Pedals Week 2026: Looper pedals are undoubtedly one of the best writing tools a guitar player can have in their arsenal, but they’re also invaluable for anyone looking to sharpen their skills as a soloist, both technically and theoretically.

You could take the chord progression from one of your favorite songs, for example, and start testing out new ideas – which will help you find your voice and identity on your instrument.

As any Guitar World reader already knows, it can be highly rewarding to learn your favorite solos note for note, but studying the chord progression underneath them will help you put your own spin on things. And this is precisely where a looper will come in handy.

Some of the world’s greatest solos were written over movements that allowed the players to create something truly astounding and unique. The more attention you pay to chords and rhythms, the more impactful your solo might end up sounding.

Play the chords into your looper and start experimenting with different sounds and feels. You might notice how some tracks stay in one key and allow you to build your story a scene at a time without any radical harmonic departures.

In other situations, you might notice that some of the chords you’re playing over allow you to add in other tonalities and venture outside of the key, with options for more ear-catching notes from a different scale – from the introduction of Dorian, Aeolian or Mixolydian flavors to more dramatic-sounding harmonic and melodic minor scales.

So, even if you feel like music theory isn’t a strong point, just a little bit of due diligence can go a long way to impress listeners and help you learn how to deliver a solo that truly soars and sings. Your ear is the most important thing here.

Here are 10 tracks that are great for looping, with repetitive progressions that give you plenty of opportunities to conjure up something extra special.

1. Eagles – Hotel California

It’s one of those songs that’s always in the running for the greatest guitar solo(s) of all-time, with Don Felder and Joe Walsh going head to head before joining forces for some lavish harmonized arpeggios at the end.

The minor chord progression underneath is what gives ample opportunity to create something dramatic, with the V chord being changed to dominant (F#7 instead of F#min) and the IV chord alternating between major and minor instead of staying minor.

This is what allows soloists to switch between B pentatonic and Aeolian to harmonic minor, especially on the substituted chords Ultimately, the goal here is to not stick with one scale – make your solo more fluid and unpredictable to catch listeners off-guard.

2. John Mayer – Slow Dancing In A Burning Room

If you’re looking for the perfect song to master your C# minor pentatonic chops, as well as its E major relative, this could very well be it. Unlike Hotel California, the progression is completely diatonic and therefore feels like it’s all in one key, so it’s more about phrasing and delivery than note choices when targeting chords.

With a laid-back tempo and slinky feel, it’s the kind of musical scenario that calls for big pentatonic bends, and therefore works as a practice tool for pitch accuracy. It’s worth asking yourself what note are you trying to bend up to and how close are you getting.

3. Pink Floyd – Comfortably Numb

Often cited as one of David Gilmour’s greatest moments, this final single from Pink Floyd’s 1979 rock opera The Wall is an absolute masterclass in how to speak B minor pentatonic.

Pay attention to your vibrato and note choice, because these are two areas where Gilmour is known to excel, and see if you can find your own lines that feel natural and avoid over-complication.

The bar where the chords drop from G to F#min and Emin calls for something extra special – think about what you can play to emphasize the movement underneath you and have some fun with it.

4. B.B. King – The Thrill Is Gone

Anyone trying to master the art of 12-bar blues will undoubtedly come across this Grammy-winning hit from 1969. This is another B minor progression that’s all about the bends – know exactly what you’re aiming for and see what happens when you undershoot or overshoot to unlock “the in-between notes” on the fretboard, like the original blues masters.

The minor pentatonic will be your friend here, but if you’re looking to spice things up, try introducing B melodic minor or A# half-whole diminished scales over the dominant chord (F#7) to create tension before the progression returns to root. This resolution from the V chord to the I is often referred to as a perfect cadence.

5. Metallica – Wherever I May Roam

Arguably one of the most famous heavy metal tracks written using the Phrygian scale, the fourth single from Metallica’s self-titled landmark album of 1991 is a great way of introducing yourself to more outside ideas.

For his solo, Kirk Hammett chose to use a mixture of E minor pentatonic and E Phrygian Dominant – which is the fifth mode of A harmonic minor – to great effect. The big jump from a minor second to a major third is a surefire way of capturing people’s attention.

Use it too much, however, and it loses its effect. So try switching between Phrygian, which has a minor third, and its dominant sibling to mix things up – essentially swapping a G for a G# wherever you think it feels right. Follow your ears and have fun.

6. Led Zeppelin – Stairway To Heaven

Maybe don’t try this one while testing looper pedals in your local guitar shop, but if you’re hoping to explore the world of natural minor, this hit provides a perfect backdrop.

The A minor pentatonic scale will do the trick for most of the chords, but highlighting the F chord with an F note will add a sense of sophistication to what you play, showing everyone how you understand the song’s inner workings by targeting the sound of a minor 6th at exactly the right time.

If you listen to the last note of Jimmy Page’s opening line, you’ll hear how it creates an atmosphere of tension after the familiarity of more bluesy sounds.

7. Free – All Right Now

Some of the world’s greatest guitar solos aren’t strictly major or minor, with the player blending ideas from both worlds into one seamless package. This 1970 hit is one of those, thanks to Paul Kossoff’s iconic fretwork halfway into the song.

Maybe start off in A major pentatonic and work your way into A minor pentatonic as your solo builds towards its grand crescendo, or try using both in a ‘call and answer’ fashion. Kossoff’s vibrato also played a huge part in his solo’s overall feel, so experiment with how you shake the notes you’re choosing to let ring – there’s plenty of space to get creative and express yourself here.

8. Joe Bonamassa – Sloe Gin

The New York blues maverick is one of the undisputed titans of the long-form solo, and the title track from his 2007 album is the perfect example of why that is. Once you’ve recorded the chords into your looping pedal, begin with some simple phrases in D minor and slowly build your ideas in terms of intensity and dynamics.

The original solo is almost three minutes long and never outstays its welcome. Holding back is an art form in itself – and playing along to a progression like this is a great way of learning how to flow naturally through control and discipline, keeping the listener on the edge of their seats every step of the way.

The chords to Purple Rain by Prince would also work very well for this – look at it as telling a story with a beginning, middle and end, rather than going in all guns blazing.

9. Joe Satriani – Flying In A Blue Dream

If you’re mainly used to pentatonic scales, Lydian – which is the fourth mode of the major scale – can present some serious challenges when it comes to phrasing.

Jamming along to the chords from this title track on Joe Satriani’s third full-length, released in 1989, is a great way of familiarizing yourself with these shapes and sounds. You can look at C Lydian from a G major perspective, which is its parent scale, or think of it as C major with a sharpened fourth, or even C major pentatonic with the inclusion of a B and an F.

Ultimately, different ways of visualizing a scale can help you explore new sonic horizons. Experiment with every possibility, even the ones that feel more confusing and less natural, because they might push you in a completely new direction.

10. Gary Moore – Parisienne Walkways

Much like Moore’s most famous track Still Got The Blues, this late ’70s hit is a great way of getting used to cycle-of-fifth progressions, also typified by songs like Autumn Leaves and I Will Survive.

Parisienne Walkways is in the key of A natural minor but at the end of the main progression, the perfect cadence of a V chord (E7) into the I chord (Amin) provides an opportunity to use the A harmonic minor scale for extra tension, which is then released by resolving back to the root.

Like Stairway To Heaven, it’s a great way of learning how to change just one note over the right chord and provide more depth for the listener to appreciate, taking them on a journey that travels further and therefore exceeds expectation.

Ireland, with a combined population – North and South – of only seven million, has punched way above its weight when it comes to delivering bona fide guitar heroes, whether they be from the blues, rock or alt fields.

Thankfully, Ireland’s troubled history and sectarian divide has never crossed over into music; bands from the North and South have always enjoyed equal success and respect on their respective opposite sides of the border, and religious differences have rarely played any part in the makeup of the most successful bands from the Emerald Isle.

The guitarists on this list hail from all corners of the musical spectrum, but, inevitably perhaps, there is one towering name that crops up, time and time again – Rory Gallagher.

Although he seems somewhat overlooked these days, his influence is everywhere; the caliber of guests at the annual Rory Gallagher festival, in his hometown of Cork, is testament to the enduring respect his name commands. Fittingly, he opens up our celebration of Irish greats, past and present.

1. Rory Gallagher

Without doubt the single most influential Irish guitarist or in fact musician, period, must be Rory Gallagher. In a long career, from his first, self-titled, album as a member of Taste in 1969, through to his final album, Fresh Evidence (1990), Gallagher maintained a level of quality control that meant every album was a treasure trove of inventive and uniquely expressive playing.

Whilst Gallagher was a superb acoustic stylist, often reintroducing lost Delta blues classics to a new audience – the electric guitar was what he used to build his unrivaled reputation.

Brandishing the most battered Strat in rock, Gallagher was a true master of everything the instrument had to offer, utilizing every option at his disposal to create the broadest of tonal palettes with which to convey his unique vision.

A typical Gallagher solo could include wah-simulating tone knob swells, violin-like volume swells, pinched harmonics, simulated whammy bar dive bombs, bent harmonics and even occasional bouts of right-hand tapping – long before Eddie unleashed the technique on the world.

Gallagher’s influence was immense – from Slash to Johnny Marr, to Alex Lifeson to Brian May and all points in between.

Gallagher started out playing at nine, and quickly improved to the point where he was winning local talent shows by the age of twelve. When he was 15, he’d managed to save enough money to buy the Strat which he used for the rest of his career, a 1961 sunburst model, which he bought for £100 ($125) in 1963.

That was the year he joined the Fontana Showband, playing hits of the era. Gallagher was a huge blues and rock ’n’ roll fan – his biggest inspirations being Muddy Waters, Buddy Holly and Eddie Cochran. Knowing there was no future for him playing the music he loved, he left the Showband to front a number of beat and R’n’B combos before forming Taste in 1966.

Finally able to realize his dream to play the music that he lived and breathed, without compromise, Gallagher’s ambitions rapidly outgrew the limitations of the Irish music scene.

He moved to London in 1968, where his skills finally found the audience they deserved. Gallagher’s rapid ascent through the ranks of London clubland bands saw him score a record deal with Polydor, release three albums and appear at the Isle Of Wight Festival within the space of two years.

Taste reached the end of their life in 1970, and Gallagher embarked on his solo career, releasing fourteen albums before his untimely death in 1995 at only 47, due to complications associated with liver failure.

Amongst one of the richest of back catalogs, one album crops up constantly whenever artists discuss Gallagher – Irish Tour ’74, which serves as the perfect introduction for anyone looking for a point of entry into the Irish wizard’s work.

2. Gary Moore

The other Irish colossus of blues guitar. Gary Moore started out as a left-hander who taught himself to play right-handed and served a short apprenticeship in a number of bands on the burgeoning beat scene in Belfast in the mid ‘60s. Moore actually knew Rory Gallagher, striking up a friendship before Gallagher moved to London in 1968.

That same year, Moore moved to Dublin to join Skid Row, a blues/rock band fronted by Phil Lynott, who left soon after Moore joined. Moore made two albums with Skid Row, Skid (1970) and 34 Hours (1971), before he left, frustrated with their musical direction. Moore made his first solo album, Grinding Stone, in 1973.

Lynott had formed Thin Lizzy in 1969 after his departure from Skid Row, scoring a run of hit singles and albums, until guitarist Eric Bell departed in 1974. Casting around for someone to fill the gap, Moore was the obvious choice, though he only stayed with Lizzy for a few months.

Moore’s next step was to join jazz-rock band, Colosseum II, putting in a spell of three years. Again, dissatisfied with where his career was going - a common theme through Moore’s life – he returned to Thin Lizzy in 1978 for another couple of years, before finally deciding to commit to a solo career.

Moore’s metal-oriented albums, kicking off with Back On The Streets (1978), through to After The War, (1989), saw him achieve notable successes both in Europe and America. His incendiary, balls-to-the-wall technique, was a perfect match for the bombastic rock he was playing; every song was awash with jaw dropping, explosive soloing.

Moore was apparently feeling disillusioned with his career, and had frequently expressed a yearning to get back to the blues that had inspired him when he first started to play. Having voiced this dissatisfaction to bandmates, it was suggested to him that he should just go ahead and make a blues album. Still Got The Blues (1990) saw Moore fully embrace his first love.

He had long cited the legendary Bluesbreakers album, featuring Eric Clapton, as one of his major influences. Moore took Clapton’s blueprint of Les Paul and Marshall fueled blues grit and ramped it up to a whole new level of intensity. The fire and venom in Moore’s soloing was the perfect way to pull rock fans into the world of blues, with Moore channeling both sides of the line.

Later Moore albums saw him tone down the rampant, blazing solos, for a more traditional blues approved tone, but with no less ferocity in the playing.

Moore was often seen to be wielding Greeny, the famed Les Paul that he bought off one of his other heroes – Peter Green from Fleetwood Mac. Moore was still recording and touring, and enjoying great success when he died suddenly of a heart attack at only 58 years old in 2011.

3. The Edge

Born David Evans in England, in 1961, The Edge moved to Dublin one year later and is included in this overview as an honorary Irishman, given his contribution to Irish music alongside his bandmates in U2, all of whom he met at school in 1976.

Stylistically, The Edge is poles apart from the raw, bare-knuckled blues approach of Gallagher and Moore, instead opting to explore and exploit the world of signal processing to the max. His ingeniously creative use of delay pedals in particular, marked him out as a unique sonic stylist, all the more unusual given that U2 were coming from much the same creative hotbed as the Irish punk movement.

Near contemporaries of The Undertones, Stiff Little Fingers and The Boomtown Rats, U2 eschewed their ragged, aggressive vibe for a more mainstream approach that rapidly saw them blast through the restraints and limitations of the new wave audience to become global, stadium-filling superstars, and the biggest Irish band of all time.

Stylistically, the Edge utilizes a technically simple and direct approach, using minimal voicings, harmonics and droning open strings to leave room in the aural spectrum for his chained signal processors to work their magic.

One of those guitarists whose entire modus operandum is to serve the song, The Edge never wastes a note – everything he plays is delivered with precision and deft economy. The influence of those who inspired him, guitarists on the artier side of the new wave movement such as Tom Verlaine and John McGeogh is apparent – less so that of fellow countryman Rory Gallagher, for whom the Edge has often stated his admiration.

4. Vivian Campbell

Vivian Campbell has been a member of Def Leppard for over 30 years now, but prior to that he built a name as a guitarist to watch out for in his band Sweet Savage from 1979 to 1983, parlaying that rising profile into the opportunity to carve out a stellar rep as the new shredder on the block, thanks to his work in Dio.

Citing the twin giants of Rory Gallagher and Gary Moore as primary influences, alongside the likes of Marc Bolan and Mick Ronson, Campbell’s work with Dio seemed to be informed more by the era of excess and virtuosity that was the signature of the ‘80s hair metal age.

Joining Dio in 1983, Campbell recorded three albums before jumping ship under an acrimonious cloud. Campbell has often aired his dissatisfaction with his time in Dio, though according to Campbell, that was more about business decisions than musical differences.

“I was forced into signing over publishing rights when I first joined, so I never saw any of that money. I did get my dues for Last In Line (1984) though, as I had signed a separate publishing deal by then. I enjoyed the musical side of things, though at times I’d be a little jealous of the likes of Van Halen and Ratt, who always looked like they were having fun – everything in Dio was just way too serious.”

After Dio, Campbell spent a year with Whitesnake before parting due to the time honored ‘musical differences.’ Campbell spent a few years working with other artists and had started to enjoy some success with his band, Riverdogs, when the opportunity to join Leppard arose in 1992, due to the untimely death of Steve Clark the year before.

For Campbell, this was everything he was looking for in a band. “It was amazing to be in a band with a bunch of guys I really liked, playing these fantastic, anthemic rockers and actually getting paid properly.”

5. Bernie Tormé

Inspired by Rory Gallagher and Gary Moore (sound familiar?) plus the classic rock stylings of Hendrix and Beck, Bernie Tormé spent his early years gaining valuable experience in a number of minor bands in Ireland before following the well-trodden path across the Irish sea, as had his heroes before him, to London.

Arriving in England in 1974, it took a couple of years for Tormé to find his feet before forming The Bernie Tormé Band. With the punk explosion in full flight, Tormé adapted to the prevailing trend, aligning his band with the new wave acts of the era.

In truth, they always seemed an unlikely fit for the scene, and Tormé’s next move, joining former Deep Purple frontman Ian Gillan’s band, Gillan, in 1979, seemed like a far happier alliance. Gillan was riding high at that time, enjoying a string of hit singles and albums.

Tormé’s playing was strongly to the fore, demonstrating killer chops, matched to a flamboyant visual style which saw him become a key figure on the UK rock scene in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. If proof were needed of Tormé’s rising stock, shortly after departing Gillan (citing frustration with financial arrangements), he spent a short period of time as Randy Rhoads’ replacement with Ozzy, completing a run of tour dates.

After a few months with Osbourne, Tormé went on to form various solo bands, most notably, Tormé, featuring L.A. Guns’ singer, Phil Lewis, on vocals. Sadly, his career seemed to be on a downward trajectory for the latter period of his life, for reasons that seem hard to fathom, as he clearly had the chops to fill the guitar seat in any band of the day.

Like so many of the entrants on this list, he passed away before his time in 2019, at 66, after a bout of illness.

6. Eric Bell

Eric Bell grew up in the same scene as Rory Gallagher and Gary Moore – no surprise there – and was actually a member of Van Morrison’s band, Them, for a short period in 1966. Bell formed Thin Lizzy with Phil Lynott in 1969 – though the band had to move to London to get a deal with Decca Records at the start of the ’70s.

They became a huge live draw, released three albums and a string of Lizzy classic singles, including The Rocker which was co-written by Bell, and, of course, their take on the traditional Irish song, Whisky In The Jar, of which they took ownership, due to Bell’s work on the intro and the solos.

According to Bell, it took countless hours and approaches before he finally settled on what to play for the distinctive introduction. Bell was forced to leave Lizzy in 1973, due to frustrations with his reliability. According to Bell, the pressure of the workload the band was enduring, and the variety of temptations that life in a successful rock band offered, were too much to cope with.

He maintained a low profile for many decades but did release The Acoustic Sessions, an acoustic reworking of early Thin Lizzy music, retaining Phil Lynott’s vocals, in 2024.

7. Kevin Shields

Kevin Shields’ work with My Bloody Valentine, who formed in 1983, releasing their first EP, Geek!, in 1985, saw him explore a strongly avant-garde, explorative approach to the guitar. His use of radically altered tunings and extreme sonic processing, torturing his Jazzmaster through endless chains of stompboxes, saw him carve out his own niche in the world of alt-guitar heroes.

His unique right hand technique, using the long whammy bar on the Jazzmaster to subtly manipulate his strumming, causing the pitch of his chords to constantly shift, only added to the disorienting wall of sound that he created.

In contrast, the vocal melodies that rode above Shield’s massed banks of delay and distortion were conventionally melodic enough to score the band prolonged success.

8/9. Carlos O’Connell & Conor Curley

The forerunners of the current crop of Irish bands, Fontaines D.C., features the twin guitar tag team of Carlos O’Connell and Conor Curley. Ironically, vocalist Grian Chatten is also a skilled guitarist.

Though Chatten doesn’t play much guitar live, he actually contributed the best solo on the band’s last album, Romance, (2024) as O’Connell recalls, “Conor and I were wondering what to do for Death Kink when Grian said he had an idea, and he fucking nailed it in one take.”

O’Connell and Curley favor textured, layered interweaving guitar lines in place of obvious guitar heroics, but their love of the traditional tools of the trade is obvious from the breadth of warm tones they deliver. Amongst O’Connell’s go-to guitars is a signature Rory Gallagher Strat.

“I wasn’t a fan of Rory when I bought the guitar – I didn’t really listen to much blues – I just thought it looked cool. Since then I checked him out and I can see he was a genius.”

10. Josh Jenkinson

Inhaler, like Fontaines D.C., are forerunners of the new generation of Irish rock bands, enjoying huge commercial success with their indie/pop flavored rock with a hint of classic U2, perhaps unsurprisingly, as vocalist Eli Hewson is Bono’s son.

Josh Jenkinson favors a textured, arpeggio-driven approach to his guitar lines, prioritizing taut, economical hooks over showboating. Jenkinson took inspiration from one of Irish rock’s immortal figures, Thin Lizzy’s Phil Lynott.

“Just to see someone there who was mixed race, like me, was inspirational in itself. It helped give me the belief that I could achieve something in music.”

11. Dom Martin

Amongst the new era of Irish blues guitarists, Dom Martin has marked himself out as the one most likely to assume the mantle of Rory Gallagher. A fantastically adept acoustic and electric stylist, Martin is quick to acknowledge the giant footsteps he’s following in.

“My main influence would be Rory Gallagher. Unfortunately, I was only 4 years old when he passed but his music and the way in which he played left a lifelong impression on me. I spent all my young years in my bedroom listening and playing along to his records.

“He definitely played from the heart and soul and that’s all that really matters when it comes to self-expression. I have been decorating my silence with Rory for as long as I can remember, and I owe him a lot.”

12. Simon McBride

Simon McBride took on the unenviable task of following the legacies of Ritchie Blackmore and Steve Morse as the latest guitarist in all-time rock legends, Deep Purple, becoming a full-time member in 2022. He has a connection with fellow Irishman, Viv Campbell, as he was a member of the reformed line-up of Sweet Savage, Campbell’s first band of note.

McBride caused heads to turn when he won Guitarist magazine’s Young Guitarist of The Year competition in 1993 at the age of 15.

As you would expect, given his achievements at such a young age, McBride has chops to spare, not only can he replicate the classic solos of the band’s history, but he also carves out his own unique signature statements on the band’s newer material. He also continues to front his own band between Purple commitments.

13. Muireann Bradley

Muireann Bradley came to prominence in the UK in 2021, at 15 years old, having posted videos on YouTube, showcasing her ability to recreate, to the finest detail, the work of the great American acoustic blues stylists of the early 20th century.

On top of her fantastic technical ability, she possesses a convincing, warm vocal tone that saw her achieve exposure on UK TV and become a surprise entrant on the British album charts with I Kept These Old Blues in 2023 – achieving an unlikely success in the era of homogenized, digitized and processed artificial pseudo music.

She is planning to play shows in America later this year, hoping to build on her European success.

14. Jake Burns

Jake Burns continues to front Stiff Little Fingers, who emerged from the hotbed of dynamism that was the Irish punk scene in 1977/78. Unafraid to touch on raw subject matter at a time when there was tremendous religious conflict in Northern Ireland, their song titles spoke volumes – Wasted Life, Suspect Device and Alternative Ulster, which featured one of the most iconic guitar intros in punk history.

Burns brought as much fire to his playing as to his excoriating vocals. His primary influence is a familiar name on this list. “I saw Taste on TV when I was 11 – this noise just transfixed me. I decided there and then that I wanted to be Rory Gallagher.”

15. Damian O’Neill

The Undertones emerged from the same scene in Northern Ireland as Stiff Little Fingers, bringing a keen pop sensibility to their take on the prevailing punk winds. Damian O’Neill’s simple, effective guitar breaks are an integral part of the band’s songs, never more than on their seminal hit of 1978, Teenage Kicks.

One of O’Neill’s primary influences is the work of Billy Harrison, the lead guitarist in Them.

“Just listen to his slick, choppy and jagged blues licks on Baby Please Don’t Go, his strange and unnerving slide guitar playing on One, Two, Brown Eyes and his simple, but oh so effective solo on the anthemic Gloria, and you can see why his playing made such an impression on a 15-year-old novice guitarist such as myself. It sounds like Billy was improvising as the tape was rolling and the feel and attitude in his playing is so exciting.”

16. Billy Harrison

Billy Harrison was a member of Them – Ireland’s answer to the Rolling Stones in the mid-’60’s UK R’n’B explosion, which saw the Chess songbook liberally raided by beat combos across the UK.

Fronted by Van Morrison, besides the usual covers, Them had a couple of aces up their sleeves in Here Comes The Night and Gloria – two proto-punk/garage classics.

Harrison is often overlooked in the annals of Irish music, but he contributed some of the most interesting guitar work at a time when many of his contemporaries were happy to endlessly recycle Chuck Berry licks.

