notoriously, American hair metal group Skid Row borrowed the band’s name in the ’80s. Better forms of compliments have come from Iron Maiden, Metallica and others. “We’ve influenced a lot of bands,” Shiels agrees.
“We’ve had 10 lads in the band and all 10 are gone. I’m 80 in October; I’m the last man standing, which is a very lonely place to be. But I’ve played with so many great musicians, all of whom have their own stories.”
How did you first meet Gary Moore?
“Phil Lynott was the original lead vocalist, then he went to form Thin Lizzy. We found Gary when he was just 15. His father, Robert, was 36; he asked me to look after Gary.”
Could you tell Gary was going to be great?
“He was great at that age; it was unbelievable. He took the gig and never looked back; as soon as he came in, that was it.”
What was the vision for Skid Row once Gary was in the band?
“We were looking for a cross between Cream and Jimi Hendrix. But some of the first songs that Gary and I wrote were actually based on Dave Brubeck’s Take Five – the semi-jazz-blues thing. Then after that it was all riffs.”
What gear did you use on Skid and 34 Hours?
“Gary always wanted to play the Gibson Les Paul, but he could get a sound out of anything. He had a Fender Telecaster; he could just plug it in and go. When we came to America, our gear was supplied by Fender, but Gary always had Gibsons. I had maybe some 4x12s, and whatever amps I could get.”
Those two albums are well-regarded, but lack production value. Were you strapped for time and money?
“The funny thing about Skid – and the reason it sounds so bad – is that our manager, who also managed Fleetwood Mac, told us that Peter Green was producing the album. So we went in to try a few things before he got there and played everything we had.
“And we’re still waiting on Peter Green – he never showed up! So we took what we’d done and that’s the album. Everything was done with a lot of improvising; we had an awful lot of energy. That was the most important thing. We were slow with 34 Hours; it took us 34 hours!”
Skid Row had a major label deal with CBS and were coming off supporting slots with The Allman Brothers and Mountain. Why did Gary leave?
“He thought we were getting too simple. He was playing great, doing some incredible stuff – but he said, ‘We’re getting too far away from what we should be doing.’
I’m not going to sue … They’re getting so little for their gigs that they’ll be the ruin of my lifestyle!
“But we were the best of friends. For a couple of years he wasn’t saying too much, but a little bit further down the line he rang me up and said he was having terrible trouble with his back. I sent him to a friend of mine who could get his back right. I never fell out with anybody who was ever in the band.”
Were you able to jam with Gary again?
“We got together for a half-hour set at a pub in Capel Street in Dublin. For some reason, he wanted to meet and sing Need Your Love So Bad, the Peter Green thing. It was alright, but we didn’t play any Skid Row. I said, ‘Is our stuff too fast for you, Gary?!’”
Notoriously, the American band Skid Row started using the name in the ’80s. The rumor was that Gary sold them the name for $35,000. What are your thoughts on that?
“That was the worst thing I’d ever heard. Gary rang and said, ‘Jon Bon Jovi is managing this band with Richie Sambora and Doc McGee. They’d love to use our name.’ They thought it was Gary’s band, but he wasn’t even there when it started! Gary said, ‘Jon Bon Jovi should be ringing you.’
“I saw the best lawyer in Dublin. I can’t get into it. But there’s some very funny stories about me going to look for Jon Bon Jovi when he came over. It kind of turned into a mythological thing, where I went to look for him when he was playing and asked him about why he stole the name. But all I wanted was an apology.”
In Ireland we’re still Skid Row. It actually suits me that I can say they stole the name
Did anyone from the American Skid Row ever apologise?
“They couldn’t, because the two guys – Snake Sabo and Rachel Bolan – were too busy telling people they’d thought of the name. But at this stage I’m not going to sue them. They’re getting so little for their gigs that they’ll be the ruin of my lifestyle!
“I do talk to Sebastian Bach every so often; you know, the guy they let go. He said they told them they’d given Gary $35,000 for the name. I said, ‘No such thing ever happened. They must have taken the $35,000 and split it between the two of them!’
“Gary Moore never in a million years would have done that. He wouldn’t have been able to anyway. And in Ireland we’re still Skid Row. It actually suits me that I can say they stole the name. I’ve always said it and nobody has ever come back to me. All I want is an apology from Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, and anybody else.”
Still, it must be gratifying that they – along with many other groups – were listening to and influenced by Skid Row.
“You can find photographs of Iron Maiden holding Skid. You can hear lads who won Grammys, like Metallica, say we were a big influence. People have contacted me when they’re trying to play the licks, to work out what we were doing. It’s a great compliment.
“The energy we had and the style we played came from Cream and Jimi Hendrix – but we added to it. We disappeared off the face of the Earth, and somebody else took up our name. But I’m happy enough.
“The fact that they stole our name means that Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora must have been listening to our records. But the main reason people know us is Gary Moore, and that doesn’t bother me at all. I’m proud to say that we’ve influenced a lot of people, that we started Gary Moore off; the great player that he already was when he arrived at 15.”
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