17. Andy Cairns 

Andy Cairns is the singer and guitarist in Therapy?, who combine classic rock sensibilities with an ear for a commercial tune mixed with a dash of post-punk urgency to create a unique sound, described by Andy Cairns as ‘The Undertones meets Metallica.’

Troublegum (1994), and Infernal Love (1995), saw the band score big around the world, although America remained resistant to their charms.

Influenced by the bands of the punk explosion, particularly The Clash and the Buzzcocks, as well as Irish punk legends Stiff Little Fingers and The Undertones, Cairns’ playing remains laser-focused on taking the band’s anthemic rockers to another level - rarely indulging in the standard pyrotechnics of the rock arena.

18. Henry McCullough

Henry McCullough cut his teeth in Eire Apparent, moving to London in 1967 and sharing a manager with a certain Jimi Hendrix, namely Chas Chandler. By 1970, he’d become a member of Joe Cocker’s Grease Band, played on a Spooky Tooth album, The Last Puff, and had appeared at Woodstock with Cocker.

Moving onwards and upwards, he spent eighteen months in Wings, hooking up with them in 1972. Although he played on Red Rose Speedway and a bunch of singles, differences with Paul McCartney saw him leave in 1973, just before they recorded Band On The Run. McCullough’s career seemed to go into freefall after that, with only intermittent session work keeping things going up to the end of the ‘70s.

Perhaps the most surprising move in his career was when he substituted for the recently departed Wilko Johnson at a handful of Dr Feelgood shows in 1977 – a highly unlikely combination. McCullough died in 2016 after a period of illness.

• This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.

Larry McCray released his debut album, Ambition, way back in 1990, heralding the arrival of a new force in modern blues guitar.

He not only had great songs – mixing elements of soul and funk with his powerhouse blues originals – but every one was packed with explosive guitar fills and solos that were mini masterclasses in intensity and phrasing.

McCray also possessed a fantastically expressive voice, one that was able to deliver everything from a whisper to a scream with complete conviction.

Drawing from the influence of the three Kings – Albert, Freddie and B.B. – with a little Albert Collins thrown in, McCray added his own unique mojo to the pot, utilizing a searing sustain and the kind of chops usually reserved for the shred arena.

Following a string of successful albums in the ’90s, it looked like McCray was set to become part of the blues establishment, but his career got waylaid by personal issues.

Enter Joe Bonamassa and Josh Smith in 2022, responding to a query from McCray. They worked with Larry to produce what was, effectively, his comeback album, Blues Without You, released in 2022 on Bonamassa’s KTBA label.

The overwhelmingly positive response the record received led to the release of Heartbreak City in 2025, which was only McCray’s 10th album in a 35-year career of “all killer, no filler” records.

This year should see McCray build on the success of recent years to rightfully claim his place as one of the most important names on the blues scene. He has tentative plans to record an album with his brothers, Steve on drums and Paul on bass.

”We started off as the McCray Brothers, so it would be full circle for me,” he says. McCray is also delighted to be taking his son, Bleau Otis of the Bleau Otis Band, on the road with him.

A lifelong guitar nerd, McCray was also excited to talk to Guitar World about why the following three (or so) guitars are the most important in his career.

Gibson Flying V (1967)

In the ’80s, I was playing in clubs, working for General Motors and playing a Strat. My first professional tour was in 1990 as part of Gary Moore’s Still Got the Blues tour, which kicked off in the U.K.

When I first arrived and saw his rig and heard the sounds he was getting from a humbucker compared to my single-coils, it really made me think. As soon as I got home, I started looking for something with humbuckers.

I had no experience of playing Les Pauls, etc., at that time. A lot of blues guys were playing ES-335s, but I wanted something different. I saw the caramel-colored Flying V reissue in the store and – bearing in mind that I was a huge Albert King fan – I decided to go for the V, which ended up being my favorite guitar. I paid less than $1,000 for it, which works out pretty cheap after all these years of constant use.

I loved the way you had such easy access to the upper register; you could get all the way up to the top of the neck. It had a real fast neck, a great sound and it was a little bit different. It definitely affected the way that I played, with having so much sustain from those pickups.

I very rarely modify any guitars, but for this one I had some double-wound humbuckers with a splitter fitted to give me even more options. I still take this guitar on the road. I play everything; I always say when I die someone else will be playing them anyway, so I might as well get as much time with them as I can while I’m still here.

Gary was the first person I ever saw with a Soldano amp, so when I got home I got one of those as well. On that first tour, Gary and I had a great rapport, and at the end of the tour he gave me a gold-finish Custom Shop ’57 Strat reissue with a special plate on the back that said “To Larry, from Gary.” I still have that guitar.

My first good guitar was a ’61 ES-330 that my brother-in-law, who worked at GM, bought from a co-worker. It got stolen, which really pained me because I loved that guitar, but I haven’t had too much bad luck on the road with guitars.

Gibson Les Paul 1959 Goldtop reissue

I reached a point by the 2000s when I was feeling a little unsure about my sound. I had a rethink about what worked best for me. I think my friendship with Warren Haynes around that time made me reassess the worth of a Les Paul.

I happened to run into Jimmy Archey, the customer-relations rep for Gibson, in New York City. I went to their offices and they gave me a fantastic Les Paul Custom ’58 reissue in white. It had a thick, baseball-bat neck. I’d been playing it and talking to them about how great it was, and they asked me if I wanted it. You can imagine how amazing that was.

Not only that, but they also gave me a black Blueshawk, which was another great guitar. They were the first guitars I ever got directly from a manufacturer; once I signed with Pointblank Records in the Nineties, all kinds of opportunities opened up.

Once I realized how much I liked the white ’58, a couple of years later I came across the ’59 goldtop, which was a little lighter. I was reaching the point where the weight of a regular Les Paul was becoming uncomfortable on stage, so I appreciated the difference.

I was heavily favoring the goldtop once I got that. At that time, I was probably taking about eight guitars into the studio, including the Gary Moore Strat, the Blueshawk and a Gibson Nighthawk. I was also using a prototype 336 that I got from Gibson; I was the first artist to play that prototype, which I had for about a year.

One night I was playing at a place called Manny’s Car Wash in NYC, and Jimmy Archey asked me to bring the prototype to the show; they took it back and gave me one of the very first production models. That must have been one of the first they produced.

Heritage Artisan Aged 1215 Build H-150

Heritage Guitars is based where I live – in Michigan. This guitar is based on a Les Paul, but – very importantly for me – it’s chambered, which relieves a lot of the weight. I’m always hunting for lighter guitars, and it’s the guitar I’ve been playing the most since I got it.

This is a standard model that they produce that anyone can buy. The quality is amazing, but I’m also working with them on something with some custom specs. I’d always wanted to give Heritage a try but couldn’t seem to get around to it as they don’t have them in a lot of stores, so I went to their factory.

A friend put me in touch with Pete Farmer, master luthier at Heritage, and he invited me to come over and try something. He had picked what he thought would be the ideal guitar for me. As soon as he put it in my hands I said, “What do I need to do to get this guitar?” It feels like a vintage guitar; the finish is called Dirty Lemon Burst.

The pickups are their own custom shop humbuckers. I believe the body is made from ultra-light mahogany with the curly maple top, and the neck is rosewood. It’s finished in nitrocellulose, so it’s got the feel of a premium vintage guitar. I guess it’s going to be all over my next record; it’s a long way from my first guitar, which was a Silvertone 335-styled model.

When I’m just sitting around bored at home, I reach for my 1960 Harmony H160. It belonged to my older brother, James, who passed away in 2019. As a tribute to him, I had it fixed; it sounds great and I use it all the time.

He drew – on the guitar – an image of a guy with dark glasses and an Afro smoking a cigarette, and he called it Daddy Kool, so when I’m sitting around, that’s what I reach for – Daddy Kool.

I should also mention the Guild Polara S-100 I played a lot on my last album. It’s got a unique mix of Gibson and Fender. I like it so much that I asked Guild about maybe doing some kind of signature model, but I’ve had no luck so far.

I think it’s hard for blues artists to get endorsement deals in the current market, but hey, if someone at Guild is reading this, give me a call! [Laughs].

• Heartbreak City is out now via KTBA.
• This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.

Aside from carving out a space for himself in the contemporary blues-rock scene, Jared James Nichols also has a side hustle as a podcaster, with the No Cover Charge Podcast, co-hosted with Tyler Larson, promising guitar aficionados and gearheads an “all-access backstage pass to the world of guitar.”

And, one of Nichols’ most memorable episodes is having Joe Bonamassa test out one of Gary Moore’s most prized amps – his 1989 Soldano SLO-100 head – which the Nerdville owner recently acquired at the Final Encore auction last year.

“Joe must have balls of steel because when we got there, the amp hadn’t been serviced or even turned on,” Nichols tells Guitar World in an upcoming interview about the experience.

“It literally just showed up in a shipping crate. It was a bit like finding a classic muscle car, sticking some gas in, and firing it up. Joe was cranking it right away with a 1959 Les Paul.”

As Nichols explains, in the actual video, “you can see the power sizzle down, shut off, and then come back. It did that a few times. It’s like we were feeling Gary Moore’s spirit in the room.”

The podcast – and Nichols’ own reputation – means he gets to test out some pretty epic (and iconic) gear.

“I feel pretty spoiled when I think about all the cool shit I get to be around,” he says matter-of-factly. “I also did a video on Gary’s JTM45 Bluesbreaker, which another friend got at auction. I own Gary’s original Guv'nor pedal, so we used that with a 1959 Les Paul.

“Here’s the crazy shit: the power went out four times, which has never happened before,” he divulges. “ Then this horrible rainstorm came. Something weird and energetic happened. I got the chills and remember saying, ‘Dude, I think Gary Moore’s here.’”

Guitar World’s full interview with Jared James Nichols will be published in the coming weeks.

In related news, Nichols recently revealed why he stopped obsessing over acquiring more gear – and homed in on his playing instead.

Europe guitarist John Norum has revealed the purchase of his “dream amp,” having outbid other gear sleuths in an auction last year.

The amp in question is a Marshall Super Bass 100 from 1972, and it was his guitar hero’s tube amp of choice for nearly a decade.

Used extensively by Irish blues rock god Gary Moore between 1980 and ‘89, it can be heard on tracks including Run for Cover, Wild Frontiers, and After the War, and it also featured across “hundreds of live gigs” by Norum’s count, including performances at Rockpalast 1982 and Donington ‘84.

It was also Moore’s tonal powerhouse for a headline show in Tokyo in 1983, which became the Irish guitar legend’s live album, Rockin’ Every Night – Live in Japan.

The amp was sold as part of Bonhams’ Gary Moore Collection in London last November – a sale which saw his famous red Strat go for approx. $266,000 (£200,000).

Norum, meanwhile, snagged a relative bargain – parting with a comparatively modest £4,480 (approx. $6,000) for the Marshall amp, which pales in comparison to the £19,200 (approx. $25,100) Joe Bonamassa paid for Moore's Still Got the Blues Soldano SLO-100.

“Got my dream amp!” Norum exclaims via his official site. “This was Gary's main Marshall amp from 1980-1989.”

He goes on to quote Moore talking about the “really good” amp, in which he reveals that, “it used to be purple, but someone painted it black. You can still see the purple vinyl inside.”

The sale of this vintage Marshall was one of the more unassuming lots of the auction, and it’s a fair price to pay for a slice of your hero’s history.

It’s quite a fitting new home, too, given that – as former Guitarist editor Neville Marten explained at the time of the sale – many of Moore’s gear picks were informed by his own icons.

“Everyone wants the guitar that your first heroes played,” said Marten. “He got the Les Paul because of Eric Clapton and Peter Green [and would go on to own his prestigious Greeny Les Paul].

“He also got the 335 because of Eric, who in turn had got the 335 because of Chuck Berry, B.B. King, and Freddie King.”

Elsewhere, Gary Moore’s shredding exploits are subject to a new Guitar World lesson, and while a statue of the guitarist is currently being sculpted, it needs crowdfunding support to get it over the line.

If you’ve seen recent footage of Eric Steckel in action, you’ll probably have noticed that his take on the blues is an aggressive one. It’s a new thing for him, he tells GW, having started his live career two-and-a-half decades ago at just 11 years old.

Months later, he was invited on stage to join John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, who ended up asking him to guest on their next album. It’s the more fiery fretwork on Steckel’s newest recordings, however, that have seen him build a formidable fanbase as a solo artist.

“Getting heavier brought a ton of people into my realm,” he says. “It started well because my dad convinced me to do a live album when I was 11, which was a great idea because you can’t fake something like that. Things slowed down for a while, but since the pandemic, I’ve seen a lot of growth with some of my videos going viral.”

It was the music of Gary Moore that convinced Steckel to play harder and with more gain. Given the Belfast titan’s background in Skid Row and Thin Lizzy, he certainly had a way of intensifying the blues with a surplus of potency and authority.

“Gary sits at the top of the pyramid,” Steckel says. “His style was like, ‘Fuck the rules, I’m going to play what I like!’ If people didn’t care for it, too bad for them. I wasn’t always like that myself.

“My Polyphonic Prayer album from 2018 is when I decided to go high gain. I remember the engineer asking me, ‘Are you really going to use that Diezel Herbert overdrive on your blues record?’”

It was around this time that Steckel invested in his first Knaggs six-string. The company was so impressed by online footage of his playing that he was soon approached to collaborate on a signature model, which also led to the manufacture of his own amp by Italian specialists Mezzabara.

Steckel, who has a new label deal for an album due later this year, is the first to admit that it all played out like any guitarist’s dream scenario.

“My signatures have that Tele/Paul singlecut thing going on,” he says. “My pedalboard is just a Boss DD-200, CAE wah and ISP Decimator. That’s all I need. I’m just playing blues, but I throw in extra notes to spice it up.

“Every modern guitarist from Joe Bonamassa to Jared James Nichols gets the same kind of haters who say, ‘Everything you play is pentatonic.’ But in reality we aren’t just playing five notes. People are so used to hearing Dorian and Mixolydian in blues; they’ve become the new pentatonic.”

• Eric Steckel tours Europe in April. See Eric Steckel Tour for dates and ticket details.
• This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.

By the time you read this the last remaining guitars of Gary Moore’s collection to be auctioned will have proud new owners. Though most of us can only imagine what it must be like to own one of those hallowed instruments, we can all take inspiration from the music Gary conjured from their fretboards.

This example solo is influenced by a couple of landmark performances: first, Gary’s solo on the original (1974) version of Thin Lizzy’s Still In Love With You; and second, it borrows ideas from his live performances of Parisienne Walkways and Still Got The Blues over the years.

Though Gary was capable of great delicacy and accuracy on the instrument, this solo was inspired by his more fiery moments, plugging into an already driven Marshall amp and then boosting further with an Ibanez Tube Screamer. This is a classic combination, similar to how Gary would run his own live rigs.

One popular way to use a Tube Screamer is to turn the level up to maximum and hit the amp’s input hard. You still get the tone-shaping benefits of the boosted mids and attenuated low-end, and you can add more drive with the gain control if needed.

Gary certainly liked to use a lot of drive and was extremely adept at avoiding unwanted feedback/squealing by zeroing the volume knob between phrases. The Patent Applied For pickups on vintage Les Pauls were not wax-potted, so were more inclined to squeal than many modern ones.

Many believe unpotted pickups have a tone of their own, though at those levels, any pickup would be inclined to feed back. Another way Gary handled this was to allow the unused strings to ring momentarily before/between phrases, which gave his playing a rough edge and urgency. Hope you enjoy and see you next time!

Example 1

This opening phrase stays largely within the shape 1 A minor pentatonic, featuring held bends and controlled vibrato. We’re starting low and keeping things relatively simple and melodic for now, leaving some headroom for later on.

Gary was conversant with many styles and his note choice would often reflect this, a subtle example being the B in bar 3, which fits over the Dm/G chord. Soon afterwards, the final note (E) is the result of a slide outside shape 1 pentatonic into shape 2.

Example 2

We start with this ascending C major scale run, ending with a held bend. From here, you could regard this as a shape 4 A minor pentatonic phrase, changing over the subsequent Esus4-E chords to an E dominant 7th arpeggio based phrase (or E Mixolydian if you prefer).

These terms can sound a little daunting, but it’s important to remind ourselves that they are simply names for sounds. We’re staying in the same position on the fretboard throughout.

Example 3

We’re reaching something of a peak with this high-register phrase, with higher speed playing and some push/pull in the timing.

Also, note the brief open-string noise before the ascending A minor pentatonic run. We’re working with shape 1 again here, an octave above the opening phrase.

Keep an eye on the picking directions: some of them may seem counterintuitive at first, but they allow you to reach surprisingly high speeds with relatively little effort. This kind of playing was a big influence on the young John Sykes.

Example 4

Keeping things simple and melodic over the Dm/B chord, there is a final flourish coming over the Esus4-E chords with a return to the E dominant 7th arpeggio/E Mixolydian idea.

This is more of a nod to Gary’s fusion years with Colosseum II, though he does visit this kind of phrasing briefly during the outro of the full length version of Still Got The Blues. It just felt right at the time!

Hear it here

Thin Lizzy – Nightlife

The version of Still In Love With You from this album features Gary’s original solo, which inspired Brian Robertson’s much-loved version from the Live And Dangerous album.

This original solo is at a significantly higher tempo yet starts with a classic blues feel. You can hear where Gary’s playing would head in later years as the solo progresses to those high notes, though. Another version of this solo worth hearing is by John Sykes on Lizzy’s Life: Live album.

Gary Moore – Blues Alive

Taken from recordings of Gary’s then-recent 1992 tour, this album is (of course) full of great playing, but make sure to pay particular attention to the live versions of Still Got The Blues and Parisienne Walkways.

These give us the closest insight into how Gary plays in the heat of the moment. You’ll hear him allow lots of open strings to ring into and between phrases, which helps minimize unwanted feedback and gives his playing an exciting and urgent edge.

Gary Moore – Back On The Streets

This solo album from 1978 showcases Gary’s transition from fusion into his ‘rock’ era, which continued through the '80s.

There is the original version of Parisienne Walkways, featuring some very precise, controlled playing, and What Would You Rather Bee Or A Wasp, which takes a more flamboyant approach but features more fusion-influenced harmonic ideas.

The title track demonstrates that Gary was very aware of the punk explosion but didn’t feel the need to dumb down his playing.

• This article first appeared in Guitarist. Subscribe and save.

After splashing the cash on Gary Moore’s legendary Soldano SLO-100, Joe Bonamassa recently brought it to the No Cover Charge podcast studio – where it was fired up for the first time in 20 years.

Bonamassa admits he's not usually partial to celebrity gear purchases, but when the chance to own Gary Moore’s Soldano SLO-100 landed on his lap, it proved too good to pass up.

Moore – famed for his time in Thin Lizzy, his prolific solo career, and for being the second notable owner of the “Greeny” Les Paul – toured heavily with the amp. It would also feature on his post-Still Got The Blues album, After Hours, with his Marshall JTM45 duly sidelined.

During the test drive, there's a moment of tension as Bonamassa goes to flick the standby switch for the first time, awakening the Soldano from its 20-year slumber. Though it works – and sounds effortlessly magnificent – it does showcase a habit for powering down.

“It wasn't happy going past six,” Bonamassa laughs. “I'm an idiot. This thing just came out of a crate from London. It’s scaring me a bit.”

There are some rather unhealthy gargles and crackles coming from the amp at points, with the guitarist admitting it needs to go to his amp tech, Bob Dixon, before he can really put it through its paces.

Still, the look of satisfaction etched on JoBo's face says it all. The amp more than justifies the £19,200 (approx. $25,100) Bonamassa paid for it. Plus the price of a much-needed health check.

It marks the end of a years-long Soldano hunt for Bonamassa, who has previously eyed up similar amps that once belonged to some other high-profile players.

"I've actually gone after three [Soldanos]," he says in the podcast episode. "Eric Clapton sold his Journeyman rig in the 2010 Crossroads auction, but there was a guy who literally bought everything. I was going after the Cornish rack and the Soldanos.

"The next time we went after a Soldano was Mark Knopfler's [from] the Money for Nothing era. Finally, the Gary Moore one came up. I'm like, 'Let's get it.' No regrets."

In other Bonamassa news, the blues guitar has paid tribute to B.B. King, explaining why the blues starts and stops with him.

Some of the guitars in Gary Moore’s collection represent the deep craft of heritage makers such as Gibson during the golden era of 50s and 60s lutherie.

Others, however, reflect the road-forged pragmatism and rough prototyping that progressive musicians sometimes demand of their gear.

This much-modified ‘bitsa’ Charvel San Dimas is a perfect example of musicians and their techs jury-rigging guitars to meet needs not catered to by off-the-peg instruments or the pressing needs of busy touring, recording and promo schedules.

And it’s fair to say that this particular guitar gave authenticator Steve Clarke more headaches than some of the others, partly due to its hastily fitted mods.

“It was faulty straight off,” Steve smiles. “Plugged it in, dead. So the ’plate comes off and I have a look around, see what’s going on with this. And, again, just because it’s been left around and it’s gunked up, I started to spray the pots [with contact cleaner] because the volume had seized up a little bit. It freed up and it started to come back to life, but I then found the jack socket was faulty and I had to sort that out – I think I resoldered that one.

“Now, the EMG pickup that was on it, I eventually got a reading of 16.53k [in output]. But when I first opened the battery compartment, it was a gooey mess. The battery had been left in, gone green and burst,” Steve adds, ruefully. “Fortunately, I had spare connectors, so I cut the wires off and reconnected a new battery terminal to it. Bingo, it comes to life.”

“But when I looked inside [the guitar more generally], I was amazed it even worked… the scratchplate looked like somebody had used a hacksaw [to shape it] around the pickup but didn’t have an eye for finesse. So it was probably a bit ‘put together’ for Gary.

“The gap between the pickup and the scratchplate was larger on one side than the other, the jack socket was misaligned, and the pickup wasn’t straight [in other words, it was diagonally angled in the way a Strat bridge pickup is, though to a far subtler degree – Ed], so if you put the guitar in front of you, you’re thinking, ‘Is that deliberate?’”

The guitar is also fitted with a Jackson-branded neck, not an original Charvel example, but despite all these many ad hoc changes that may have been made under time pressure, Steve says the guitar represents a snapshot of an artist and his rapidly changing needs.

The guitar was initially used during Gary’s time in the band G-Force, from 1979 to 1980. It can be seen, in an earlier configuration with twin humbuckers, on the cover of Gary’s 1983 album, Dirty Fingers. Those pickups were subsequently removed and replaced by the single EMG that it now possesses.

Gary later praised EMGs to Music Maker magazine, saying: “I find that for live work they’re the best pickups I’ve ever heard. They really cut through.”

Steve Clarke reflects: “I suppose, at the end of the day, Gary must’ve just plugged it in and thought, ‘Yeah, it sounds great.’ He’s not going to take it apart – he’s not going to look inside or think, ‘Is it me or is that pickup a little bit wonky?’ Those guys were a different breed, you know?”

• This article first appeared in Guitarist. Subscribe and save.

Best of 2025: Over the holiday season, GW is shining the spotlight on some of its biggest stories of the year.

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.’

“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.”

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.”

Best of 2025: Over the holiday season, GW is shining the spotlight on some of its biggest stories of the year.

As a gun for hire, Snowy White has worked with Pink Floyd, Peter Green and Joan Armatrading, to name a few; and he was also a paid-up member of Thin Lizzy, appearing on 1980’s Chinatown and 1981’s Renegade.

He embarked on a prolific solo career with 1983’s solo debut White Flames – featuring signature track Bird of Paradise, and became touring guitarist with Roger Waters before retiring from live work in 2019.

You worked with Peter Green on his 1979 album In the Skies. What was that experience like?

“Peter rang me one day and said, ‘I’m doing an album for a small record company that my brother is involved in. Can I use you and your band?’ So we went into a studio and basically just jammed.

“He was in a good mood and it was a fun session. He was playing rhythm stuff and asked me to play lead, but I said, ‘Pete, it’s your album – you play some lead.’ In the end we both did a bit of each.”

“Of course, I was very happy to be doing it. I’d known him for a few years and I didn’t think he’d ever record again. He took away the tracks and worked on them, then we went to The Who's studio in Battersea, London, and recorded the tracks again.

“I’d put in some of my ideas, but unfortunately, in the end, I wasn't credited with any songwriting. That was a pity. But I didn't make a fuss – I figured Peter was still pretty fragile and unsure about dealing with the business side of things, so I let it pass.”

Your 1994 album Highway To The Sun featured David Gilmour and Gary Moore. What was it like working with them?

“I only asked them because the record company thought a few well-known names would be a good selling point. I didn’t really mind either way! But it was very nice of them to agree to appear – Chris Rea also.

“Gary came to the studio and I just asked him to blow over the end of a slow blues. With Dave’s contribution, I took the tapes to his boat studio and said, ‘It’s a really simple track; just do a few takes and I'll sort it out later.’ He used his Whammy pedal, which I hadn't heard before. I chose the best bits when I mixed it.

“It was all pretty simple, really. I guess the obvious difference is that I was telling them what I wanted, as opposed to the other way round.”

Which do you prefer: being in a band or being a solo artist?

“I’m not very good at playing other guitarists' parts, so I had to work quite hard to make it sound okay. It was occasionally a bit hairy, but I learned many years ago how to bluff my way through. It occasionally came in very handy; I didn’t come unstuck very often.

“Both situations have plusses and minuses. For instance, the nicest thing about being in Roger’s band – apart from being involved in all those great shows – was that all I had to do was walk on stage, pick up my already-tuned guitar and start playing. And we went all over the world for 13 years, so I saw a lot of places that I would never have got to on my own.

“In contrast, when I was touring Europe with my own band, The White Flames – firstly in the ‘90s, and then later, in between tours with Roger – I was doing almost everything. I was driving, booking hotels, sorting out travel, collecting the money, dealing with the various hassles, and then going onstage and doing the gig.

“But the reward for that was that I was up on stage doing my own thing with musicians that were really loyal and helpful, and, more importantly, good-humoured, whatever happened, whatever went wrong. There was a lot of energy around and a lot of respect.

“Later on, we had some great guys as our crew, who took on most of those touring jobs, so I was able to relax a bit more. My favourite memories from my whole career are from those days – the three of us and couple of crew, travelling around Europe, having the energy to deal with everything that goes on, and still having plenty of energy left onstage.

“We had some great times together. So, I guess the answer is that I’ve been happy that I could do both; but doing small gigs with my own band far outweighs the big stadium tours.”

In 1995 you released a compilation album called Goldtop, a reference to your famed Les Paul.

“I went on holiday to Sweden with a friend and met a lovely Swedish girl, so I stayed there for over a year. I joined a three-piece band, The Train, and the drummer had a friend who was selling his Les Paul Goldtop. I had a go and liked it, so I bought it.

“I have to admit that I don’t know much about guitars – I’m not really interested in the way they work or the different makes and models. I just liked that Les Paul; and as it turned out, it was the only guitar I had for many years.

“I played it nearly every day, and later, when I had to use different guitars for the various bands I was with, I still used my old Les Paul whenever I could. I kept it for 45 years, finally letting it go about five years ago.”

How has your guitar playing has evolved over the years?

“It was a slow process, but as time went by my playing became more confident. Quite a few years ago I started to feel that I had nothing to prove any longer. I think I became able to choose better notes and spaces, just pleasing myself, really.”

Looking back on Bird of Paradise, how important was that track and album for your career?

“Obviously having a successful single means you get heard by more people. But in the case of Bird of Paradise, many people saw me as a ballad singer who happened to play a bit of decent guitar.

“As it was my first solo album, I wasn’t really expecting much from it – certainly not a hit single. I was pretty uncomfortable with the whole idea of being in that area of pop music, and I soon discovered that it wasn’t for me.

“I soon went back to the blues, forming Snowy White’s Blues Agency. But Bird of Paradise opened some doors though, and I’m grateful for that.”

What’s your current gear setup?

“I used to have a very simple setup – just my guitar into a Vox AC30 via a [Boss] Blues Driver pedal and a [Electro-Harmonix] Holy Grail reverb. But I don’t have a setup any longer; I haven’t done a live show since June 7, 2019.

“These days my fingers don’t do exactly what my brain tells them to do, so I preferred to retire from live shows rather than put on a second-rate performance.”

So what’s next for you?

“I’m still recording albums, but apart from that I’m not really very active in the music business any longer. I’m very happy to spend most of my time at home. In fact, right now, I never want to get on a plane again!

“But you never know what might transpire in the future. We’ll see what fate has in store.”

• Unfinished Business is out now.

While it will always seem incongruous to modern eyes, the first SG-shaped twin-humbucker electrics Gibson made were, of course, originally badged as ‘Les Pauls’ before Lester’s name was removed in 1963 and the model became the SG proper. Gary possessed a notably clean example, Steve Clarke, Bonhams guitar expert, explains.

“This is a lovely guitar,” he says. “You’ve got [Patent Applied For pickups] on it. The bridge pickup is 7.53k and the neck is 8.45k. Really nice nickel plating [on the covers], by the way. It’s also got the retaining wire on the ABR-1 bridge [first introduced in 1962] and I also made a note that the bridge is showing signs of dipping in the middle, so that would need straightening.

“I have straightened [old ABR-1s] a few times; it’s a bit tricky. You’ve got to be careful it doesn’t crack – and it’s a chance you take. I’ve not broken one, but you still hold your breath! But yeah, this one’s got the dip in the middle.”

Steve says that among the often heavily modded guitars of Gary’s collection, this SG-shape Les Paul is in clean, relatively original shape.

“It’s got a long neck tenon and none of the solder joints [on the pots] look like they’ve been changed. They’ve not come off, which is another nice thing to see. Plus those pickup covers have never come off. That was another thing I noticed.”

Not quite everything is bob-on original, though, and at least two very common mods that made the guitar more usable in the line of professional duty have been made to the guitar.

“It’s had a refret and the current frets are 2.64mm wire. The tulip-button Klusons are repros, too.”

Steve adds that the weight of the SG-shape Les Paul is a feather-like 2.8kg (6.12lb) – and conjectures that this light weight and the desire to avoid the infamous neck-dive sometimes experienced with this model might partly explain why repro plastic Klusons are fitted on this guitar, rather than the chunky (and relatively heavy) Grovers that Gary sometimes favoured when fitting replacement machineheads.

• This article first appeared in Guitarist. Subscribe and save.

1963 Gibson ES-335TD

During our interview about Moore’s career, Neville Marten said, “Gary was great on a 335 – he really, really pulled the expression out of that guitar.” And it’s likely it was this particular 335 to which he was referring.

Steve Clarke measured the guitar’s pickup output and says “the bridge is 7.32k and the neck is 7.16k”, a vintage output that partly explains the punchy but expressive performance of the humbuckers that Gary liked so much. And at 8.32lb (3.8kg), it’s as light as many Strats of the era.

“The ABR-1 bridge has no retaining wire on it,” says Steve, which would most probably make it a replacement part; Gibson introduced the retaining wire in 1962, a year prior to this guitar’s manufacture. “And it’s also been refretted with 3.08mm wire. You’ve got two black coils [on the humbuckers] and the covers have been removed.”

Steve adds that this guitar seemed to be in good playing condition, even years after Gary last used it, needing very little fettling in preparation for the sale.

“I did a slight truss rod adjustment from memory – it was a little bit bowed – [but] it worked. I didn’t really have any issues.”

1960 Gibson ES-355TD

“It’s got the [Patent Applied For pickups] in it,” Steve Clarke remarks of Gary Moore’s exceptional 1960 ES-355TD, the Cadillac of Gibson’s range of thinline semis of the late 1950s and 1960s.

“The humbuckers have the brass screws [on the bottom plates of the pickups], for what it’s worth,” Steve observes. “And, again, it was initially dead on a couple of the [pickup/Varitone] selector positions when I first looked at the guitar. The rotary was very intermittent, and I had to get a straw inside there and give a blast of switch cleaner.

“The guitar’s had a really good refret, but the nut needed a bit of TLC because it was buzzing a bit on the B string, but I sorted that out. I also did a truss rod adjustment on that because it was back-bowed, so [the strings] were touching the 1st fret – you play an E chord and it’s rattling. So I backed it off a bit on that one.

“Once I got everything working on this thing, I took my tiny little Fender amp that I use for testing out and I plugged it in and thought, ‘Oh, this thing has got such a range of tones.’ It’s a really beautiful-sounding guitar and it’s such a nice color as well. It’s a really lovely instrument.”

• This article first appeared in Guitarist. Subscribe and save.

Though Gary Moore gravitated to Gibsons for much of his work, Fenders nonetheless play a significant role in his music, including this intriguing ’63 Tele.

Acquired by Gary at some point prior to 1988, it has a ’63 body with a replacement neck and was used on the opening track of Moore’s much-loved Still Got The Blues album, a song entitled Moving On.

Steve Clarke picks up the interesting story of this modded workhorse. He begins by explaining that he initially recorded quite a mismatch in the outputs of the bridge and neck pickups, which gave readings of 6.32k and 3.59k respectively.

“What I found quickly with that Telecaster is that the front pickup seemed to be dead, but I fixed it. And I found there was a short on it that was coming from the [selector] switch.”

Despite the neck being a replacement, the frets on it are original, Steve says – putting the Tele at odds with the majority of Gary’s guitars, which were often refretted with chunkier wire.

“The Tele has 2.12mm fretwire, unlike most of his guitars, which had jumbo wire on. These look like original frets, in fact – the edges were nice and sharp, there was no over-sanding. There were none of those telltale signs that might have said to me, ‘Oh, yeah, this has had new frets.’ It was like he’d left this one as it is.”

The only other Fender, besides Gary’s ‘Red Strat’, in the Final Encore sale, the guitar was something of a mongrel but Gary enjoyed its player-grade charms all the same, telling Guitar Buyer magazine in 2007 that “it’s got a later neck on it that someone put on before I bought it, but it’s got character and it really works.

“You can get some very mournful sounds out of it as well as a hard, in-your-face sound. It’s a real old battle-axe.” It was used on multiple appearances on German television and appears on versions of the tracks Hard Times, Thirty Days, If The Devil Made Whiskey and I Had A Dream.

Steve Clarke reports that the electronics have had minor mods, including alterations to the tone control that mean it functions rather more like the peaky sweep of a wah pedal – just another quirk of this idiosyncratic but clearly much-loved Tele.

• This article first appeared in Guitarist. Subscribe and save.

“Stripe? Oh, my God, was that something else!” Steve Clarke chuckles, referring to Gary’s well-played and honey-toned ’59 Les Paul Standard, which does not form part of the Bonhams auction of Gary’s gear per se but is being offered for private sale POA via Bonhams instead, at the behest of the estate.

The origins of its nickname ‘Stripe’ remain obscure, but, thankfully, the rest of its particulars were easier to pin down.

“Well, firstly I can give you some pickup measurements,” Steve says. “The bridge is 7.74k and the neck is 7.36k. That’s what they come out at,” he observes, agreeing that this is incidentally similar to how manufacturers would balance the windings of a pickup set today; typically, if you have a neck and bridge pickup of equal output, the neck will sound louder due to the greater stridency of string vibration near the end of the fretboard as opposed to closer in to the bridge.

“Thus, modern balanced sets of pickups often feature a bridge pickup that’s wound slightly hotter to compensate and avoid a volume mismatch with the neck.

Steve’s measurements also shed light on a lesser known feature of some ’Bursts of the era. The headstocks often taper longitudinally, being slightly thicker at the nut than at the ‘logo’ end to add a little extra strength to the notorious weak spot where the neck transitions into the headstock.

“I took a measurement from the headstock thickness on the low E tuner side, and it was 16.56mm, tapering to around 15.9mm by the D tuner on the same side,” Steve explains.

“It’s got Grovers on it, obviously, and it’s got a later-type ABR-1 bridge on it [post-1962], the one with the retaining wire over the saddles. So that had been changed from the original. But it’s clearly been a long time [since the update] as it’s quite worn out.”

Steve adds that, like many guitars that have been played hard in a professional context, some of the electronics have been swapped out for replacement parts, presumably due to component failure on the road or in the studio.

“The neck volume and tone [pots] have been replaced. But the bridge volume and tone are original; they’re the ones.”

Steve adds that preparing such historic and valuable guitars for auction often involves sympathetically (and very carefully) attending to minor faults that prevent the guitar being used and enjoyed – always providing its provenance or originality isn’t adversely affected by any remedial work.

Such was the case with Stripe’s neck pickup. But while completing minor repairs, he does get the chance to further record subtle idiosyncrasies of the guitar’s construction.

“When I picked it up, the neck pickup wasn’t working – very intermittent, it just wouldn’t come on. So I took it apart and looked, checked all the parts. There was a lot of gunk in there, the usual thing. But I got it working in the end, after cleaning it up.

“But in the process I made a note that the neck pickup has got the early brass bobbin attachment screws, whereas the bridge pickup has got the steel screws on the plate at the bottom. So two different [screw types] and, again, that was a transitional thing.”

Despite his affinity for buying legendary vintage gear, Joe Bonamassa says he’s not a big fan of auctions. But when a host of Gary Moore's equipment went up for sale this week, the bluesman couldn’t resist getting a slice of the action.

Moore – the late blues rock heavyweight celebrated for his flawless 1990 album Still Got The Blues, alongside his work with Thin Lizzy – is widely considered one history’s great guitar players.

As such, yesterday's (November 20) Bonham's auction understandably caught the eye of Bonamassa.

“I have never been a fan of grabbing a paddle and slogging it out, buying guitars and amps at auction,” Bonamassa writes in an Instagram post. “There are exceptions, though. Gary's playing and that album Still Got the Blues changed my life as a kid.”

Bonamassa's prize pick was Moore's 1989 Soldano SLO-100, a 100-watt tube amp with some serious bite. Though Moore opted for a Marshall JTM45 on clean with a Guv’nor distortion pedal on the Still Got the Blues LP, he pivoted to the Soldano for the following tour.

Here, he used the amp's clean channel only, with the Guv’nor once again doing the teeth-baring. The rig would remain in place for his tours in support of After Hours, which was released two years later.

As per Bonham's website, Bonamassa bought the amp for £19,200 (approx $25,100).

“Gary’s approach to soloing was like placing a brick on a car’s gas pedal,” JoBo said of his hero during a Guitar World lesson on his iconic playing style. “Like Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimi Hendrix, he had infinite passion and musical ideas.”

However, while ‘Joe Bonamassa buys gear’ isn’t necessarily breaking news, it goes against his recent word that he was done splurging on big amps.

Bonamassa has bought some illustrious items over the years – the acquisition of the Tommy Bolin Les Paul is a personal favorite – but he surprised us all in June when he admitted to buying his pedals from Sweetwater.

Now, he’s teamed up with his favorite guitarist for a stunning tribute to B.B. King.

Steve Clarke has one of the best – but most exacting – jobs in the vintage guitar world. The author of Famous Frets is Bonhams’ authenticator for guitar collections such as Gary Moore’s and also sympathetically prepares the guitars for auction.

Having featured guitars for major auctions such as the much-publicised sale of Rory Gallagher’s Strat, his workbench is no stranger to high-profile instruments. But Gary Moore’s ‘Red Strat’ is surely up there with anything he’s examined before in terms of iconic electric guitars.

Looking at the guitar with the naked eye, a patch of forearm wear seems to show two distinct tones of red paint, one applied over the other.

This has led some to theorise, over the years, that the relatively milky red that forms the visible majority of the guitar’s paint today was applied over a bolder red finish that lies beneath – plausibly, some have suggested, a Fiesta Red sprayed over the less commercially popular Dakota Red to factory-convert the guitar to a more saleable finish.

Others have contended that the apparent milkier coat of red paint on top was applied later, possibly after importation to the UK. There have even been theories that underneath everything lies a Tobacco Sunburst finish.

Steve says, though, that however tempting any ‘sunburst’ theories may seem to some, they were not borne out by his close inspection of the Strat.

“Now, the interesting bit for me is that, probably like yourself, I’d heard these rumours that ‘it’s even been a sunburst’… I’ve read that one, too. But I could find no evidence of this. I peeled back a little bit of the copper tape underneath [applied as shielding for the electronics] and you could see, consistently, that all over the guitar – from the front pickup to the back where the bridge would be – was this sandy-colour undercoat.

“Because they did spray what you call Desert Sand as an undercoat. Sometimes they didn’t, but with the red guitars, they’d either use a white or a Desert Sand [base coat] on earlier examples.”

“This being relatively early [for a custom colour red guitar], it would fall in line with that. And that was all over. But I couldn’t see any flecks of black [sic; ie, dark brown from a ’Burst] anywhere.

“So I couldn’t see any [evidence of] sunburst or anything like that. That yellowy colour [visible at the fringes of scratches on the guitar’s body] might have been why people have said, ‘Oh, it’s been sunburst,’ and I’ve even read that in a magazine ages ago.

“But I think that’s the Desert Sand undercoat because it’s all over. If you take the strap buttons off, you’ll see it there and in the bridge cavity and around that area – it’s all over the guitar. And you see it on the top where there’s a big scratch.”

Steve goes on to explain that the Fender custom colour known as Fiesta Red is something of a shifting sand itself. Not only was it likely not to have been consistently calibrated as a hue, especially in the early years of its use at Fender, he says it can be among the most volatile of colours in terms of vulnerability to fading or discolouration due to environmental factors.

“It’s the most reactive paint you can have to UV exposure, and heat [from contact with the player’s body] can accelerate that and actually change the colour.”

Steve’s inspection also threw up other interesting points. Graham Lilley, Gary’s former guitar tech and road manager, has gone on record in the past to say the neck pickup was rewound by Seymour Duncan in 1998, while the middle pickup was replaced by a Seymour Duncan Antiquity single coil in 2003.

However, Steve found that the guitar, in its current configuration, has a different pickup in the middle today.

“My notes and photograph show it now to be a Lindy Fralin Blues Special. The wire has been cut instead of desoldered and black insulation tape has been wrapped around the Fralin and joined to the remaining wire! I also found an original Stackpole pot inside the case in an envelope – the number is 304-6043. This is very likely the original one fitted as it was very stiff to turn until I did some work on it.”

Beyond these points on the finish, pickups and wiring, Steve says the neck, which is stamped 11/60, is very playable even today.

“It’s a very nice guitar to play, really nicely set up. The action was pretty good straight out of the case. These things have a uniqueness about them.

“I had a ’56 Strat a few years ago, a George Harrison ’56 Strat, and that was so vibrant. And I’ve picked up others where they’re not; they were like a piece of plywood. But not this one. Lovely guitar, got a character all of its own, and I thought it was just wonderful.”

• This article first appeared in Guitarist. Subscribe and save.

Gary Moore’s iconic red Fender Stratocaster has sold at auction for £254,400 (approximately $332,609).

This is the guitar that divides opinion among the late blues guitar great’s fans. Is it pink or is it red? Is it a 1960 model or 1961? What everyone can agree on is that there are few more vibe-y Stratocasters in history – and it is arguably the Gary Moore guitar.

Greeny, Moore's 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard – previously owned by the late Peter Green and presently owned by Metallica lead guitarist Kirk Hammett – would be in the conversation, of course.

As would ‘Stripe,’ another ‘Burst, that is being offered by a private sale via Bonham’s, who handled the Strat’s auction. Its mismatched figured maple top is a thing of beauty.

But the red 1960 Strat was the one that Moore played during his career-defining performance of Red House at the 2004 Miller Strat Pack concert at Wembley, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Strat.

Better than Hendrix is not a phrase heard very often, but it was uttered that day. Moore made Red House his own, rearranging the furniture, changing the drapes, resurfacing the driveway.

It might just be us, or the fever pitch of the vintage electric guitar market – particularly when there is an artist association – but even at $330,000 or so, this seems like a bargain. Yes, it’s well played, but you would pay extra for that distressed finish if it had come out of the Fender Custom Shop. Here, one of the all-time greats has done all the hard work for you.

But this was the archetypical player’s grade guitar. Moore used this as a working instrument. It’s not all stock. It was refretted with Dunlop 6100 fretwire, a thicker gauge than what you would find on original Strats of that era.

The neck pickup is not original, and according to Moore’s former tech and manager, Graham Lilley, it was rewound by Seymour Duncan in 1998. The middle pickup was swapped out for a Lindy Fralin Blues Special.

Speaking to Guitarist, Steve Clarke, an authenticator for Bonham’s and author of Famous Frets, said the Strat is a real player. After all these years, it has still got it.

“It’s a very nice guitar to play, really nicely set up,” he says. “The action was pretty good straight out of the case. These things have a uniqueness about them. I had a ’56 Strat a few years ago, a George Harrison ’56 Strat, and that was so vibrant. And I’ve picked up others where they’re not; they were like a piece of plywood. But not this one. Lovely guitar, got a character all of its own, and I thought it was just wonderful.”

It begs the question, who was lucky enough to buy this, and will we see the Strat like we did when Hammett bought Greeny? Hammett says he bought Greeny to be played, to keep it in circulation.

“I have no plans to retire that guitar at all,” he told Guitarist in 2020. “As a legacy to the two people who owned that guitar before me – Peter Green and Gary Moore – I feel it’s important to keep it going and keep it playing so that people can hear it live in real-time and hear it sing.

“So many people love that guitar. I love it, too. That guitar has a lot of love and energy going to it constantly and who am I to get in the way of that? It’s all part of its reason for being and I’m just going to continue enabling that.”

As for the exact year of the model? Clarke says a stamp on the neck reading "11/60" would suggest it was 1960, and although the pots on the guitar have been replaced, there was an original from 1960 in the guitar case.

You can read more about the Gary Moore auction at Bonham’s in Guitarist's deep dive into the catalog.

The first images of a Gary Moore statue that’s set to be erected in Belfast, Northern Ireland, honoring the late guitar hero have been released – and fans have been asked for their help to take the project into its next phase.

In January, it was announced that a proposal submitted by Belfast Green Party council Brian Smyth – filed on behalf of the Wild Frontier Memorial Project – to commission a statue in honor of Moore had been approved.

At the time, the City Council were carrying out land checks of potential sites where the statue could be erected. Now, a clay impression of the statue has been completed, and has been given the approval of the electric guitar legend’s family ahead of a final bronze casting.

Wild Frontier Memorial Project are encouraging fans to weigh in with support for the “first impression” statue, which has been sculpted by artist David A Annand.

The clay model is just the start, though. Fan support has covered the cost of the first impression, but another £70,000 is required to cover final construction and transportation costs for the bronze sculpture.

As such, an online crowdfunding page has been set up to raise funds for the project. Money has also been raised via tribute gigs in Dublin and Belfast.

Belfast City Council has given its support for Moore’s statue, and is currently still pinning down a location for it to stand in the city’s cultural and tourism hub.

“It was overwhelming to see the first images of Gary’s statue,” says Gary’s sister, Patricia Moore. “It now feels like a reality. We always wanted this to be a statue that Gary’s fans had ownership of.

“We wanted to allow every fan to say, ‘I helped put this statue here.’ It feels so close but there’s still a way to go. We are all looking forward to a day when people will visit Belfast to pay their respects to Gary and the statue.

“We just need a big push to get the funding needed, and we hope fans will be encouraged with the clay model images!”

The project, which has been in the works for around five years, has received the support of former Thin Lizzy guitarist Scott Gorham, and Doug Aldrich.

Visit the Gary Moore statue crowdfunder page to support the project.

Some guitarists are remarkable for making their name with one guitar that is synonymous with their whole identity as a musician. Brian May, or perhaps Hank Marvin and his Red Strat come to mind.

Other players loom larger than individual instruments they own, or even genres. By turns taciturn and ablaze with feeling, Gary Moore shifted stylistic gears with remarkable ease.

From his roots in Belfast blues with Skid Row to barbed Celtic rock in Thin Lizzy and a ’90s return to his roots in Peter Green’s sound, Moore’s intensity lit up any track he played on. It was this burning thread that tied together the whole tapestry of his career.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, his guitar collection kept pace with his changing sound. He was a prolific collector, though always to a purpose, and since his passing in 2011 it’s taken three rounds of major auctions, all of which have been handled by Bonhams of London, to come to the final treasures of his guitar collection – and this November sees the most revered and loved of his guitars go under the hammer, including his treasured ‘Red Strat’.

“Bonhams has been privileged to offer the entire Gary Moore collection over the last 10 years,” reflects Claire Tole-Moir, who is Head of Science and Popular Culture at Bonhams.

“I think our first sale was in 2016 so it’s actually quite an honour to be offering the last of it. We’re calling it ‘The Final Encore’. And so the sale has about 30 guitars and 45 to 50 amps. And we’ve also got a large selection of pedals, effects, tape recorders and stage clothing as well, which we’re working through now.

“That part of the collection we haven’t offered before, so it’s nice to give [people] a bit of everything from what’s left in this collection. Prices start at £100, and obviously the top piece is his ‘Red Strat’, and that’s in at £200,000 to £300,000 – so there is something for everyone. It’s really broad,” she says.

Claire agrees that it was the intensity of Gary’s performances that still kindles devotion among fans and collectors, over a decade after his death.

“He’s just revered – and so well respected,” she reflects. “And people really loved his music and the transition, over the years, from Thin Lizzy to his solo career and they’ve been quite loyal to him. Obviously, there’s a blues foundation through everything.

“But then there’s this rock side to him, and you’ve got the Northern Irish inspiration coming into a few tracks. But even as he changes style or look, people have stood by him – they just love his playing and the fact that when he performs, he loses himself. He’s really in the music and you go through it with him.”

Former Guitarist editor Neville Marten was fortunate enough to know Gary personally, and he says the instruments Gary acquired over his lifetime reflected his musical priorities and the curious mix of reverence and unsentimental pragmatism with which he approached guitars.

Neville recalls how a difficult first meeting with Gary thawed into a warm friendship after Gary discovered that Nev was a fellow student of the blues – and of guitar tone.

“I had to go and interview him about his After The War album,” Nev recalls. “It was one of those rock albums back in the ’80s, quite early on in Guitarist history, really. I had my questions prepped and everything, but, initially, Gary was very frosty, very spiky, which he could be with people he hadn’t met before.

“And so I was asking my questions and he was answering them perfunctorily well but really just going through the motions. But I’d noticed that on one of the tracks there was this little lick with an out-of-phase Les Paul sound on it. So I said, ‘On this track, you used the ‘Greeny’ Les Paul, didn’t you? Because I love that little out-of-phase sound.’ And his eyes lit up – he suddenly realised that I knew a little bit about what I was talking about. And from that point on, we were kind of all right.”

“We were a very similar age and we often discussed what it had been like hearing blues music for the first time,” Nev continues. “Our mutual introduction to blues had been the Blues Breakers [‘Beano’] album. And he said, ‘I remember that my friend put it on and [I was hooked from] that ‘jank’ sound when Clapton slides the first note up the neck on All Your Love,’ which is the first track. And I was the same: a friend of mine put it on and I thought, ‘Bloody hell, what was that?’ That was kind of it – we just hit it off.

“He later invited me on stage to play with him in Bath,” Nev recalls. “It was bloody great – Bernie Marsden and Gary and David Mead from the mag got up and played together. He was always complimentary about stuff and I think he treated me, in a way, as an ally in a world where he might not have allies. As you know, the press can be a bit hostile to certain types of people, certain types of music, but he knew that Guitarist was an ally to him, completely.”

Musical Pragmatist

Although Gary is perhaps best known for his work with Gibson Les Pauls, Nev says Moore wasn’t wedded to any particular approach, make, model or style of guitar – and although he loved vintage Gibsons and Fenders, he wasn’t afraid of modernity, either.

“I think Gary very much chose the instrument for the type of music he was playing. For instance, when he got into the rock stuff. I went to see him rehearsing in Sheffield once and he was just playing a huge white Gibson Explorer – it was a modern one, not even a posh one, just one off the shelf.

“It wasn’t an overly special guitar, but it suited his purpose visually and sonically. But then when he wanted to do the blues albums, in deference to Eric and Peter and the others, he got out the Les Paul,” Nev says.

With such a pragmatic outlook – plus the means, motive and opportunity – it’s unsurprising, says Claire Tole-Moir of Bonhams, that Gary amassed a huge collection of gear during his 43‑year career.

“I think Gary was one of these guitarists who had an absolute love for collecting,” she says, “and there’s not that many who could do it. Because I think when he started collecting, it was a pivotal time in the vintage guitar market when you could [because vintage classics were more affordable earlier on], although he collected right up until 2010, [the year before] he passed away.

“And that is a luxury nowadays. If we look at how many of his guitars we’ve offered over 10 years, it’s amazing that we still have 30 guitars in this last tranche… It’s actually really rare that you get a collection this sizable and this varied. He was a proper collector and he loved it.”

A mixed portrait of the man emerges from his relationship with guitars – pragmatic about the tool value of guitars yet in love with the musical heritage they represented. Did Gary simply regard guitars as a means to get a job done or was he sentimental about some of them, we ask Neville Marten.

“Absolutely both: he loved and was totally sentimental about the ‘Greeny’ guitar and about the other Les Paul that he had [‘Stripe’, a ’59 Standard currently being offered for private sale POA via Bonhams]. Likewise, his ’63 335.

“He was very, very sentimental about things like that. But then he would go and buy a brand-new Les Paul off the shelf because he wanted to put Bare Knuckle PG Blues pickups in it to get to the out-of-phase sound in a modern guitar. So, again, he used what he needed at the time and what he felt suited the image that he was trying to create.”

In The Footsteps Of Heroes

One thing that unites Gary’s guitars with his recorded output is a love of ’60s blues. The electrifying sound of the ’60s blues boom was where he started and it was a touchstone he returned to for his celebrated 1990 album, Still Got The Blues.

Few guitarists are immune to the magnetic pull of emulating their heroes and Gary was no exception. Nev says this inevitably influenced his go-to instrument choices.

“Everyone wants the guitar that your first heroes played,” Nev argues. “And, you know, he got the Les Paul because of Eric and Peter. He also got the 335 because of Eric – who in turn had got the 335 because of Chuck Berry and B.B. King and Freddie King. So I think that’s kind of it. But Gary was also great on a 335 – he really pulled the expression out of that guitar.

“He used the controls so well, he would turn the Les Paul down to 2 and coax the sweetest tone out of it. Then he’d whack it up to 10, and flip the pickup from the neck to the bridge, or bridge to the neck, to get this vast change in character that he wanted. And he was very clever at that.”

Despite the preponderance of Les Pauls in Gary’s guitar collection, the star of the November auction is undoubtedly his red 1960 Strat.

“The Fender Strat stands out because it’s only one of two Fenders in the collection of 30 that we have and, again, he is photographed extensively with it,” Claire Tole-Moir says. “It was a go-to, after ‘Greeny’ and ‘Stripe’.”

The Strat has remained a lodestar for fans, many of whom associate it with an absolutely incandescent performance of Hendrix’s Red House that Gary put in for Fender’s 50th Anniversary gig at Wembley Stadium in 2005.

“He played it at Fender’s 50th anniversary [gig] and did a version of Red House that actually tore the house down – it was staggeringly good,” Nev Marten recalls.

“What was remarkable was he told me he’d just come back from a hand injury. He’d had something wrong in his hand, and it’d been operated on, and he’d got what he described to me as a kind of topical form of MRSA, like a local infection of the hand. It was very bad and he had to cancel the summer’s worth of work.

“I think he used nines on the Strat and Gary was a 10s player, mostly – so the nines on a Strat, for Gary, was pretty light. But he absolutely smashed that version of Red House.

“Obviously, he was a big Jimi fan. And he always told me, ‘I can do a Jimi, you know? I can actually pull out the Jimi licks, but I don’t do it because it’s not for me to do that – but I can do it.’ And I fully believe that. But he used a modern Strat on the rocky stuff; he wouldn’t bring the old ‘Red Strat’ out for that so much. He’d use a modern white Strat because it was a brighter, modern, more forceful sound.”

However, Nev adds that when it came to amps, Gary was much more settled in his preferences.

“He was very much a Marshall guy. He had a Soldano phase, but he always went back to the Marshalls,” Nev explains.

“He had a particularly bashed-up 50-watt combo that he went back to time and time again. You often find that a certain guitar will gel with a certain amp and he had that with his Les Paul and Marshall combination, especially the 50-watt. But, again, Gary probably got the 50-watt combo because of the ‘Beano’ album.”

Though Marshalls may have been the sonic lens through which Moore most often focused his talents, they didn’t restrict him and, as mentioned, his work was stylistically wide-ranging. So what period of Gary’s work does Neville think showed Gary’s truest colours?

“Blimey, that’s so hard because he had all these phases, all the eras,” Nev reflects. “He did the rock thing, which I wasn’t the hugest fan of, but he did do it very, very well. I did like it when he did the blues albums – Still Got The Blues followed by After Hours. It was him going back to his formative influences – and he was very, very deft as a blues player. He did overplay sometimes and he admitted it.

“He said to me, ‘B.B. King told me to play every other note,’ which is quite nice, but he had that ability to absolutely milk a few slow notes. Played them beautifully. He once said to me, about playing fast: ‘People try to play fast before they can play slowly. If you don’t learn to play slowly, your fast licks will be badly played.’

“So the thing about Gary, for me, was the way that he could milk the sounds out of the guitar. You know, it wasn’t just a neck pickup, bridge pickup, it was, ‘What can I get out of what can I make this guitar do?’ For me, that’s what it was all about.”

• The Gary Moore Collection: The Final Encore auction takes place on November 20. See Bonhams for more information.
• This article first appeared in Guitarist. Subscribe and save.

Growing up the son of a blues and rock legend, Jack Moore knew he’d eventually be compared to his father, Irish blues master Gary Moore. But it’s never been a struggle for the 37-year-old guitarist.

“You can go with what your dad did and take that route, but I never had the inclination to completely go up against him in terms of going into the blues,” he says. “I've always had a huge passion for guitar, so whatever I was gonna do would always be supplemented by that, but writing blues never came naturally up until this point.”

Moore is referring to the music he’s recording in Poland with vocalist Quentin Kovalsky, a partnership that has already yielded the bluesy pop-rock tunes Autumn and Peace of Mind, which showcase Moore’s fascination with wah pedals, to say nothing of his blistering six-string chops.

“I’m pretty obsessed with the wah at the moment,” he says. “I love cranking the treble until you get that real screech. I think that's from listening to a lot of Hendrix – but I love playing through a Marshall and then just cranking the treble down on the wah and leaving it there.”

While Moore – who has been known to pepper his sets with tunes like Still Got the Blues, his father’s signature hit – wields his blues-rock lineage with Kovalsky, he also recently released his first song as a solo artist. The Other Side reveals Moore’s folkier side, as influences like Fleet Foxes, Bon Iver and Jeff Buckley inform his otherworldly melodic sensibilities.

“It took a while to really form an identity, because I write all kinds of different things,” he says, “but it just clicked into place finally. Ultimately, I would love to have the leeway to be able to just dip in and out of different genres.”

Although he’s pursuing his own journey in music, he adds, “that's not to say that I won't keep honoring [my father’s] music, because I really do enjoy it.” And when he does slide into that mode, he does it while playing one of his father’s signature-model Les Pauls, engraved with his own name for his 18th birthday, through a Marshall combo. The elder Moore would certainly approve.

“It just plays so beautifully – that's my favorite guitar, for sure,” he says. “The coolest thing you could ever get as a guitar player is a Les Paul with your name on it.”

• Electric Neverland is out now via Moore & Kovalsky.

A number of Gary Moore's most prestigious items are heading to auction at Bonhams in November – including two of his most recognizable electric guitars, alongside amps and stage clothing from his personal collection.

The auction, titled The Gary Moore Collection: The Final Encore, will take place on November 20, with a free exhibition at Bonhams New Bond Street in London.

“Gary Moore didn’t just play the guitar – he lived through it,” comments Claire Tole-Moir, Head of the Popular Culture department at Bonhams.

“He pushed the boundaries of what the guitar could do, experimenting in numerous styles throughout his illustrious career.

“It has been a real honor for Bonhams to have offered his collection over the last 10 years, and The Final Encore auction promises to be a worthy tribute to Moore and his legendary collection.”

Among the collection is his Fiesta Red ’61 Stratocaster – one of Moore's longest-serving instruments, and, arguably, the second most associated with him. It is estimated to sell for between £200,000 and £300,000 ($267,000 and $400,000).

According to author Tony Bacon, Moore purchased the Strat in the early ’80s, while on a shopping trip with King Crimson's Greg Lake.

“We found it in a shop called John King's... Greg tried it out but he didn't like it because it had a few scratches on it. He likes his guitars to be real immaculate,” recalled Moore.

“And I said, ‘Well, you're not going to get one like this that is immaculate, they stopped making them in ’62 and on most of them the paint's worn off so you can't get that particular color.

“I said, ‘If you don't want it, I'll have it,’ very calmly, trying to control myself! It's great, it's the best Strat I've ever had – it's the best Strat I've ever played, I think.”

The Strat was used extensively on 1982's Corridors of Power, and can also be heard on 1990's Still Got the Blues, specifically on the tracks Too Tired and Moving On. He also played it at Fender's 50th Anniversary concert at Wembley Arena in September 2004, where he gave an explosive rendition of Hendrix's Red House.

Moore's ‘Stripe’ – his iconic 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard – is also available for private sale via Bonhams. Moore purchased this guitar in 1988 from guitarist Phil Harris, who called it “his soulmate in a guitar.”

Moore was partial to its tone, which is unusually bright, even comparing it to a Strat. In fact, it quickly became his most recorded guitar, featuring on Still Got the Blues, After the War, Oh Pretty Woman, Walking by Myself, and many others.

The rest of the sale includes a Gibson Les Paul Standard LPR9 Aged Prototype, a Peter Green/Gary Moore Model from 2010, estimated at £60,000 - £80,000 ($80,000 - $107,000.) The guitar was delivered to Moore in time for his 2010 tour, and was played for the encore song, Parisienne Walkways.

The original Gibson pickups were replaced with a set of Bare Knuckle PG Blues, since Moore thought they were a little closer to the sound of ‘Greeny’ – the ex-Peter Green ’59 Les Paul Standard he once owned.

This prototype would be the last guitar the legendary guitarist would play live in front of an audience, at the Kremlin Palace, Moscow on October 30, 2010.

Other highlights of the sale include a 1963 Fender Tele ($16,000 - $24,000 estimate), 1960 Gibson ES-335TD ($20,000 - $27,000 estimate), 1962/3 Gibson SG Les Paul ($13,300 - $20,000 estimate), and 1966/1967 Marshall 1962 “Bluesbreaker” JTM Mk. IV combo amp ($10,000 - $13,400).

Head over to Bonhams to view The Gary Moore Collection: The Final Encore.

Back in 2022, Bonhams auctioned off a third sale of Moore's gear, which included a 1966 Marshall JTM45, 2009 Les Paul Standard 1959 reissue (nicknamed ‘Frankfurt’), and a 1988 Jackson Custom Shop build with flags of the world artwork.

Across an ever-busy career, Glenn Hughes has played with some of the best rock guitarists in the game. Two, he says, stand out above the rest. And one just about beats the other.

The bass player and powerhouse vocalist was a key part of Deep Purple’s Mark III and Mark IV line-ups alongside Ritchie Blackmore after rising through the ranks at the front of hard rock act Trapeze. Since then, he’s played on Gary Moore's 1985 album, Run For Cover, fronted Black Sabbath, and worked with Tony Iommi on the collaborative, underrated Fused LP in 2005.

Not to mention that he's shared studios and stages with Blackmore's Deep Purple replacement Tommy Bolin, produced five records with Joe Bonamassa in Black Country Communion, and drafted in the talents of Dave Navarro, John Frusciante, and Jerry Cantrell for his solo albums. His authority on who is the best of the best, then, is pretty formidable. So who takes the honor?

“That’s really difficult [to answer],” he says in the new issue of Classic Rock. “I don’t want people to be upset with me because I don’t mention Ritchie or Tommy [Bolin] or Mel [Galley, Trapeze] or Pat [Thrall, who he worked with in the ‘80s]. But I have to say it’s a tie between Gary Moore and Joe Bonamassa.”

Thankfully, he’s been happy to share his calculations.

“I’m talking about the fever it has given me working with them,” he explains. “Gary coming to my house at three in the morning and just blowing my mind – it’s incredible what a guitar player he was.”

However, it’s Bonamassa, who he says is “blowing my mind every night,” while on tour together, who is “the greatest right now.”

It seems he’s had a change of heart with his rankings. In October 2023, Hughes produced a very different answer to the same question.

“I played with Joe Satriani [on Satriani's 2018 album, What Happens Next], Bonamassa, Iommi and Blackmore, but Gary Moore was the best,” he had said. Seeing Bonamassa strut his stuff on stage every night seems to have tipped the scales.

When Blackmore left Deep Purple, he quickly struck up a fruitful partnership with Bolin. The guitarist moved into his house, and they wrote the bulk of 1975’s Come Taste the Band together during that period.

Last year, Hughes said that Bolin is “in my top three friends and guitar players,” placing him directly behind blues rock royalty in Blackmore and Bonamassa.

Fittingly, Bonamassa now wields Bolin’s famous 1960 Les Paul Standard, having had to go through a supernatural process to add it to his collection. The guitar has a checkered past, but it feels right that Bonamassa is the one to keep its flame burning.

Bonamassa, meanwhile, has looked back on the surreal experience of being asked to collaborate with Ozzy Osbourne, waxed lyrical about Eric Johnson's impact on his playing, and paid tribute to Rory Gallagher by playing his 1932 National resonator at a gig in the Irishman's hometown.

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.’

“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.”

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.”

Gary Moore’s on/off relationship with Lizzy is one of the great flirtations in rock ’n’ roll, the storied Belfast guitarist passing by like a meteor for three blink-and-miss-it shifts in the ’70s.

Moore was a master technician who pre-dated Gorham’s tenure (and played on the sublime Still In Love With You from 74’s Nightlife), so did the Californian ever feel threatened by his return? It’s the only time he shows a flicker of irritation.

“Y’know, I’ve been asked that before and actually I don’t get that question. I was thrilled that this guy was gonna come into the band – because I knew what he could do. I knew that, once again, here was a guy I could feed off and learn some really great shit off of him, right? Gary was one of those absolute natural-born guitar players.”

Just as important, as the band embarked on 1977’s US tour supporting Queen, was that Moore had two functioning hands – Robertson having ruled himself out after a brawl at The Marquee.

“Because Gary had played with Lizzy before, he knew the songs,” reasons Gorham, “and if you threw something new at him, he was gonna get it really quickly. Which is what we needed. Because Robbo had busted his hand, we were on the plane and we were like, ‘Gary, we gotta get this shit done, man!’ And he did.”

Live shots from the period show both players jousting on Les Pauls in front of a wall of Marshall amps.

“Yeah, Gary was already playing his Peter Green Les Paul, and I’d finally got my 1957 Les Paul, which I bought in Boston,” says Gorham. “Every once in a while, he had an SG he would pull out. But 90 per cent of the time, it was the two Les Pauls.

“You have to remember, with the Queen tour, we only had 45 minutes, so there’s not a lot of switching guitars, detunings and all that crap. It was just like, ‘Boom – let’s go!’

“Pairing Les Pauls works because they both have similar sounds,” he continues. “The difference comes from the way the player attacks the strings.

“Gary was great with that. He’d attack the guitar with different velocities to bring out different tones. He was so inventive. I remember, he came up to me one day and said, ‘Check this out – doesn’t this sound like bagpipes?’ I was like, ‘Goddamn, it does! What are you gonna use that for?’

“And he said, ‘Nothing, I just wanted to see if I could do it.’ I don’t think Gary really liked repeating himself every night on tour, but you kind of have to in those situations.”

Without guitars in their hands, however, Gorham says it was harder to bond with the Irishman. “I can see why people would say Gary was a hard guy to get to know. If Phil and I were going to a club and Gary came out with us, he’d sit on his own and wouldn’t engage. After a while, he stopped coming out. He just stayed in the hotel. It was always me and Phil hanging out and he might have felt a little excluded.”

In the studio, Moore made his defining mark on 1979’s Black Rose: A Rock Legend.

“My favourite track has gotta be Black Rose,” says Gorham. “Gary came up with that whole middle section. I’ve played it with other guitar players and they just couldn’t handle it, John Sykes being one of them. There’s a whole ton of harmony work going on. You’ve gotta be on your game to pull that song off. There’s no resting point. Once you hear the ‘1-2-3-4’, you’re in it, man!

“Waiting For An Alibi is another one. I took the solo on that, but it was Gary who came up with the little melody at the end. I’ll admit, when I first heard it, I went, ‘Goddammit Gary, we’re gonna have to pull that off every night!’”

Plainly, there was gas in the tank. But Moore’s third and final exit left a sour taste, the Irishman quitting midway through a US tour in July 1979. Lizzy never regained their Stateside momentum and Gorham was justifiably furious.

“I think, towards the end there, Gary really did want to play all the guitars,” he reflects. “He just wanted it to be him and him alone. And y’know, that would have been fine [for him to leave for a solo career]. Both Phil and I would have been, ‘Okay, cool. This is not a jail sentence. No band is.’

“But you gotta quit at the right moment, and Gary did the worst thing any band member can do. I was angry, man. You just don’t do that. All the work we’d put in and you just stepped out the back door? Like, what the fuck, man?”

It took the 1986 death of Lynott to mend fences between the two guitarists, and when Moore himself passed in 2011, they parted as friends.

“In the ensuing years, Gary kept trying to apologise to me. When we did the tribute to Phil in Dublin, he pointedly asked me to come over, and he just couldn’t apologise enough for quitting the tour.

“So I said, ‘Well, it was a dick move. But hey, you’ve apologised and I forgive you – let’s just walk away from that one.’ And we were friends after that, y’know?”

• “Robbo had grown a beard. Phil says, ‘I’m the only one with facial hair, man – you gotta shave that thing off’”: Scott Gorham on his partnership with Brian Robertson – a golden era for Thin Lizzy even if they nearly split up over facial hair

Brush Shiels was in Skid Row with Gary Moore – not that Skid Row (i.e., the one with Scotti Hill and Dave Sabo) – but the Irish blues rock band that operated between the late ’60s and early ’70s and featured not one but two Irish rock legends.

“Phil Lynott was the original lead vocalist, and then he went on to form Thin Lizzy,” Shiels tells Bass Player, in a forthcoming interview. “So, in 1968, we found Gary Moore. He was just 15 at the time. And I remember that his father, Robert, was just 36, and he asked me to look after Gary!

“He was great at that age; it was unbelievable. I couldn’t believe it. When we asked him about the gig, he took it and never looked back. As soon as he came in, that was it.”

The band, featuring both Lynott and Moore, would record New Places, Old Faces / Misdemeanour Dream Felicity, released as a 7-inch in 1969. When Lynott later dropped from the line-up, the outfit transformed into a power trio – with Shiels on vocals/bass and Moore leading the pack on guitars.

Speaking about the vision they had for Skid Row, Shiels reminisces, “We were looking for a cross between Cream and Jimi Hendrix. That was the whole thing.

“But some of the first songs that Gary and I wrote were actually based on Dave Brubeck’s Take Five, the whole semi-jazz-blues thing, I think. But after that, it was all riffs.”

The band signed with CBS Records International and would go on to release their debut album Skid in 1970, which managed to clinch the number 30 spot on the UK Albums Chart – followed by 34 Hours in 1971, with prestigious tours supporting The Allman Brothers Band and Mountain to boot.

However, despite these successes, Moore decided it was time for him to move on to greener pastures.

“We were all ready to become millionaires after a couple of years,” jokes Shiels. “And then, he left, and I had to come home and go on the dole [unemployment].”

“The reason that he left the band is that he thought we were getting too simple,” explains Shiels. “He was playing great, and doing some incredible stuff, but he said, ‘We’re getting too far away from what we should be doing.’ So, he left after those two albums.”

Moore would go on to release Grinding Stone with The Gary Moore Band – comprising John Curtis on bass and Pearse Kelly on drums, with guest performances by bassist Frank Boylan, guitarist Philip Donnelly, and keyboardist Jan Schelhaas.

The album epitomizes a guitarist who’s finding his feet – and just a year after its release, he would go on to make history with Thin Lizzy.

Bass Player's full interview with Brush Shiels will be published in the coming weeks.

Snowy White is best known for the two albums he made with Thin Lizzy in the early ‘80s, Chinatown and Renegade. He also wrote himself into Pink Floyd folklore by participating in an Animals sessions – and the band’s live album, Is There Anybody Out There?

A host of solo albums soon followed, and by 1994 he was readying his sixth LP, Highway to the Sun. It's notable for its impressive cast of co-guitarists, with David Gilmour and Thin Lizzy alumni Gary Moore taking guest spots.

One could easily look at White’s resume and draw the conclusion that this was a case of him creating a fantasy line-up with some old friends for the thrill of it. Discussing the album in a new career-spanning interview with Guitar World, he paints a slightly different picture.

“I only asked them to play on my album because the record company thought a few well-known names would be a good selling point,” he confesses. “I didn't really mind either way. It was very nice of them to agree to appear.”

Slide guitar maestro Chris Rae also starred on the record alongside then Mike + the Mechanics frontman Paul Carrack. But it was Gilmour and Moore's spots that stole the spotlight.

Moore offers bags of flair during the latter stages of the nine-minuter Keep On Working, and Gilmour delivers his signature, slow but lyrical sensibilities on Love, Pain & Sorrow. From the first note, it's clear who is icing White's slinking groove there.

“Gary came to the studio where I was working to do his part,” White explains. “I just asked him to blow over the end of a slow blues.

“With Dave's contribution, I took the tapes to his boat studio, on the Thames near Hampton Court, and just said, 'It's a really simple track, just do a few takes and I'll sort it out later'.

“He used his whammy pedal, which I hadn't heard before. I chose the best bits when I mixed it. It was all pretty simple really. I guess the obvious difference is that I was telling them what I wanted as opposed to the other way around.”

Throughout his career, White has been in and out of bands, weaving solo records around stints with Pink Floyd, as well as in Phil Lynott and Roger Waters’ respective solo bands, and featuring on Peter Green's In The Skies among others.

“Both situations have their plusses and minuses,” he says, diplomatically, of the differences between being a solo artist and a band guy.

“For instance, the nicest thing about being in Roger’s band, apart from being involved in all those great shows, was that all I had to do was walk on stage, pick up my already-tuned guitar, and start playing...

“In contrast, when I was touring Europe with my own three-piece band, The White Flames, I was doing almost everything at first: driving, booking the hotels, sorting out the travel, collecting the money... But, the reward for doing that was that I was up on stage doing my own thing with musicians who were really loyal.”

White released his latest solo venture, Unfinished Business last year, and as the name attests, he's got plenty more music yet to write.

Throughout the decades, Thin Lizzy has, somehow, managed to survive – and even thrive – when times got tough, with the band reinventing itself amid a rotating roster of guitarists and band members.

However, it's been four decades since their last studio material, and, with no live dates in sight, one might safely assume that Thin Lizzy's days are over... but not just yet. In a recent interview with Guitarist, Gorham foreshadows a potential resurrection of Lizzy, claiming he’s waiting for the right calibre of player.

“I can’t just pick somebody off the line. For me, there’s gotta be something special about them. I don’t want to break the chain of great guitar players coming through Thin Lizzy. I know they’re out there. So hopefully, it’s not gonna take too long for something to happen.”

His comments come amid ongoing speculation about Lizzy’s future, following Gorham’s departure from Black Star Riders in 2021 – a hard rock, “twin-guitar attack” band formed in memory of Lizzy’s legacy.

After a nerve-racking audition in 1974 that cemented his role in Thin Lizzy, Gorham went on to share the stage with a number of guitar greats. During Lizzy’s reign, he paired with the likes of John Sykes, Snowy White, Brian Robertson and blues virtuoso, Gary Moore, to name a few – so it's no surprise Gorham faces uncertainty about relighting Lizzy’s flame.

Moreover, the death of Lizzy guitarist John Sykes, in December 2024 continues to spark bouts of déjà vu within Gorham.

“I got so many requests: ‘Hey, Scott, let’s do an interview.’ ‘No thanks, it’s too soon.’ The same thing happened when Phil died. I didn’t want to go through all that again. I kinda wish I hadn’t been such a prick about it and done some of these interviews, for John’s sake.”

After all, it was Sykes who, after the tragic death of Irish pioneer Phil Lynott in early 1986, pitched the idea of sparking up Lizzy once more to Gorham.

He recalls: “We both sang background, but I’d never heard John sing solo. I had no idea he had three solo albums. I listened to them and I thought, ‘Hey, where’s he been keeping this?’ So I said, ‘Okay, I think we can give this a shot. I’m still not sure if this is the right thing to do, but let’s see what happens.’

“I remember being in that studio and nobody wanted to pick up a guitar, in case this was not going to work out. I finally said, ‘Fuck it, I’ve flown 6,000 miles, let’s get into this. We’ll start out with Jailbreak, okay?

“If it’s shit, then we’ll just pack up,” Gorham continues. “So we played Jailbreak and at the end, we looked at each other and said, ‘Actually, that sounded pretty damn good.’ Before we knew it, we had a full set that everybody felt confident in.”

The Sykes-fronted outfit lasted until 2009, despite some fans never accepting the switch.

As for the band's future, Gorham is keeping his standards high and options open for the next pioneer to play alongside him.

Be sure to check out a guide to each Lizzy guitarist as well as the first unheard Thin Lizzy tracks in over 40 years – and, for the ultimate Lizzy content, pick up the latest copy of Guitarist from Magazines Direct.

Thin Lizzy's rotating roster of electric guitar players has included big-name players like Eric Bell, John Sykes, and, of course, Gary Moore. However, some of the band's biggest hits – and its signature sound – came by way of the dynamic duo of Scott Gorham (the longest-serving member of the band) and Brian Robertson, who both joined Thin Lizzy in 1974 and helped pioneer what many call the “twin guitar attack”.

Gorham, the enduring spine of the band, has shared stage and studio with a number of players. However, it was his initial partnership with Robertson that provided the Thin Lizzy blueprint.

Back in June 1974, at a London supper club, Thin Lizzy was auditioning for a second guitarist to accompany Scottish Les Paul-wielder Brian Robertson. Gorham, who had moved to England from California in 1973, walked into the audition knowing nothing about Lizzy – except that they’d had a minor hit, Whiskey in the Jar, two years earlier.

“I had 30 days left on my visa or they’re gonna throw me out of the country,” he tells Guitarist. “I was late and the first guy I meet is [frontman] Phil Lynott, who goes, ‘Let me introduce you to the guys.’ So we walk in and Phil goes, ‘Hey, everybody, this is Scott,’ – and Robbo and Brian Downey [drums] just go, ‘Yeah, yeah.’”

The band’s hostility was, perhaps, understandable. “I didn’t know they’d already auditioned 24 guitarists, and here comes number 25,” he explains. “I guess they thought, ‘Well, here’s another one we’re going to reject.’ So they didn’t want to get too friendly.’” From his end, Robertson had no patience to show the ropes to yet another hopeful.

“Robbo showed me the first song really quickly and said, ‘You got that?’” Gorham recalls. “Then we’re off and running and I’m watching Robbo’s hand on the neck, trying to follow every move, barely making the changes in time.

“But I’m realizing, as I’m struggling with these chord patterns, that these guys are really good. And it was probably after the third song, I said to myself, ‘I gotta be in this band.’”

Despite being younger than Gorham, Robertson had, according to Gorham, “so much more musical knowledge”. His father had played saxophone in Art Blakey's jazz band, so 'Robbo' was raised surrounded by “scales, tones, all that”.

“He was absolutely more technical than me and our styles were different, but we had to put our egos aside and toe the line,” Gorham reflects. And that was the beginning of a partnership whose legacy permeated the rest of Thin Lizzy's catalog.

For more Scott Gorham, plus new interviews with Bob Mould and LA LOM, pick up issue 525 of Guitarist at Magazines Direct.

Having a world renowned guitar hero for a father has its pros and cons. While Jack Moore, the son of late Irish blues virtuoso Gary Moore, acknowledges that “there's not many better teachers,” than the former Thin Lizzy man, there came with it a sense of strictness and expectation.

“He used to send me to my room to practice my vibrato,” Moore. recalls in a new chat with Guitar Player. “He identified that as a weakness in me at first. So he was like, ‘Get to your room, practice.’

“I went and I listened to a lot of Hendrix. I kind of honed it, playing for hours, trying to get his approval.”

His father had shot to fame with Skid Row, before replacing founding guitarist Eric Bell in Thin Lizzy, and swiftly launched his solo career after 1979's Black Rose. He was also a key part of the short lived power trio BBM (Baker, Bruce and Moore), so with such a pedigree as he had, Jack learned that half measures wouldn’t ever cut it in the Moore household.

“I remember one occasion,” Jack says, “I was just playing in the living room, he walked past and he shot me this look of ‘Do that again.’ So I bent the string up and he gave me this nod of approval. Then he just walked off.”

The young guitarist started his career playing by his dad's side in 2008 and has shared stages with a notable bunch since, including Thin Lizzy, Deep Purple, and Joe Bonamassa.

He’s since relocated to Barecelona, and is currently holed away in Poland with his musical partner, multi-instrumentalist Quentin Kovalsky, where the pair are writing an album together.

He released his first single, In My Shoes earlier this year, and it finds the guitarist paying tribute to the legacy of Irish blues rock.

“I think my father would have loved this song,” he told Guitar World of the track. “There’s a nod to Thin Lizzy’s unmistakable dual guitars in there, too. I think it’s very much up my father’s street in terms of style.”

Though other rockstar offspring look to separate themselves from their parent's shadows to make a name for themselves in their own right – Wolfgang Van Halen is a prime example of that – Moore, like Dweezil Zappa before him, is embracing what came before him. He continues to honor his father’s legacy with the chops his father bestowed him.

He's toured consistently with the Gary Moore Tribute Band and guested on Bob Daisley's album, Moore Blues For Gary (A Tribute To Gary Moore), ripping a solo on This One's For You.

In 2017, on what would have been his dad's 65th birthday, he released the song Phoenix with fellow guitarist Danny Young, and donned one of Moore's Gibson's for the occasion.

Gary Moore passed in 2011, and as his son embarks on his next musical chapter, his father's lessons still ring through his head.

“He instilled a lot of the hard work in music for me, and to never take anything for granted,” he concludes. “He also gave me the passion to do my own thing, go create and have my own unique style and identity. He was a great dad in so many ways.”

Plans for a Gary Moore statue to be erected in Belfast, Northern Ireland, were launched in January, and the project has Jack Moore's full backing, saying his family would be “proud” to see it unveiled in the city in which he grew up.

It's no secret that Gary Moore's relationship with Thin Lizzy was troubled, to say the least – with the band's well-documented substance abuse and its impact on their performances being one of the main points of contention.

In July 1979, Moore famously stormed off stage mid-tour after the band's set in front of 63,000 people at San Francisco's Day On The Green Festival. While the departure may have come as a surprise to many, Moore had already decided that, frankly, he had had enough.

“It got to the point where the party after the show was more important than the show itself,” Thin Lizzy guitarist Eric Bell tells Classic Rock in a new interview. And, when vocalist Phil Lynott became so wasted that he couldn’t remember the lyrics, Moore decided it was time to jump ship.

As Bell puts it, “There was never any half-measures with Gary. Such a nice guy on our own, laughing and joking. But if he didn’t like something he’d soon tell you to fuck off.” Beyond the substance abuse, drummer Brian Downey notes another key factor that strained the band’s internal dynamics.

“Gary always hogged the stage,” he says. “Even in Thin Lizzy. Phil was the leader – except when Gary joined. Now it was like we had two leaders, which wasn’t very clever.”

Following Moore's sudden departure, the band was left without a guitarist – in the middle of a very crucial US tour – and, in dire need of another six-stringer, gave an unlikely contender a call: Midge Ure.

“[Lynott] said, ‘Gary Moore is out of the band. We’re doing this tour; could you come over tomorrow?’” Ure recalls in a recent Guitar World interview. “My initial reaction was, ‘You’ve got the wrong number. I’m not the guy you should be asking.’

“I went back to my little flat and there was a plane ticket, a bunch of cassettes, a setlist, and an itinerary saying, ‘A car will pick you up in the morning and take you to Heathrow.’ I found out they’d put me on Concorde, so I had no time to learn any of the songs!”

Ure wasn't the last guitarist to join Thin Lizzy's revolving-door lineup. In fact, the band has had 15 guitarists in total – from co-founder Eric Bell to the most recent addition, Damon Johnson.

Simply said, if there hadn’t been a Gary Moore, there would be no Joe Bonamassa. For me, he wrote the playbook, along with Walter Trout, Rory Gallagher and a few others, for British-style blues-rock guitar from the Seventies, Eighties and beyond.

Moore’s playing revealed his Irish background and musical influences, along with his love of American and British blues traditions. He had a phenomenal tone and touch, often produced with his 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard.

Gary also had a highly expressive finger vibrato and great sense of melody. He was able to weave incredibly huge thematic riffs together to create many great performances, such as Still Got the Blues and Parisienne Walkways.

One of my songs, Is it Safe to Go Home?, is a bit of an homage to Gary. Figure 1 presents a line that I might play over the tune’s chord progression, which is in the key of A minor, with phrases based on the A minor pentatonic scale (A, C, D, E, G) with some additional notes from the A Aeolian mode (A, B, C, D, E, F, G).

Gary would oftentimes play aggressive, speed-driven lines meant to stun an audience. Figure 2 exemplifies this approach and includes some fast trills that move quickly down the neck within the structure of A Dorian (A, B, C, D, E, F#, G).

One of my favorite things about Gary’s playing was the way he would switch from his guitar’s neck pickup to its bridge pickup while holding a bend, adding a huge burst of aggression to the solo.

Figure 3 offers an example of this: playing lines based on G minor pentatonic (G, Bb, C, D, F), I begin on my neck pickup and then switch to my bridge pickup on beat 2, immediately after striking the bend.

Figure 4 offers a longer Moore-style line that is blues-based but expands the harmony with notes from the G harmonic minor scale (G, A, Bb, C, D, Eb, F#). The line begins with a fast ascending phrase then settles into a more melodic and expressive approach.

Even during his time with Thin Lizzy, Moore was an effective singer and guitar player, but it was always about the vibrato. Figure 5 is filled with intensely wide and fast vibratos meant to emulate Gary’s signature touch, with phrases again based around G harmonic minor.

Gary’s approach to soloing was like placing a brick on a car’s gas pedal — the brick would go down, and he would never stop! He had infinite passion and musical ideas, like SRV and Jimi Hendrix.

One of my favorite tracks of Gary's is Too Tired, which he recorded live with two of his heroes, Albert King and Albert Collins. And he showed them no mercy! Figure 6 offers an example of some of the blazing types of runs that Gary could effortlessly tear off.

Gary was also a really nice guy. Sadly, he passed in 2011 at only 58, and I miss him very much.

Everybody loves Thin Lizzy. They’re tough enough for punks, heavy enough for metalheads, poetic enough for romantics, and melodic enough for pop fans.

The Boys Are Back in Town is at least as memorable for its guitar breaks as for its chorus, and Lizzy’s supremely catchy guitar themes have been played by some of the finest guitarists on earth.

After Phil Lynott’s untimely death in 1986, many assumed Thin Lizzy were finished for good. In 1996, however, John Sykes resurrected the band, installing himself as lead vocalist, alongside Darren Wharton (keys), Scott Gorham (guitar), and Brian Downey (drums), all of whom had toured and recorded with Phil Lynott, plus bassist Marco Mendoza.

Since then, the lineup has regularly changed, with only Gorham and Wharton as constants. Opinion remains divided over whether this new band is truly Thin Lizzy, but there is no doubting the depth of guitar talent that has travelled under the Lizzy flag.

Phil Lynott – (1970–1983)

Although he is of course best known as the band’s singer, main songwriter, and bass player, Phil Lynott played a credible amount of guitar in Thin Lizzy. He is credited with playing acoustic guitar on albums from 1971 to 1976, and supplied additional electric guitars on 1972’s Shades of a Blue Orphanage.

He certainly had an ear for the guitar, discovering some of the finest rock musicians of all time to complete his band’s lineup. When Lynott died in 1986, he had been talking about reforming Thin Lizzy and had even booked studio time for the band.

Eric Bell – (1970–1974)

Even if he had done nothing else, Eric Bell’s place in rock history would be assured by his performance on Whiskey in the Jar.

That seminal twin-guitar harmony directly inspired Iron Maiden and Metallica and set the template for Thin Lizzy’s greatness to come. Bell’s three albums with Thin Lizzy suffer from the fact that the band were still finding their direction, and Lynott still developing his songwriting chops, but Bell still shone.

Check out the excellent slide work on Mama Nature Said, and his blazing solo in The Rocker. His 2016 solo album features Song for Gary, a tribute to his friend and fellow Thin Lizzy alumnus Gary Moore.

Speaking to Guitar World in 2024 about how the Whiskey in the Jar solo came together, Bell recalled, “One night we played in Wales, and while driving home I was sitting in the back seat. I went into this dreamlike state and started thinking about Irish pipes. I said, ‘Right, forget about the guitar. Let’s run with this.’

“I heard Irish pipes in my brain, and the solo started forming in my mind. I’d never thought that way before,” he continued. “Once I’d gotten into the song and the solo was underway, I hit it hard as it was happening. It was just one of those special moments where every note worked. It was very unusual.”

John Du Cann and Andy Gee – (1974)

For a brief period in 1974, Eric Bell was gone, Gary Moore was unavailable, and Thin Lizzy were just the duo of Phil Lynott and drummer Brian Downey. Englishman John Du Cann and German Andy Gee were hastily drafted for touring duties.

Du Cann was best known as guitarist for Atomic Rooster, who achieved a UK top 5 single with Devil’s Answer just before he left the band. Andy Gee had played alongside Peter Green on Pete Barden’s The Answer (1969).

This lineup of Thin Lizzy dissolved without recording any music, but it did make one contribution to Lizzy’s recorded history. Gee and Lynott rewrote the unreleased Eric Bell-era track, Suicide, into a dual guitar arrangement, solidifying the importance of guitar harmonies to Lizzy’s sound. This version of the track was later recorded for the Fighting album, with Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson playing the parts.

Scott Gorham – (1974–1983, 1996–present)

Thin Lizzy’s longest serving member and the spine of the band, Scott Gorham is for many the sound of Thin Lizzy.

With Brian Robertson he formed what many consider the band’s defining guitar partnership, but his co-lead performances with every Lizzy guitarist have been exceptional.

He and Robertson made the Les Paul the only acceptable Thin Lizzy guitar, and refined the harmony guitar sound Eric Bell had pioneered.

Gorham formed Black Star Riders in 2012 with the current members of Thin Lizzy as a vehicle for new music, but he left in 2022, preferring to concentrate only on Thin Lizzy. There hasn’t been a Lizzy tour since 2019, but Gorham has been making noises about getting back on the road.

Speaking to Guitar World in 2024 about his audition for the band, Gorham said, “Phil took my number, on this tiny little piece of paper. And I thought, ‘Great, he’s not gonna lose that, is he?’

“I’m thinking, ‘I probably did pretty shitty.’ But that night, Phil gave me a call and said, ‘We’ve all been sitting around listening to the tapes.’ I went, ‘Tapes? What tapes?’ They’d been recording [my audition] the whole time. I had no idea. Probably pretty good that they didn’t say anything.

“Phil said, ‘We all agree that you’re the guy. What do you say?’” Gorham continued. “I couldn’t get the word ‘yes’ out quick enough. Hearing how talented all these guys were, you’d be crazy not to want to get in this thing called Thin Lizzy.”

Brian Robertson – (1974–1978)

The Boys Are Back in Town. Jailbreak. Don’t Believe a Word. Thin Lizzy’s biggest hits – and their most recognizable sound – are the work of Brian Robertson and Scott Gorham. The fat Les Paul-and-Marshall tone, the immaculately executed harmonies, and Robertson’s masterful use of wah all are all Lizzy trademarks.

This was the lineup that released Live and Dangerous, which stands as one of the mightiest double live albums of all time, regardless of how much of it was recorded in a studio. Fans still argue over whether Gary Moore or Brian Robertson’s take on Still in Love With You was the better.

In 1982 Robertson joined Motörhead, recording the studio effort Another Perfect Day and no less than three official live releases in just 18 months with the band. Robertson last appeared on stage alongside former members of Thin Lizzy at the August 2005 tribute show immortalized in the DVD One Night in Dublin: A Tribute to Phil Lynott.

Gary Moore – (1974, 1977, 1978–1979)

Moore’s three stints with Thin Lizzy have an outsize influence on the band’s history.

In 1974, Moore joined the band long enough to demo three tracks. He recorded the spectacular guitar showcase Still in Love With You for the Nightlife album before unceremoniously dumping the band. He returned in 1977 to fill in for an injured Brian Robertson on the band’s US tour. In this period, he recorded overdubs for seven songs from Thin Lizzy’s first two records, which were eventually released as bonus tracks with the remastered albums.

When Moore finally stuck around long enough to make an album, 1979’s Black Rose: A Rock Legend, it turned into one of Lizzy’s finest. His Les Paul-fueled takes on traditional Irish melodies for Róisín Dubh will still give you chills. Moore died suddenly in 2011, aged 58.

Midge Ure – (1977, 1979)

Although best remembered now for Ultravox and for co-writing Band Aid’s Do They Know It’s Christmas, Midge Ure had a long association with Thin Lizzy.

In 1977, he and Gary Moore contributed guitar overdubs to four songs from Thin Lizzy’s debut album, later released on The Continuing Saga of the Ageing Orphans. When Moore abandoned ship in 1979, Ure joined for the remaining Black Rose tour dates.

He’s appeared with them occasionally since, including the 1996 Vibe for Philo, a Lynott tribute gig which also featured appearances from Eric Bell, Henry Rollins, and two members of Def Leppard.

Dave Flett – (1979)

With Midge Ure moving to keyboards towards the end of the Black Rose tour, former Manfred Mann guitarist Dave Flett rounded out the lineup.

Snowy White – (1980–1982)

Once Gary Moore departed for the third and final time, Lynott and co recruited Pink Floyd backing guitarist Snowy White, who was rehearsing for The Wall tour.

White recorded two albums with the band, Chinatown (1980) and Renegade (1981). Some of White’s live performances also made the group’s 1983 live album, Life.

Though well-regarded by his bandmates, White felt out of place in the boisterous, hard-partying group.

“Musically, we did some great things, but our mindsets were not aligned,” White explained to Guitar World in 2023. “I was quite surprised at how much time was wasted. I wasn't used to that sort of rock and roll thing where it's, ‘Oh, we don't really care about wasting money and not being on time.’ It certainly took me a while to get used to that, because when I'm booked in the studio at a certain time, I'm there.

“I tried to get used to it, and I did alright. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't for me. I put everything into it that I could, but I didn't fit in socially. I was the only former member not in attendance at Thin Lizzy's famed final concert, which shows how well we got on socially.”

John Sykes – (1982–1983, 1996–2010)

After a tumultuous 1982 in which Scott Gorham took a sabbatical and Snowy White left the band, Lynott sought to get Lizzy back on track. Former Tygers of Pan Tang guitarist John Sykes was the man for the job.

With his crushing tone, screaming harmonics, and violent vibrato, Sykes was a proto-Zakk Wylde. He took the band’s sound closer to metal, and the resultant Thunder and Lightning charted higher than the band's two previous albums.

Post-Lizzy, he recorded Whitesnake’s blockbuster 1987 album and formed Blue Murder. Controversially, Sykes reactivated Thin Lizzy in 1996, ten years after Phil Lynott’s death, and fronted the band until 2010. Sykes died in 2025 following a battle with cancer. He was 65.

Ricky Warwick – (2010-present)

Having cut his teeth and found success in the band the Almighty in the '90s, Ricky Warwick took the late John Sykes' place as the resurrected Lizzy's frontman in 2010.

Though a few guitarists would take their place next to Gorham in the coming year and change (more on that in a second), Warwick has also, then and since, provided steady guitar-work to the band himself.

“Everything they wrote was memorable,“ Warwick said of the band's music in a 2021 interview with Guitar World. “It was all built out of great melodies and standalone parts that were instantly recognisable as hooks, from the vocals to even the drums. There were a lot of cool pushes and pulls, or notes you might not hear initially, but it was all special and all vital.

“And Scott Gorham’s vibrato is second to none. I’ve never heard him bend a note flat or sharp – it’s always spot on. Whenever we’ve had changes with the line-up, I know the vibrato of that player is very important for him – the vibratos need to match up for the dual leads. That’s very high up in his list of priorities.“

Vivian Campbell – (2010–2011)

Campbell joined Thin Lizzy for one tour during a hiatus from his day job in Def Leppard, appearing on the band’s Live in London 22.01.2011 release. A Thin Lizzy superfan since his childhood in Belfast, Campbell had already delivered a note-perfect rendition of the Don’t Believe a Word solo for Leppard’s 2005 covers set, Yeah! He credited his stint in Thin Lizzy with reigniting his passion for guitar.

Richard Fortus – (2011)

With Vivian Campbell returning to his Leppard mothership, Scott Gorham invited Guns n’ Roses axeman Richard Fortus to complete Lizzy’s 2011 tour. Fortus performed with the band at High Voltage festival, which was captured for yet another live release.

After Thin Lizzy, Fortus returned to GnR, managed a stint with hard rock supergroup The Dead Daisies, and somehow shoehorned in a pop session career that has seen him play with Rihanna, among other big names.

Damon Johnson – (2011–present)

An extremely well-travelled guitarist, Johnson first hit the radio with mid-'90s rockers Brother Cane. He subsequently played on a Sammy Hagar solo album, a Faith Hill track, and co-wrote songs for Santana and Stevie Nicks, before eventually finding a home with Alice Cooper’s band from 2004 onwards, until Scott Gorham brought him to Thin Lizzy in 2011.

Feeling that it would be disrespectful to record new music under the Thin Lizzy name without Phil Lynott, Johnson co-founded Black Star Riders, an original band made up of the current members of Thin Lizzy. In recent years, he's also performed with Lynyrd Skynyrd.

“I was incredibly flattered that Scott would even ask,” Johnson told Guitar World in 2024 when asked about his invitation to join the band. “When it happened, Alice Cooper was the first person I called. I talked with him about how much I loved Thin Lizzy, and Alice was super supportive. I showed up the first day beyond prepared, knowing the Gary Moore and Brian Robertson versions.

“After the first couple of rehearsals Scott said, ‘Buddy, you’re playing your ass off and we love it. But don’t feel like you have to play those songs note for note. I want you to be Damon Johnson… I want you to bring your style.”

The city of Belfast in Northern Ireland might soon erect a new statue to honor one of its most well-known sons – Gary Moore. Initial plans have been given the go-ahead just weeks after Rory Gallagher's statue was unveiled.

According to Belfast Green Party councilor Brian Smyth, the proposal he filed on behalf of the Wild Frontier Memorial Project was approved at a City Hall committee meeting, indicating that the Gary Moore statue is now more a case of ‘when’ than ‘if.’

“This evening at committee, Belfast City Council agreed to my proposal to carry out a land check of sites in the Cathedral Quarter for a potential Gary Moore statue,” Smyth shares on social media. “As a proud son of our city and East Belfast, he blazed a trail and has left a lasting legacy for rock and blues fans across the world.

The post continues, “Gary was one of the greatest ever guitarists and deserves to be honored in his home city. We have never been great at celebrating our people who have achieved great success. It's time to change that in relation to Gary Moore and tell his story for future generations of aspiring musicians in Belfast.”

In a statement given to The Irish News, Smyth confirmed that if the plans go ahead, the initiative would be “privately funded”, as it's expected to cost around $83,202 (€80,000).

The project is being spearheaded by the Wild Frontier Memorial Project, founded by fans of Moore, with the aim of honoring the virtuoso's immense legacy.

So far, the Project has been raising money via tribute gigs in Dublin and Belfast, and an online crowdfunding campaign that was launched last year. Former Thin Lizzy guitarist Scott Gorham, ex-Whitesnake and Dio axeman Doug Aldridge, as well as Moore's son, Jack, and sister, Patricia, have all voiced their support for this campaign.

“This is an exciting time for the campaign to honor the legend Gary Moore with a statue in Belfast,” says Srón Quigley, one of the co-founders.

“We want to celebrate his memorable music, his remarkable talent, and with his legacy, inspire new generations of musicians. Belfast is a city rich with music history and talent and we believe visitors to the city will warmly welcome a statue of Gary Moore as much as the people of Belfast.”

Check out this Total Guitar piece, for more on how Gary Moore's propulsive playing and fiery tone changed the course of blues guitar.

Jack Moore, the son of former Thin Lizzy guitarist and blues star Gary Moore, has stepped out on his own with his debut single, In My Shoes, with plans to launch a debut album this year.

The blues and nostalgia-infused single was co-written with singer Quentin Kovalsky and, as Moore explains, is “inspired by the relationships between parents and their sons, and how they guide you through life.”

“I worked on the track with Quentin while we had been paying tribute to my father around Europe with shows. We discovered that we shared musical inspirations, so doing our own original project was natural. I think it’s the start of an identity that we’re comfortable with going for.”

There's also an unmistakable homage to Thin Lizzy on the track, further cementing Moore's link to his dad's legacy.

“I think my father would have loved this song. There’s a nod to Thin Lizzy’s unmistakable dual guitars in there, too,” he asserts. “I think it’s very much up my father’s street in terms of style.”

Moore started his career playing with his father in 2008 and, over the years, performed with Thin Lizzy, Deep Purple, Otis Taylor, and Joe Bonamassa, to name a few.

In addition to touring with the Gary Moore Tribute Band, Moore is also a member of indie-folk trio Smith Lyle & Moore. He also contributed to Bob Daisley's 2018 tribute album, Moore Blues For Gary (A Tribute To Gary Moore), where he played the solo on This One's For You.

Bob Daisley believes he was always destined to play bass. “When I saw an actual bass guitar in the flesh in front of me, it was just… wow,” he says. “I thought, ‘This is the heartbeat. This is the backbone. This is the pulse of the song.’ That’s all I wanted to do.”

With a recording career including records Rainbow’s Long Live ‘n’ Roll (1978), Ozzy Osbourne’s Blizzard of Ozz (1980) and Diary of a Madman (1981), along with loads of others, Daisley has made his mark. Few bassists could handle the temperament of Ritchie Blackmore or the whirlwind classical chops of Randy Rhoads – but he did just fine.

But a falling out with Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne overhangs his career. Nasty legal battles have him fighting not only for his money but also his legacy. He wishes things were simpler: “It’s not about ‘this one doing that’ or ‘these two did that’ – it was a chemistry and a coming together of energies.”

He argues: “It was meant to happen; it affected a lot of lives in a positive way. I’d like people to know that the music and the band were four people, not one. A band called The Blizzard of Ozz came along and did a couple of albums. Then, there was no more.”

When you first joined Rainbow, what gear did you bring, and what approach did you use?

“I had a ’61 Fender Precision bass. That was my workhorse. It did most of the live stuff, most of the writing, most of the recording. It was just a great bass to play and had a great sound. I played with a pick and I was very precise with my playing.”

Was that what Ritchie was looking for?

“Yes – he wanted someone who played with a pick. When I went for the audition, he put me through my paces. He got me to play certain things, and I had to keep on playing them for quite some time to see if I could cut it using the pick, playing eights, sixteenths, and that sort of thing. He was happy with what I did at the audition.”

What amps were you using?

“I used the gear that was supplied – Crown amps, which I didn’t really like, but I had to use them. It was their stage gear. I’d been using an Acoustic with two cabs, which sounded great. It had that lovely, warm, thumpy sound. But the stuff with Rainbow was supplied, so I used it.”

Ritchie is a notoriously tough guy to work with. Were you worried about getting on with him?

“What helped a little bit was that when I went for the audition, they’d already auditioned about 40 different bass players. They couldn’t find anyone they liked because you had to look the part and you also had to be the sort of person who got on with them all.

“We’re talking about Cozy Powell, Ronnie Jame Dio and Ritchie Blackmore here. At the end of my audition – I’d played for an hour and a half or so – they went off into an office somewhere and had a little chat. They came back out and said, ‘You’ve got the gig if you want it.’

“I didn’t do it to be cheeky, but I just said, ‘I’ll think about it.’ I was serious; I had my own band, Windowmaker, and people had warned me, ‘If you work with Ritchie, you could last five minutes. He could chew you up, spit you out. You could end up with nothing.’ So I did have to think about it.”

What led you to accept?

“I was doing a show at the Whisky with Widowmaker, and Ritchie and Cozy came along. I saw them before I went on, and he said, ‘Look, I’ll be at the Rainbow just up the road. Come see me after you’ve finished.’ I hadn’t joined the band at that point; I was still thinking about it. But Ritchie had sort of got it in his head that I’d accepted the offer.

“He stayed for the show and. At the end I went upstairs and a squabble broke out with Widowmaker. I thought, ‘Fuck this!’ I packed up my stuff and said, ‘I’m going to meet with Ritchie, and I’m joining Rainbow.’

“I stormed off. As I walked into the Rainbow, Ritchie was sitting at one of the tables. He started clapping, and I thought, ‘Wow… Ritchie doesn’t give praise easily.’ I thought, ‘I must have done something right.’ I told him, ‘Count me in.’ We started rehearsals the next day.”

What was the process of recording Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll like?

“I just put my head down and got on with it. I tried to be as reliable and professional as I could be. I got on well with Ritchie; he could be – well, he knew what he wanted. He didn’t suffer fools gladly. He was also a very aware sort of person. Working with somebody like that, I actually enjoyed it. It was a good learning curve for me.”

Why did Ritchie replace you with Roger Glover?

“It kind of fizzled out. There was never any sort of definite phone call from Ritchie or management. We’d done a long US tour and a world tour that went through Europe, Scandinavia, Japan, and Canada. At the end we came home, and I was waiting to hear back, and nothing happened.”

You were talking to Ronnie about branching off with him, right?

“There was a point where I was waiting with Ronnie in a hotel lobby and he said, ‘If this band finishes, or if I’m not in the band, would you consider being in a band with me?’ I thought, ‘Does he know something that I don’t?’

“I said, ‘Well, yeah, of course. If this band’s not going, or I’m not in it, yeah, of course, I’d work with you, Ron.’ He must have had an inkling then of what was coming. I didn’t.”

Ronnie joined Sabbath not that long after. What happened there?

“I was in London and I got a call from Ronnie. He said, ‘It looks like the band’s not going to continue as it is. Would you be interested in putting a band together with me?’ I said, ‘Yeah, sure.’ He said, ‘Okay, don’t do anything. Hang in there. I’m going to start looking for a guitarist and line up record companies.’

“A few weeks would pass, and he’d phone again and say, ‘I’m still working on it. Hang in there.’ After a while, I went for a stroll and bought a music paper. On the front page, it said, ‘Ronnie James Dio joins Black Sabbath.’ I thought, ‘Oh, thanks for telling me, Ron.’ But it was meant to happen as it did; everyone ended up in the best possible situation.”

Ironically, you joined Ozzy Osbourne’s solo group after Ronnie replaced him in Sabbath.

“Ozzy had just come back from LA been fired. People warned me against working with him because he didn’t have the best reputation. He’d been getting out of it, been unprofessional, unreliable and all the rest of it. But I had a feeling of: ‘I’ve got to do this.’

“He asked me to go up to his house and play, saying, ‘I’ve you got a first-class rail ticket.’ I jumped on a train in London, went up to Stratford, and Ozzy met me at the station. I went to his place and he had a guitarist and a drummer there.”

What did you think of them?

“They were okay guys and nice enough. But when Ozzy and I had a tea break, he said, ‘Well, what do you think?’ I really did like Ozzy, and we got on together, so I said, ‘I’d like to work with you, but I’m not sure about these other two guys.’

“I said, ‘They’re okay; but I don’t think they’re world-class.’ He said, ‘Oh, hang on a minute…’ He went into the rehearsal room and I heard him say, ‘Okay, fellas, you can pack up. It’s not working out. You can go home.’ That was them gone, dismissed.”

How did Randy Rhoads enter the picture?

“It was just me and Ozzy to start with. He told me about this young guitar player in LA who was a teacher at a music school. Ozzy said, ‘His name is Randy Rhoads.’ I sort of envisioned an older bloke with slippers, a cardigan and glasses! ‘I said, ‘Well, let’s get him over.’ Randy wouldn’t have been brought over if I hadn’t said ‘no’ to the other two guys.”

Ozzy was signed to Jet Records, and the story goes that Jet's founder said Randy was too young. Is that true?

“David Arden [son of Jet founder Don Arden] said, ‘No, he’s too young. He’s unknown. He’s got no reputation. He’s not a name.’ But eventually – and I remember his words – he said, ‘Against my better judgment, I will bring him over.’”

“Ozzy, Randy and I met up at Jet Records. It would have been towards the end of ’79. We all took the train up to Ozzy’s place in Stratford and played; after maybe 20 minutes or half an hour, Randy and I looked at each other at the same time and said the same thing: ‘I like the way you play.’ I knew right away that this would work; that this was good.”

Once the sessions for the Blizzard of Ozz got rolling, was your gear different from your Rainbow days?

“I had my ’61 Precision and the Acoustic stack, which, for some reason, worked very well. We made lots of recordings of our rehearsals and writing sessions, which people now refer to as the ‘Holy Grail,’ because they were the reference tapes to those songs so we wouldn’t forget our parts.

“When we got to the studio, I wasn’t really happy with the sound I had, so I began using a Gibson EB-3 bass. It did the job, and the best match amp-wise was a Marshall. I said to Randy, ‘Can I use one of yours?’ So I used a Gibson EB-3 through one of Randy’s Marshall stacks, which was a 100-watt head driven hard by a 4x12 cab.”

For a long time, most people have assumed those recordings were strictly the brainchild of Ozzy and Randy. But your involvement was deep, right?

“They were trying to get rid of Lee Kerslake while we were on tour. I just couldn’t agree with something I thought was wrong – I said, ‘Look, it’s not broken. Stop trying to fix it.’ Eventually they got rid of both of us; but after six weeks, I got a call saying, ‘Will you come back?’

“I said, ‘I’ll record, I’ll co-write, but I’m not going on the road with you, and I’m not coming back into the band.’ I remember during one of the writing sessions for Bark at the Moon, Ozzy said, ‘I’d forgotten how much you had to do with writing the songs.’

“They’ve promoted the Ozzy/Randy-only thing and it’s inaccurate. People thought that because we used to come out at shows to Carmina Burana by Carl Orff, a classic piece, it was Randy’s idea because he was into classical. No, it was mine. I came up with that idea.

“I was pissed off with the whole thing, and I remember that someone at Jet Records phoned me up and said, ‘Sharon and Ozzy want to know what that piece of music that you used to come on stage to is called.’ I said, ‘Oh, well, tell them it’s called ‘Go Fuck Yourself,’ and I hung up.”

You composed and wrote the lyrics for songs like Crazy Train and Mr. Crowley.

“I wouldn’t want to take away from anyone, but I wouldn’t give anybody more praise than they earn. It took the three of us to do that – Ozzy’s vocal melodies were very important, and Randy’s guitar riffs and play were phenomenal.

“It was brilliant and I loved it. But Randy wasn’t a lyricist, and neither was Ozzy; Geezer Butler used to write lyrics in Sabbath. So, between the three of us it was a joint effort. The pieces of the puzzle were as important as each other.”

What was it like working out parts with Randy?

“A lot of the songs were based on riffs that Randy had. We’d sit on chairs opposite each other; I’d make suggestions, we’d put things together, arrange things and try new bits. We’d take one piece out, put another in, and that would go on for weeks.

“Once we had the basic structure, Ozzy would sing his melody on it. It would start with words that came into his head that often didn’t make sense. I’d take the tape of us playing with Ozzy’s melody and phrasing and write lyrics to it.

“By the end of it all, you had proper songs. It was certainly not the Ozzy/Randy show, which is how it’s been promoted. That’s not accurate at all.”

It must have been painful when Randy passed in the plane crash.

“I was in Uriah Heep and we were flying to America. We landed in Houston, Texas, checked into our hotel and had a night off. As we were walking into a club we were supposed to play to check it out, a girl walked up to me and Lee, and said, ‘Aren’t you the guys from Ozzy’s band?’

“We said, ‘Yeah,’ and she said, ‘I think some of them got killed in a plane crash this morning.’ At first, I had thoughts of a commercial airliner going down, but then I was told it was just the pilot and Randy that had been killed in a small plane.

“That blew me away. I was speechless. Lee and I went back to the hotel and just drank toasts to Randy with all his favorite drinks. He used to drink these exotic drinks. We drank those to Randy and cried. It was awful.”

You’ve played with Ritchie Blackmore, Randy Rhoads, Jake E. Lee and Gary Moore. Who’s the greatest guitarist you’ve played with?

“They’re all different. I’ve been fortunate in working with so many wonderful players. Gary Moore, I’d say, is probably one of the best ever. Randy Rhoads was a phenomenal player. Ritchie Blackmore was just mind-blowing. He was superb. And Jake is a great, wonderful player.

“They were all perfect for what they were doing at the time. There is no best. I would never say, ‘I prefer this one over that one’ or, ‘One is better than the other.’”

In recent years, you’ve fought hard to highlight your legacy within Ozzy’s early solo era.

“It’s been an uphill battle – and, I’ve always thought, an unnecessary one. It didn’t have to be like that. I had no personal vendetta with them. I don’t like any of it. I don’t like conflict. There was plenty of money to go around.

“I’ve always been one to accept that it is what it is, you know? It would be nice to think that if Randy hadn’t been killed, the original band would have made that third album. The word ‘if’ is such a little word with a big meaning. But all the conflict and lawsuits were unnecessary. It didn’t have to be like that.”

When was the last time you spoke with Ozzy?

“I haven’t had contact with Ozzy for many years. During the lawsuit, when I went to New York and we were doing depositions, I didn’t see Ozzy, but I saw Sharon. She said to me, ‘He misses you.’ I thought, ‘Well, that’s nice. I miss him, too.’

“We’d been mates. We could have created more good stuff together. But, you know, I just wish it hadn’t been like it was. We’re both getting old now. We’re both going to go out sooner than later. It would have been nice to go out on a brighter note. Such is life, I suppose.”

How do you hope to be remembered?

“I just hope I made a difference while I was here. That would mean I’d achieved the object of the exercise – satisfaction within itself. If I inspired people to play or write, if I can get them to emote, I’ve done the job. Whether it’s sadness or happiness, that’s the idea of music.”

Pat Travers will be the first to tell you that he had a very good time in the 1970s. “It was an incredible decade,” he says. “We played hundreds of shows and traveled everywhere. Yeah, after the gigs, I knew how to have fun – maybe I’d smoke a little and drink a little with the other bands on the bill. But I never trashed my hotel rooms or carried on and did anything too crazy. I always knew my limit.” He laughs. “Maybe that’s why I can remember the '70s. A lot of people I came up with have no memory of what went down.”

During the second half of the ‘70s, the Canadian-born singer and guitarist was an omnipresent figure on the live show circuit. He’d cut his teeth playing the clubs of Quebec and spent a year in Ronnie Hawkins’ band, but when he decided to get serious about a record deal, he found no takers in his homeland.

“I didn’t want to go to New York or L.A., so I thought, ‘Let me try England,’” he says. In London, Travers’ rough and ready blues rock sound netted him a contract with Polydor, and his cover version of the boogie-woogie gem Boom Boom (Out Go the Lights) quickly became a fan favorite.

“I didn’t try to fit in with anything that was going on,” Travers says. “I was lucky enough to get my deal in England, but then the whole punk thing exploded, and that morphed into new wave, and then disco got huge. There was a lot of musical friction and changing tastes, and everything got too trendy in England. That’s when I decided to do my thing in the States.”

On his first three albums (1976’s Pat Travers and 1977’s Makin’ Magic and Putting It Straight), Travers performed with a trio that included British bassist Peter “Mars” Cowling and drummer Nicko McBrain (who would later go on to join Iron Maiden).

For his Stateside debut, 1979’s Heat in the Street, he expanded his lineup to feature Cowling, drummer Tommy Aldridge and guitarist Pat Thrall. He changed his billing, too; no longer were albums credited to “Pat Travers.” With Heat in the Street, it became “the Pat Travers Band.”

“Suddenly, things were firing on all cylinders,” Travers says. “It was four great players from different parts of the world, and it all came together like magic on Heat in the Street. We were a tough band. We rocked like mad, but there was some real cool stuff going on musically.”

That combustive chemistry is documented on the band’s rip-roaring ’79 release, Live! Go for what You Know, which contains the definitive rendering of Boom Boom (Out Go the Lights). Closing out the decade, the band convened to record the album Crash and Burn, which, thanks to the uproarious single Snortin’ Whiskey, resulted in Travers’ first and only Top 20 hit. Sadly, the album’s title proved prophetic, and shortly after its 1980 release, Aldridge and Thrall headed for the exits.

“It’s really unfortunate that we couldn’t keep the band going,” Travers says. “We were going faster and faster, and we were getting bigger and bigger. But before I knew it, the front wheels came off, and I went into a ditch.

“I just couldn’t control the situation. People in the band started having their own groups of friends, and once people started whispering in each other’s ears, the whole thing went downhill.

“Plus, we had management trouble, and we weren’t very smart. Everything came apart pretty quickly.” He pauses, then says, “Luckily, we’re friends now. Unfortunately, Mars passed away six years ago, but I see Pat every once in a while. I haven’t seen Tommy in a bit, but we’re friendly. We had a really good thing going for a while.”

What was the guitar scene like in London when you got there in the mid ‘70s?

“It was interesting. There was kind of a changing of the guard, but nobody knew what it was changing to. It had definitely diminished from those ’60s guys – you know, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton. But I did experience some guitar brilliance in the U.K. The first night I was there, I met Gary Moore.

“Actually, I first met the guys in Thin Lizzy. Scott Gorham said, ‘We’re going down to this pub. It’s a jam night, and Gary Moore is going to be there.’ I had never heard of him, but when I saw him play I was knocked out. He was amazing – so good and fast and so bluesy. That was incredibly cool.”

You were in England right as the first sparks of punk ignited.

“And I pretty much saw it right before my eyes. I had a housemate who worked for a record company, and one night he dragged me off to see this band called the 101ers. They did pretty crappy versions of Little Richard and rock ’n’ roll tunes. Well, wouldn’t you know it? Joe Strummer was in that band, and not long after he formed the Clash.”

Did you become a fan of punk?

“No, I didn’t think much of it. It was a fad. Guys would go out and grab instruments, and they thought they could make records. The cream always rises to the top, and eventually the Clash made some cool music. It was interesting seeing the change from the 101ers to the Clash. They got better clothes, and they got their teeth fixed.”

For the first three albums, you recorded and performed with a trio. Was that the format you actually wanted? I imagine you had to do extra work as the singer and sole guitarist.

“I did have to do a lot of work. And I should say that I should have had a second guitar player right away, because the music I was writing wasn’t meant for just one instrument. I was constantly looking for somebody else to play in the band. That said, playing as a trio for a time helped me to develop my performance style.”

I would also imagine you had to become a real showman.

“Oh yeah, but I was 21 and very cocky. If you run into people who knew me at the time, like Glenn Hughes, he’d say [affects British accent], “Oh, you were fucking cocky, boy!” I was a different character then. I was pretty showy because I grew up on Hendrix and Johnny Winter and Clapton.

“I wasn’t trying to be a guitar star, though. I loved playing keyboards and doing other things. I have an aptitude for the guitar, but I was never on my bed playing for 10 hours a day. That wasn’t me. Speaking of Gary Moore – he was like that. If you went to his hotel room, he’d be on the bed with Peter Green’s Les Paul, just practicing and practicing.”

One of your first songs to gain wide recognition was your cover of Boom Boom (Out Go the Lights). Had it been a staple of your live shows before you recorded it?

“No. As a matter of fact, it was one of the last songs we recorded for my first album, because I was short one song and I needed something. I remembered seeing this band in Hamilton, Ontario; it was this guy called King Biscuit Boy, but his real name was Richard Newell.

He played Little Walter material, and Boom Boom was a song Little Walter had done. I saw King Biscuit Boy when I was 13, and I never forgot him playing that song.

We recorded it in a more traditional way with piano, more of a Long John Baldry boogie-woogie kind of thing.

“[Laughs] Listen to me – ‘boogie-woogie’! But when we started playing it live, it evolved and got more rocking, and then it became a call-and-response thing. One night I was feeling pretty confident, and I knew that the audience would answer me back. It just worked.”

What was it like when you went back to the States and had to promote records? Nowadays, you can make appearances remotely. Back then, you probably had to visit every tiny little radio station and mom-and-pop record store.

“That’s how it worked, sure. It was hard, but as I was introducing myself to audiences in the States, the value in meeting people and having that one-on-one contact was inestimable. You were building relationships and becoming part of the family, in a way. And I was really pleased to discover that the people I met were on my side – they really wanted me to succeed.

“It was a hustle: I got up early, like six or seven in the morning, and I’d do the drive-time radio show in the morning. Then we’d hit somewhere else before soundcheck, and then I’d do some other kind of appearance before the show.

“Of course, I had a lot of energy back then. Everything was brand new, and I enjoyed it. It would wear on me now if I had to do that kind of thing, but back then it was fine. I’ve always hated hotel rooms, so I was happy to be anywhere if it meant I wasn’t sitting around looking at the walls.”

What guitars were you playing during this period?

“The guitar I took to England was a 1973 Telecaster Custom. It had one humbucker in the neck position and a Tele pickup at the bridge. It was black, and it was just like the one Keith Richards played – same black pickguard, four knobs and a maple neck. I used that guitar on the first two albums.

“I found a Gibson Melody Maker at this little mom-and-pop music shop in Sheffield, England. It just felt right, but I put a couple of humbuckers in it. I bought them at a music store in London. It was pretty basic: ‘Hey, I need some humbuckers!’ [Laughs] I didn’t do the mods myself, though. I had somebody else do the work on the guitar.”

Expanding the band really opened your music up to new possibilities. Was bringing Tommy Aldridge in your first move?

“That’s right. I had seen Tommy play with Black Oak Arkansas at the big California Jam in ’74. He did a big drum solo and was just phenomenal. Funny thing was, we didn’t play together before he joined the band. My manager made the call, and one day Tommy showed up at my hotel room.

“It was a riot; Tommy had his thick Southern accent, and my bass player Pete had this proper British accent. I was the hoser in the middle. [Laughs] But man, Tommy brought such energy to the band. The second we started playing, it was incredible. And then Pat Thrall came in.”

And as you said, you were always thinking of adding a second guitarist.

“It should have happened much sooner. Pat and I clicked right away. We were the same age, and his dad passed away when he was 11 or 12 – we had that in common. Pat’s appetite for music was infectious. He got me into reggae and Bob Marley and all sorts of stuff.

“He really wanted to know how music cooked. Plus, he was just brilliant on guitar. He played some incredible stuff, a lot of which never got recorded. I’ve got a recording somewhere with him playing an outro; it’s four minutes of insane musical freedom.”

Did it take long for you two to blend your playing styles?

“Not at all. It’s like we were of the same musical mind, but we were also different. I was more percussive and rock ’n’ roll. I came up with a sound that wasn’t necessarily standard playing; I was kind of diving around on the strings and doing this and that. Pat had a way of voicing chords that was really cool. He had a wide musical palette. He provided a lot of atmospheric and ambient sounds, things I never would have thought of. It was great.”

What kinds of guitars did Pat use to complement your sound?

“He had a Strat with no whammy bar. That’s the only one I’ve ever seen. I don’t know what happened to that guitar, but it was the coolest thing. I’d like to get one of those Strats with no whammy bar. Of course, Pat was also one of the first kids on the block to get a Floyd Rose. He just didn’t have one on that particular Strat.”

We’re talking about a time when Eddie Van Halen suddenly made guitarists rethink the way they played. Did he have much impact on you?

“Not necessarily. I realized pretty quickly that Ed Van Halen was a lot more than his tapping solo – a whole lot more. His rhythm, his chord choices, his voicings – there was such melodic value to everything he played.

“Sure, he had the whole tapping and dive-bombing thing going on, but he didn’t do that in every song. It was like an effect, but it was very effective. Unfortunately, all the other guitar players in L.A. thought it was all tapping and dive bombs, and they became cartoon versions of Eddie.”

Snortin’ Whiskey is an absolutely brilliant song. I understand you had that riff for a while before you knew what to do with it.

“I did. What happened was, we were rehearsing one day and Pat Thrall was late to arrive – like, really late. I had my four-track recorder, and we were running through ideas. The day wore on, and no Pat. Finally, after about four hours, Pat burst in with his girlfriend, and they both looked a little rough.

“I asked him, ‘Dude, what in the world have you been up to?’ And he goes, ‘You know… snortin’ whiskey and drinkin’ cocaine.’ What a line, you know? I had the riff already, but those words just matched beautifully. Before you knew it, we had a great rock ’n’ roll song.”

Gary Moore's stint with Thin Lizzy may have been fraught with personal and creative disagreements with the band's co-founder, vocalist, and bassist Phil Lynott. However, the two did collaborate on several tunes, most notably on Moore's 1978 solo album Back on the Streets, which remain forever etched in rock history.

Discussing Lynott's role in writing his UK top 10 single Parisienne Walkways, Moore told Classic Rock, “It was such a lovely, creative process. I played it to him on an acoustic guitar and he went, ‘That sounds kinda French, let me write some lyrics.’

“I’d never even thought of that possibility. You should have seen us trying to play this fucking accordion in the studio; him on one side squeezing, and me on the other trying to play the keys. When it came out and was a huge hit, I was so proud that it showed what we could do together.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Moore asserted that Lynott's songwriting and unique musical sensibilities were underrated and not as recognized as they should've been.

“To me, Thin Lizzy reached a peak with Jailbreak [their sixth studio album, released in 1976]. By the time I joined them, they were on the way down,” he acknowledged.

“I’m still proud of the Black Rose album [their ninth and the band’s first with Moore], but it’s not regarded as a classic Lizzy album. He was writing better songs in those earlier days. I used to love going to see them with Scott [Gorham] and Robbo [Brian Robertson].”

He continued, “If the songs had stayed at that standard, he’d have had no problems cracking the next level – being on a par with the likes of Springsteen and Van Morrison. Lizzy never really cracked America, but Phil was one of the first people to bring that poetic, romantic Celtic style to rock music. He deserves credit for that.”

It’s often said that the sound comes from the player rather than the guitar. For example, there’s a well-travelled anecdote about Ted Nugent picking up Eddie Van Halen’s guitar at a soundcheck and sounding like Ted Nugent, even through Eddie’s rig.

While there’s a lot of truth in such stories, it’s also correct to say that different guitars can influence how we play. Gary Moore’s differing approaches to playing a Strat or Les Paul are great example of this.

While still unmistakably Gary Moore, there are ways he explores the different tone and features of each instrument, some of which I’ve aimed to highlight in the two example solos below.

Gary often favoured a Strat in the mid-to-late ’70s. On Colosseum II’s Electric Savage from 1977, you can hear the characteristic wide vibrato he would get from the vibrato arm – similar to Ritchie Blackmore on Deep Purple’s Black Night at times, though with a touch of Jeff Beck in there, too.

Of course, the ‘Greeny’ Les Paul (the fabled ’59 once belonging to Peter Green) also had some time in the spotlight. Gary’s own Back On The Streets album from 1978 features a mix of Strat and Les Paul, with the Strat often being employed for the cleaner, more sensitive moments.

By the early ’80s, Gary had moved primarily to Strats, especially his red ’61, though Ibanez, Charvel and Hamer also came in to play later in that same decade. Most of these had humbuckers and a locking vibrato, which seemed to encourage Gary’s more ‘Les Paul’ approach.

By 1990, Gary had switched primarily to blues, but this had always been a key ingredient of his style, even in his ’70s ‘fusion’ period. The second solo refers more to this period with some faster licks, but it’s a bit more relaxed than the rocker of the previous decade.

Example 1

In this first half there’s far less gain, which encourages more bluesy, rhythmic phrasing, as opposed to searing bends and sustain. The introductory phrase starts out with A minor pentatonic shape 1, but quickly slides to shape 2 for beat 1 of the first full bar.

This gives the A that many players would bend to from within shape 1, but sliding to the 10th fret and using the bar gives a different character. The second half could also be described as shape 2, but strictly speaking the change to E minor underneath makes it a shape 4 E minor pentatonic.

Example 2

I’m using the bar to add vibrato on the first phrase, rather than the bend that would be necessary to do this on a Les Paul. The rest of this example is taken from the shape 1 A minor pentatonic (with the exception of that one slide).

This section showcases how Gary would use the pentatonic to create fast phrases with many – but not all – of the notes picked. He had a particular way of doing this, so make sure you check out the directions in the transcription.

Example 3

Turning up the gain and using a Les Paul-style guitar gives us a different sound and phrasing options. Gary had a way of nailing the pitch of a bend without ‘covering his tracks’ with vibrato, which is a tricky thing to master.

We’re starting here in shape 4 of the A minor pentatonic, then morphing into the E minor pentatonic (shape 1). High gain such as this leads to handling noise and/or feedback, so Gary would tend to make a feature of the handling noise or zero the guitar’s volume control if he wanted silence.

Example 4

This final phrase uses the shape 1 A minor pentatonic, an octave above where we began back in Example 1.

Pay close attention to the way this travels across the strings: the picking patterns may seem counterintuitive at first, but they are the key to how Gary would create fast but relaxed two-note-per-string pentatonic runs in many of his solos. At volume, you may need to be ready to zero the guitar’s volume control to avoid unwanted feedback!

Hear it here

Colosseum II – Electric Savage

Recorded in late 1976, this album is reportedly live off the studio floor without overdubs – and it certainly gives a good representation of what the band must have sounded like live.

Check out Gary’s aggressive Strat-playing and distinctive vibrato use on Put It This Way and All Skin & Bone. Elsewhere on the record, he brings out a more sensitive side to his playing, notably on Am I, with shades of David Gilmour at times, though that gives way to some stunning picking later.

Gary Moore – Back on the Streets

Recorded in 1978, there are a few styles on display, some harking back to Colosseum II as well as duets with Phil Lynott in advance of Gary’s appearance on Thin Lizzy’s Black Rose album.

There are clear attempts at a hit single, but a clear winner was Parisienne Walkways. It’s interesting to come back to the original; this kind of restraint and control is an often neglected facet of Gary’s style. Also, check out Don’t Believe A Word and Song For Donna to hear his contrasting Strat/Les Paul approaches.

Gary Moore – Power of the Blues

Released in 2004, more than a decade after Gary’s initial shift to the blues, his playing here remains as intense as ever but with a considered effort to include fewer of the trademark fast runs.

It’s clear this is still available when required, though: listen to the play-out on There’s A Hole as well as the solo in Getaway Blues. Elsewhere, Gary combines traditional-sounding blues phrasing with contemporary production flourishes, such as his distinctive use of the wah on Evil.

Gary Moore’s TV Yellow 1961 Gibson SG Junior is the latest 'pre-loved-by-a-rockstar' axe to head to the auction block, courtesy of Gardiner Houlgate.

The rare electric guitar – owned and played on stage by the late blues great – makes for one of the standout stars in the auctioneer’s September lot. The fact it’s a TV Yellow example makes it even rarer.

The oddball finish emerged in the ‘50s, supposedly in a bid to make instruments look better on that hot new invention, the television. Regardless of whether that’s truth or not, the finish – like a fine wine – so often looks better with age, and Moore’s beauty is no exception.

As a new decade rolled in, Gibson began to retire the finish, making this particular model one of only a few of its kind, and as auctioneer Luke Hobbs details, it would go on to see a lot of stage time when it eventually found its way to Moore.

“This guitar was used for some of the press photo sessions for the BBM Tour; Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker, and Gary Moore,” Hobbs details.

“It was also used on some of the sessions for [Moore’s 1995 Peter Green tribute album] Blues For Greeny and it does appear on the VHS.

“And there is one track in particular that this features on, and you can see that up on YouTube, Showbiz Blues. There’s some fantastic playing there where Gary Moore is using a slide but it just sounds incredible.”

Moore, who was known for modding his guitars, has seemingly left his mark on the SG Junior. The original tuners – that are included in the lot – have been replaced by locking tuners, and the covering for its single P-90 has been replaced.

Interestingly, though Hobbs says the original pickup remains and it was just the cover that was swapped out, the same instrument seemingly went under the hammer in 2022. At that time, it was said a Seymour Duncan JBJ humbucker was used before the P-90 was installed.

It's likely the guitar originally came with a P-90, as is the case with these Junior models, and that particular pickup has since been reintegrated into the guitar, with the cover lost during its JBJ era.

Granted, there is no certainty if any of these mods were Moore-made or not, but putting your money on the former – at least, in the case of a reinstalled P-90 – wouldn’t be ludicrous.

The original case, meanwhile, has long been lost, with this instrument sneakily shipping in an Ibanez case instead.

It’s a quirk that, in truth, only adds more charm to this workhorse instrument – it was made to be played, and Moore clocked up plenty of mileage with it beneath his fingers.

Blues For Greeny, on which this TV Yellow corker featured, has been hailed as one of the greatest blues albums by a British artist. It sees Moore doffing his cap to one of his key inspirations, and close friend, Peter Green.

Speaking to Guitarist at the time of the record's release, he explained how he became the proud owner of his hero's infamous Greeny Les Paul, and got it for next to nothing. “I couldn't believe I had it in my hands,” he'd said.

Jump over to Gardiner Houlgate for more information.

With a deep love for glam rock, Neil Carter became a professional musician at 17 with Gilbert O’Sullivan, before joining UFO in 1981 then riding shotgun with Gary Moore in 1983.

He left the rock world at 30, becoming a teacher of woodwind instruments, then returned for Moore’s final ride in 2010, and then rejoined UFO in 2019. Recently he’s been working singer Phil Mogg’s solo music.

What inspired you to pick up the guitar?

“It was seeing The Sweet on Top of the Pops when I was about 11. I was later given a bass for Christmas and started playing along to records. My mum made me mock-ups of Steve Priest’s outfits – which sounds tragic now! I had a bit of an obsession with glam rock, and then progressed to David Bowie and Roxy Music.”

Was there one guitarist who stuck out most?

“When I heard Mick Ronson play, it just fired my imagination. His tone, his simple, effective licks, his melodies, and his image were an inspiration. I wanted to play lead guitar, but I joined my first band on bass when I was 14. From about 1976 I concentrated on singing and tried to hone my guitar skills.”

What led to joining UFO in the early ‘80s?

“I’d been in a band called Wild Horses, which had got me vaguely known and grounded me as a full-time musician. I used to hang around with Phil Collen of Girl – later Def Leppard – and he suggested that I might be an option when UFO parted company with Paul Raymond.

“I went for a play-through and it was a done deal. I did the three things – guitar, keys and singing – that my predecessor had. And I was a quick learner, which helped as our first gig was headlining the Reading Festival in three weeks’ time.

“We also clicked personally, although I was quite shy and retiring back then. It did take me a while to gain confidence; they were a big band, so it was a huge step up for me.”

How did you record The Wild, The Willing and The Innocent?

“All the backing tracks were done when I joined, so my contribution was the backing vocals and sax solo. I might have added a couple of keyboard bits, but not much. I was feeling my way with that one as I was very new. But I was taking part, and I suppose as a fresh ear I was useful to the process.

“It’s a great album with excellent songs on it. We recorded it at Air Studios in London. I remember having an out-of-body experience chatting with George Martin and Linda McCartney, when they wandered in while we were mixing.”

How about Mechanix and Making Contact?

“By then I’d found my feet and had a more me-friendly setup. We ditched the Hammond as it was so heavy, and I bought a double manual Korg organ to play through our souped-up Leslie. I kept the Wurlitzer but got a Prophet 5 for strings.

“I had a whole host of guitars. There was a Gibson hollow body thing, stuffed with tampons to stop it from feeding back – bad move! – and a lot of free Washburn A10s played through Marshall 50w amps. I had a Fender Telecaster, bought in a pawn shop somewhere in Idaho.

“When I’d left Wild Horses I was stripped of the Les Paul they’d bought me and I just had one guitar, so I joined UFO with a Gibson L6-S which wasn’t great.”

What led to the end of your first run with UFO?

“Sadly, UFO collapsed like a house of cards in 1983. I did some demos with Paul Chapman and Andy Parker, but there was no money coming in, and although they were quite good, we couldn’t generate much interest. The band was over half a million in debt when we finished, and no one was banging on the door! 

“In the meantime, Gary Moore needed a keyboard player to fill in for Don Airey on a US tour, third on the bill to Def Leppard. Someone recommended me and I needed to work, so I accepted it. We had a play-through and it was all fine.”

Had you met Gary before that?

“I’d known him a bit from my time with the Horses, and we had the same managers as Thin Lizzy back then. He was quite a formidable character and seemed a bit moody, but I respected him as a guitarist. And Ian Paice was the drummer, so that was also a real incentive.

“The plus for Gary was that I also sang and played guitar, which suited the style he was aiming for. I said outright that I wouldn’t be comfortable with the jazz-rock fiddly things. I’m no Don Airey, but my approach to keys is similar to the guitar, in a strong supporting role. I’m not into soloing, and that suited him fine.”

What was recording with Gary like?

“It changed a lot over the years. Victims of the Future was more of a band effort; but as time went on and producers changed, I had less to do. He’d use session players with Fairlights and more expensive sounds, plus the native Irish instruments, so my contribution was reduced considerably.

“I think [producer] Peter Collins was the driver there. And because Gary had such trouble with drummers in the studio, the programmed drums became the norm. I listen to parts of those albums and feel that the sound is quite over-produced. But Gary's guitar excellence always shines over the tracks.

“He and I used to demo many of the songs together. On After the War we collaborated closely, so I played more on that one. I always felt he liked me there as a leveling and supportive presence, so I was in the studio with him most of the time. 

“I had very little playing input to Wild Frontier, despite being credited on the sleeve. It was mostly just backing vocals. I never took it personally; Gary always liked to use a variety of musicians, and he tried to include me as much as possible. He saw me mainly as his touring partner, which suited me fine.

“I was always taken care of, with everything transparent. UFO were terrible about keeping tabs on their income and there was so much waste, which is why it went the way it did back in ’83.

“When you’re young all you want to do is get out and play, have a good time, and do lots of naughty things! But looking back you cringe for that poor naïve soul who didn’t ask for accounts or read things before he signed them! I’m grateful my time with Gary was more lucrative in the long term.”

What did you learn from Gary?

“Musically, he made me think more about song construction and the importance of professionalism. He was very exacting in his approach and could be quite cutting – especially if you were the drummer. I feel proud I lasted six years with him while so many others came and went.”

What led you away from rock music?

“In 1989, Gary decided to do his blues album, and his career was about to fly. It [was not] something I’d be involved with; he wanted a change, so that was it. I had just met my partner and was okay financially, so I didn’t search for another band immediately – not knowing if Gary would return to rock. It took 20-something years before he did!

“I’d also fallen out of love with the business. My partner is a classical musician and encouraged me to take up the clarinet again, along with the saxophone, so I began a new career teaching and playing.

“Me being me, I went at it full force – took my diplomas and ended up as head of woodwind and brass at Brighton College, an amazing independent school which Gary’s children attended. That’s how we reconnected.

“We always got on. Some of the happiest times were when he’d come and chat in my office at the college. The final tour in 2010 wasn’t such a great experience because he wasn’t in the best shape.

“But there was a bond there that remained for nearly 30 years, even though we didn’t talk often during the ‘90s. He could be very warm and funny, and that’s how I like to remember him. And his stunning playing goes without saying!

“I also became a music examiner, which is something I still do. I’ve had two careers and enjoyed both for different reasons. After the tour in 2010 with Gary, I told myself I’d never play rock again, and I retired, so we relocated to the Canary Islands.”

So how did you end up rejoining UFO?

“I was examining in the UK in April 2019 and went to see UFO in London, quite by chance, little knowing poor Paul Raymond would pass a couple of weeks later. It was such a great experience – I hadn’t seen them since we stopped, so I went away feeling glad I’d gone.

“When Paul passed, I was the first one Phil Mogg thought of to fill in for the rest of the tour. They thought I would say no, but having seen them it was a no-brainer. Ironically, my return gave things a different perspective – even though it was meant to be their final tour, suddenly more was planned. Sadly, it was curtailed by Covid. 

“What I did do with them I absolutely loved; they’re very happy memories. Meeting up with people who have enjoyed what you’ve done over the years is a bonus, so interacting with the band’s followers was great.”

Is UFO done?

“According to Phil, UFO is done – but I’ve learned never to say never! We all hold the band in such affection, so the others, including myself, would love to do more. UFO has a charm that’s hard to put into words, but so much was snatched away by the pandemic. We feel sad that we couldn’t visit some territories. 

“It’s easy to get together – we know what to do to ensure everyone has a good time and there’s very little stress. I walked in after 36 years and it was like I’d never been away. 

“On a positive note, Phil’s solo project Mogg’s Motel is finished, and I’ve written some tracks and played guitar and keys and sung. I’ve even done some lead guitar for the first time since 1978!

“I’ve also contributed to a track with Michael Voss, Herman Rarebell and Bob Daisley, so I’m as busy as I want. We may do dates to promote the Motel album. I might one day even get around to the solo album I’ve been meaning to do for all these years – but I can’t promise!”

• Mogg’s Motel will be released on September 26 via Cleopatra; it’s available for pre-order now.

Holding down the low end with Take That, replacing Dave Pegg in Jethro Tull and matching volume with Gary Moore – Warwickshire, UK-born bassist Jonathan Noyce has never been afraid to shift gears. But much like his “stealth bass” approach to playing, he tends to fly under the radar.

“As a bass player you need to interpret the music,” he says, “and that can go different ways. You can make people feel something; you can make people dance – there's really so many ways to approach things.”

Among his achievements are two sessions at Abbey Road Studios – one for an orchestral version of Sgt. Pepper’s Loney Hearts Club Band in 1993, and one for the soundtrack to 2019 Beatles-themed movie Yesterday.

But his time alongside guitar greats Martin Barre and Gary Moore mean the most to him, as he explains: “Gary was a whole lot louder, shall we say! They are equally brilliant. Martin just has a different take on it.”

What got you started on bass guitar?

“It was kind of a gradual thing. I wanted to play music, and my father is a musician. I started out playing drums – but my folks lived in a very old house and it was impossible to do anything loud as the neighbors were close and the walls were made of mud and straw.

“I ended up finding my way to the guitar and eventually started playing bass in the early ‘80s. It was interesting to me because it was rhythmic and funky.”

What did your early bass rig look like?

“My first decent bass was a Yamaha BB1100, which I still have. I had one of those and a fretless version, which I also still use. And I had a Yamaha BB5000, a five-string instrument.”

Once you got going, you made a name for yourself as a session player and recorded with Take That. How did that begin?

“I met a fella called Andrew Livingston, who was DJ Dave Lee's production partner. I began tentatively working with them, making dance music, and I ended up recording with Take That. Working in the studio was interesting, and creatively, I was very much in tune with that.”

How did you end up joining Jethro Tull in 1995?

“I was working on a record for EMI, who had struck a deal with the Royal Academy of Music to use their symphony orchestra. I was part of the rhythm section, and Jethro Tull’s Dee Palmer was on the recording too. I caught Dee's attention and started doing some concerts with him.

“That led me to meet Martin Barre, and from there, things moved quickly. I met Martin in January of ’95, and that coincided with Ian Anderson's Divinities project, which I joined on the road.”

You replaced Dave Pegg, who had been in Tull since 1980.

“Dave was considering leaving Jethro Tull and concentrating on the rest of his life, rather than trying to do Jethro Tull and Fairport Convention. And by some great luck and great fortune, I fit right in – which was kind of remarkable considering I was much younger than everybody else.”

What was Ian Anderson’s directive for the bass parts?

“I’ve done very few auditions in my life, and that was one of the first I’d done. Initially it was a question of seeing that I fit as a person. We all have technical gifts – but ultimately, it's really a question of how people fit together.

“Jethro Tull’s music is quite classical and very structured. There’s room for movements within each piece, so I guess I used my best judgment, as everyone does in the band.”

So you were given some freedom?

“It wasn’t a case of taking on board what Dave would have done, which was magnificent. It was a question of taking on board the history of the band and the great musicians that had come before my generation. We express ourselves through our music, and the players in Jethro Tull all had very different approaches.

“Dave had been in the band for a long time, so he loomed very large as a figure. But ultimately, it was a course in the history of rock bass playing. It was a great experience, particularly as I had come from a slightly different background. All the lessons learned with Jethro Tull are still with me now.”

You’ve often referred to your style as “stealth bass”. Can you explain that concept?

“The idea is to be felt and not seen. A lot of that came from when I was in Jethro Tull, where a lot of visual information came from the front. The bass is a powerful instrument; the idea is to come from a musical and technical perspective, where you can make yourself present while not being noticed.

How does the stealth mindset impact your rig?

“It’s morphed into my pedalboard, starting with a Boss Octave pedal [OC-5], which was my way of competing with synthesizers and adding texture with overdrives and distortion. I use a great deal of color within all that, but my Boss Octave and even the good old ProCo Rat pedal are fantastic.”

How did you begin working with Gary Moore?

“Gary was just extraordinary. We must have first met in the ‘90s. We had a mutual friend in Darrin Mooney, who I used to work with and who played drums with Gary. It was only a matter of time before Gary and I spent some time together.

“We started working together around 2003, I guess. Gary wanted to revisit his Celtic rock ideas and go back to his Irish upbringing, and he knew I had a background in folk rock with Jethro Tull. It really was a lot of fun to play with him.”

Was there a secret to playing alongside Gary Moore?

“It had to be very loud – I had to have two amp stacks to compete with Gary, but it was great. There were no computers or click tracks; it was just four people making music. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life.

“He’s very famous for being an extraordinary soloist, but he was also a great rhythm player, knew about music, could play keyboards and a bit of drums; and he was a great singer. He was also a very humble guy.

“We had assembled in early 2011 to work on an album, and we’d started rehearsals. Gary went away for a week on holiday and passed away while he was there. It was really shocking – and unfortunately, everything came to a grinding halt.”

What were the main differences between working alongside Martin Barre and Gary Moore?

“Martin’s a very dynamic player, and quite original. He’s a bit of a one-off; his approach is quite different. Gary very much incorporated the blues and the blues players he grew up listening to; but Martin is, I guess, kind of more influenced by classical music.

“With Martin’s parts, you’re trained as an architect; it’s a bit like going to art school. He has a slightly different approach to playing. But Martin and Gary are both brilliant.”

What does your bass rig look like these days?

“I’ve been doing some film sessions, where you have to be able to do things that are maybe a bit different. That’s where my old Fender Precision and Hofner bass become very useful because the music within a film sits very differently than in rock music; it’s more noticeable from a total context.”

Do you have anything new on tap?

“I’ve been working with Mylène Farmer, who is a French superstar, for the last 10 years or so. We have some concerts coming up in France, so I'll be spending September in Paris, preparing and putting on those shows.

“But before then, I’ll be putting together my own project. I’ve always written music, so I’m collating everything together, and I’ll begin to release it. I’ve got plenty to do at the minute!”

• Follow Noyce on X and Instagram.

Phil Lynott was the consummate rock bassist: always holding Thin Lizzy together, driving things along and just occasionally reminding everyone that there's more to rock bass guitar than root notes and unison riffing.

As a bassist, he wasn't a technician, but he didn't need to be; his basslines always sat perfectly between the drums and the rampant, duelling guitars. He specialised in a warm, middle-heavy bass tone that perfectly anchored his fellow guitarists’ playing. 

Looking for an example of some deft chops? His most identifiable bassline has to be Dancing In The Moonlight, with that swinging, jazz-inflected chorus and walking lines under the fadeout, proving that he wasn't all whiskey-soaked eighth note roots. 

1980's Chinatown is another good starting point as Lynott doubles up the fast descending guitar riff that spans the neck, shifting through two octaves.

Lynott used several basses through his career, but for his fans, his trusty black Fender Precision with a mirrored scratchplate was the favoured instrument. He used the scratchplate to highlight members of the crowd from his vantage point on the stage, which he bestrode like a leather-clad god. 

While his flamboyant style and talent made him a star, it was Lynott’s astonishing appetite for drugs that earned his place in rock notoriety. As the man himself told Classic Rock, “How many times do you say you’re going to give something up and then don’t? People always want to go to extremes. And if you go to the edge, you must be prepared to fall off. And lots of guys have.”

Lynott’s struggle with stimulants caught up with him and he was admitted to hospital on Christmas Day, 1985. He died of heart failure and pneumonia 10 days later, aged only 36.

Always more extravagant as a singer than a bassist, Phil Lynott’s bass playing always served the songs, but that doesn't mean he couldn't lay down some tasty lines when he needed to.

Here, we run through his five greatest basslines.

1. Dancing in the Moonlight (Bad Reputation, 1977)

The standout single from one of the band's best albums shows just what a great bassist Phil Lynott was.

Its slinky, swinging riff is instantly recognisable, memorable and hummable: all the qualities you want in a bass hook.

And we love the way he lays down some walking lines in the outro. The man had groove as well as badass attitude by the bucketful.

2. The Boys Are Back in Town (Jailbreak, 1976)

On this quintessential Lizzy song, Lynott confines himself to root notes with some added embellishments at bar ends, although there isn't much room for showing off in the choruses. 

Note how the bass drives the song through the verses, with the guitars holding back and Lynott providing an expert, almost funky bassline.

3. Waiting for an Alibi (Black Rose, 1979)

This hit tune from Black Rose saw the return of Irish firebrand Gary Moore. Showing all of the trademarks of one of the hottest rock acts of the ’70s – harmony guitars, flashy solos, pushed rhythms and driving basslines. Not to mention Phil Lynott’s tough vocal delivery and backstreet lyrics.

4. Jailbreak (Live and Dangerous, 1976)

Another much-loved Lizzy tune, Jailbreak opened the Live and Dangerous album, and with good reason – it's stuffed full of excitement.

The live version is probably the best place to start, in fact, as Lynott's bass is mixed high enough for his grasp of the role of the bass in the onstage dynamic to reveal itself perfectly.

5. Out in the Fields (Run For Cover, 1985)

This song is best known for Gary Moore's phenomenal guitar solo, but keep an ear out for the bass part – which is thought to be Lynott's line overlaid with a synth-generated sound. The video, with Lynott looking sharp, belies the fact that it was shot so near the end of his life.

The electric guitar featured on Kate Bush's 1978 debut Wuthering Heights is expected to fetch up to £10,000 at auction.

The 1974 Les Paul Custom belonged to guitarist Ian Bairnson, who played the solo at the end of Wuthering Heights while his arm was in a plaster cast.

Bairnson passed away last year, aged 70. His collection of 12 guitars, including the 1974 Les Paul Custom, and gear including vintage Marshall stacks and a Soldano head, is being auctioned off by Gardiner Houlgate auctioneers in Wiltshire, UK. The total collection is expected to sell for around £30,000.

Guitar expert and auctioneer Luke Hobbs commented: “Ian Bairnson was a musician’s musician, and his guitar used on Wuthering Heights is very relevant to today’s market, considering the enduring appeal of Kate Bush.”

A 20th Anniversary model – as indicated by the 12th fret inlay – the guitar features a Cherry Sunburst finish, with only minor buckle rash and dings. Its original tuners were replaced by a Schaller set, while two coil switches were installed to the control area.

The guitar comes with a Pilot-stenciled hardcase, as well as five sales award discs presented to Bairnson for Pilot singles Magic and January.

Ian Bairnson was a Scottish session guitarist and multi-instrumentalist, best known for his work with Kate Bush and Alan Parsons Project.

In 1973, he joined the Scottish rock group Pilot, scoring UK top 20 singles January and Magic. During his time with Pilot, he met Alan Parsons and later featured on every Alan Parsons Project album, including the 1984 offshoot Keats.

He went on to play on Bush's first four albums, and session with Kenny Rogers, Tom Jones, Sting, Paul McCartney and Stanley Clark – where his Les Paul was invariably slung around his shoulders.

“Guitar players broadly fall into two main groups – those who consider themselves as Strat players and those who are Les Paul type players,” Bairnson wrote on his website. “I have always loved Les Pauls. Ever since I was about 14 years old I wanted to play one. I prefer the sheer power and kick of a Gibson Les Paul.

“I bought mine as soon as I could afford one. It came from a shop called Take Five in Shaftesbury Avenue in London and cost me 315 pounds in 1974. It is a Custom model but over the years I have changed bits and pieces and now it looks more like a Standard. I suppose it is true to say that I built a career using only a Les Paul and a Marshall 50-watt amplifier.”

“Ian was always ready to play a stylistically perfect solo for every track he was involved with,” Alan Parsons told Guitar World. "The usual process was he would just play it through a few times and I would give him vague directions like ‘Let’s try it starting low and working upwards’ or ‘Let’s try it simpler – less notes.’”

In addition to Bairnson's Les Paul, the auction will also feature Eric Clapton-used prototype 000-28EC acoustic guitar, a collection of Bernie Marsden's guitars, a Jaco Pastorius-used Zemaitis bass, two guitars previously owned by Fleetwood Mac’s Peter Green and two of Gary Moore’s Gibson Les Pauls.

For more information about the auction, visit Gardiner Houlgate.

When it comes to Thin Lizzy, there’s guitar heroics to spare – Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson as heard on Jailbreak (1976), Gary Moore on Black Rose: A Rock Legend (1979), or Snowy White on Chinatown (1980).

But when the Irish band were a folksy blues three-piece, it was Eric Bell who defined Thin Lizzy on their 1971 self-titled debut, Shades of a Blue Orphanage (1972), and Vagabonds of the Western World (1973).

He proved to be a consummate songsmith with licks for days. He also provided unforgettable tone, demonstrated on iconic tracks like The Rocker and Whiskey in the Jar – the latter covered by Metallica on Garage Inc. (1998).

But Bell was hampered by drugs and alcohol. During a New Year’s Eve show in Dublin in 1973, he stopped the show, threw his Strat in the air, tipped over his amps and then collapsed. He quit the band the next day, ushering in Thin Lizzy’s hard rock-based era.

He’d clean up enough to later play alongside Hendrix alumni Noel Redding before embarking on a solo career, and took the stage with old bandmate Phil Lynott one last time in 1983 (documented on Life) – but didn’t stay in touch.

Asked if he regrets how things ended, Bell says: “I did at first, but the passing of time has changed my mind. If I’d stayed, I’d be dead, like fucking hundreds of other musicians. It got to a point where I was smoking dope and drinking while recording and playing live. I had to stop.”

He continues: “I was up at night, thinking, ‘Eric, the gig is done. No one more’ – but it got out of hand. I had huge bottles of whiskey, Guinness, dope and cocaine everywhere. I had to walk away. I have no regrets.”

What inspired you to pick up the guitar?

“Seeing a cheap acoustic guitar in a local shop window. I was just a boy – I passed this window, and there it was. It looked sharp and was hanging there. I liked the look of it – it seemed like the sort of thing I could have fun with.”

Was that cheap acoustic your first guitar?

“No. I got my first guitar at around 12 as a Christmas present. It was plastic but very well made. It was half the size of an ordinary guitar and had six nylon strings of different colors.

“It may have been plastic, but it was more than a toy – it was my guitar. I remember picking it up and playing it for the first time… I’d forgotten all about it until right now. I wish I still had it.”

What was your local music scene like growing up in Belfast?

“Belfast was always behind England. England always had this and that, and we’d look across the water, saying, ‘When are we gonna get some of that?’ There wasn’t much happening in Belfast, but many people were into music.

“The blues made its way over, along with Van Morrison’s stuff from when he was with Them. Van was an Irish guy and one of the few with good records, so he was very influential as far as music and style went.”

You eventually joined Them in late 1966. How did that happen?

“Van returned to Belfast and the lineup began to shuffle. One day I was in a music shop and Van walked in; everybody stopped talking. It was total silence. Van looked at me, saying, ‘Can you come round tonight and play guitar?’ I was nearly speechless. Here was this legend speaking to me and wanting me to play guitar. So I went over there that night, got my guitar out, and we jammed.”

Do you remember the guitar you brought? 

“Before I got my Strat, I had a Gibson ES-330 as my main guitar. I loved that guitar; it was beautiful. But, I always wanted a Strat. While I was with Them we played a gig one night in Ireland, and the supporting act had a Strat. After having more than a few drinks, I traded their guitarist for it.

“I loved my Gibson – but the Strat was the type of instrument you couldn’t really bluff on. I played differently with the Gibson. I loved the sustain I got with the Strat and how I could get a certain type of distortion and breakup.

“I also just liked the look of it. I remember seeing Hank Marvin of the Shadows playing a Strat; and Hank Marvin was, to me, the first guitar hero in Great Britain. He’d jump up there with that pink Strat. So I had to have a Strat of my own.”

How did you meet Phil Lynott and form Thin Lizzy?

“I was at a club amid my first LSD trip. There was this band playing which had Phil as the singer, though he wasn’t playing bass. I was sitting there watching and the LSD began to kick in – but I could tell Phil was special. He had these impressive vocal chops and great charisma. I thought to myself, ‘Man, if only I could find a guy like that.’

“So when they took a break, Phil went to the dressing room and I followed him. He said, ‘Can I help you?’ I said, ‘I’m looking to form a three-piece band.’ At this point, the acid kicked in again, and I was laughing at everything I saw around the room.

“Phil looked at me like I’d just escaped an asylum and asked, ‘Are you okay?’ I said, ‘It’s my first trip on acid,’ and we kept talking. He told me about a drummer called Brian Downey, and he said to go to the Zodiac Club and find him there.

“As I was leaving, Phil said, ‘I want to play bass, and I want to write my own songs.’ I said, ‘Yeah? Okay – quit your band.’ From there we met for a rehearsal; it was very shaky, but I knew there was something there, and we stuck with it.”

What was it like working with Phil on the first Thin Lizzy record?

“We took a lot of risks. I’d only known Phil for about six weeks then; I remember sitting in the pub and he said, ‘Fancy getting a house together to work on music?’ Many bands were doing that, and we figured it was easier than going into a rehearsal space. We got this space in Dublin, and many of the earliest Thin Lizzy songs were written there.”

After Thin Lizzy, the band moved from Ireland to London for Shades of a Blue Orphanage. Why?

“We’d begun to cause some waves around Ireland. We went from having no one at gigs to having a huge line out the door. I took it for granted, but we kept getting bigger. Our manager said to us, ‘There’s nothing more here for you – you’ve got to move to London.’

“So we went, and started playing six nights a week. But no one knew who we were. We might have been huge in Ireland, but in London we were nobodies. We started from the bottom all over again, and that’s when we went in to do the second record.

“The thing was that we didn’t have enough songs, and since we were working so hard, we didn’t have time to arrange things. The second record was literally made up on the spot.”

Vagabonds of the Western World seemed more thought-out. Tell me about recording Whiskey in the Jar.

“That was the hardest piece of music I’ve ever worked on in my life. We’d been messing with it in rehearsal. But I thought, ‘This isn’t blues. It’s not funk. It’s not jazz. It’s an Irish folk song – and I don’t know how to approach it.’”

How did you end up working up the iconic guitar solo?

“It was unreal. I’d get up each morning, go to the guitar – and couldn’t think of anything. It went on for weeks, then Phil started calling: ‘We need this done!’

“One night we played in Wales, and while driving home I was sitting in the back seat. I went into this dreamlike state and started thinking about Irish pipes. I said, ‘Right, forget about the guitar. Let’s run with this.’

“I heard Irish pipes in my brain, and the solo started forming in my mind. I’d never thought that way before. Once I’d gotten into the song and the solo was underway, I hit it hard as it was happening. It was just one of those special moments where every note worked. It was very unusual.”

What gear did you use?

“I had a very strange setup. When I got to London, I had a Vox AC30, but it went missing. I was trying a lot of different amps, and I ended up trying a Vox with two PA speakers. I tried a Hiwatt and a Marshall but I didn’t like them.

“Our manager got me this transistor amp, and when I plugged it in Phil said, ‘There’s no valves!’ It had a treble booster that I paired with this echo chamber. I plugged the Strat in, cranked the volume to the edge, and off I went.”

Vagabonds of the Western World showed promise, but it all came crashing down during the band’s New Year’s Eve show in ’73.

“A lot had happened by that point. I was only in my 20s, and we’d ended up in London, which I hated. I couldn’t handle it being so different from Ireland. I went down a slippery slope of drinking and drugs, and we were hardly making any real money.

“I’d be held up in my attic apartment all alone when we weren’t gigging. It was fucking horrible. I wasn’t looking after myself – I’d be drinking, taking Valium, and other drugs. By the time we got to the New Year’s Eve show – which was part of an Irish tour – I was like a zombie. I had no idea what I was doing.

“So we get into Belfast, our hometown, and I’m on a lot of drugs before the show at Queen’s University. It was sold out, and I drank half a bottle of whiskey to calm down.

“Then It was time to go on – and I couldn’t do it. Drinking all the whiskey had me feeling like a giant was smothering me; I could barely raise my arms, let alone play the guitar. I couldn't get it together, and even though we were used to playing stoned, this was different. 

“I said, ‘Eric, you should not be doing this gig. You’re not capable.’ So Phil and Brian launched into the set, and by the third song, I was gone. This voice in my head said, ‘Get out of here. Leave this situation, or you’ll be dead.’

“Then the voice said, ‘Throw the guitar in the air, kick the speaker over, and fucking get out.’ Before I knew what I was doing, I saw my guitar in the air in slow motion, and I went and pushed my amp over.

“People thought it was an act, but I collapsed under the stage. And the crew ran over, yelling, ‘Get back out there!’ But I said, ‘No, I’ve had it. I’ve left the band.’”

Did they try to talk you into staying?

“The following day our manager phoned me up, saying, ‘What the fuck is going on?’ I said, ‘Listen, I’ve left the band.’ He said, ‘You can’t. You’re halfway through this tour.’

“I said, ‘I’m just not there. I’m not capable.’ At one point they might have taken me to a clinic to dry out; but he said, ‘Okay. That’s your last word?’ I said, ‘Yes.’ Then he said, ‘Right. I’m getting Gary Moore,’ and he hung up. That was it.”

Did Phil call you after Brian Robertson left Thin Lizzy in the late ‘70s?

“No. Phil didn’t want me to rejoin because he didn’t trust that I wouldn’t do what I’d done again, which I got. He also wanted guys with long, flowing locks who could jump around. I didn’t fit that image. I was a fucking musician, not a gymnast.

“I mostly stood there and wasn’t concerned about being a good-looking bloke. For Phil, if they could play blues scales at full volume while looking good, that was all he wanted.”

Did you agree with the direction that Phil took Thin Lizzy?

“It was a different band. With me there was a lot of acoustic stuff and folk-inspired songs that were bluesy and psychedelic. But Phil leaned on harder stuff with Brian and Scott Gorham in the band.

“Don’t get me wrong – those albums were excellent, just not how it might have been. Thin Lizzy became a superb band, just a completely different one than I was in.”

You did return for their 1983 show, along with all Thin Lizzy's other guitarists, save for Snowy White.

“All I remember are the walls of Marshall amps. I’d never seen anything like it. I walked in and there was this massive wall of amps, and Phil said, ‘I want to do The Rocker.’

“So, we did the soundcheck, and at one point I stopped playing – and nobody noticed. There were so many guitars, and it was just deafening. I couldn’t escape it; I thought, ‘Man, I am not into this.’ I felt like crying; it was a real take-no-prisoners deal.”

In 1999, Metallica called you to perform Whiskey in the Jar in Dublin. Did that catch you off guard?

“I didn’t know anything about Metallica. Not a thing. I’m not into that type of music. So when someone told me they’d recorded Whiskey in the Jar I was like, ‘Oh, who are they?’

“And then they asked me to do the gig, which was chaos. I don’t know why they called me. I think the impression they had was that I knew who they were. I didn’t. They thought I was in awe of them – not true.

“One of the roadies drove me to their hotel, and I stood in the hall waiting. And one by one, they came down, shook my hand, and they expected me to be impressed. But I didn’t know who they were, I’d never heard their music, and I wasn’t bothered. That took them by surprise.”

What was the experience of playing with them like?

“It wasn’t enjoyable. There was no chemistry. They tuned a whole step down, which is typical for them. I, however, didn’t. So now I’m hearing Whiskey in the Jar in F, which was very odd. From that point forward, my brain wasn’t into it. I just played it my way, and we went our separate ways.”

Do you still have the Strat you tossed into the air during your final show with Thin Lizzy in 1973?

“I do! I have other guitars, but my main one is the same Strat I used with Thin Lizzy. I’ve had it for about 50 years, and I play it daily. I call it Old Faithful because it never lets me down.

“I had a drunken conversation with it one night where I said, ‘I’m sorry I threw you up in the air in Belfast. Can you please forgive me?’ I believe it has.”

• Keep up to date with Bell and his Eric Bell Trio via Facebook.

Many people think of Epiphone as the budget version of Gibson, and while that isn’t completely untrue, they do have a rich history that goes beyond being bought out in the late ’50s. Epiphone has been making instruments for over 150 years now and you’ll actually see many of the best Epiphone guitars being used in studios and on stages around the world by amateurs and pros alike.

Starting out making lutes, banjos, acoustic guitars and other instruments, Epiphone was acquired by Gibson in 1957 and remained in the US until 1970. Production then moved to the Far East and that’s where most Epiphones are made today. 

Epiphone produces more affordable versions of Gibson’s most popular models – the Les Paul, SG, Explorer and more, but they do also make some guitars that are exclusive to them, like the Casino. The quality of Epiphones is very, very good – you might even find that the certain Epiphones give some of the cheaper Gibsons a good run for their money.

There are lots of different models on offer, with many of them looking the same; they even have incredibly similar names too. We’ve picked out what we reckon to be the best Epiphone guitars on the market right now. We have only included electric guitars (they make so many good acoustics that it wouldn’t be right to include just a few here!), and we have stayed away from the more expensive USA-made models.

Best Epiphone guitars: Quick list

The best Epiphone guitars available today 

Best Epiphone for tone

One of the most talked about guitars of 2023, the Epiphone version of Kirk Hammett/Peter Green/Gary Moore’s ‘Greeny’ Les Paul, whilst expensive, is probably the best new Epiphone guitar you’ll get your hands on. In a lot of ways, it’s a Gibson in all but name – it’s got the open book style headstock, Gibson Custom Shop pickups, plus if you close your eyes and play it, you’ll convince yourself you’re playing a full-fat USA Les Paul.

Yes, it’s expensive for an Epiphone made in China, but honestly, it really is a fantastic electric guitar. It’s made incredibly well, it looks amazing, especially with its satin-style finish, and it really sounds the part too. The Gibson Greenybuckers fitted in this guitar are almost identical to the ones you get in the Custom Shop version (the difference is that these are wax-potted). They dish out the highly sought-after vintage PAF tone really well, though these perhaps sit at the hotter end. If you’re seeking classic rock or old-school blues tones, then the Epiphone Greeny is a perfect choice; that said, stick it through a really distorted amp and you’ll still get great results. 

The Epiphone Greeny is very much inspired by the much more expensive Gibson models, and whilst expensive for a Chinese-made guitar, still comes in a lot cheaper than those and doesn’t compromise on quality. 

Read our full Epiphone Kirk Hammett Greeny 1959 Les Paul Standard review

Best Epiphone for punk

What you can’t do with two P-90s, a volume and tone knob for each and a three-way pickup selector, we don’t want to know about. The Les Paul Special is a real back-to-basics rock and roll machine, but it’s also really versatile. 

Sitting sonically somewhere between a regular single coil and a humbucker pickup, a P-90 can give you the best of both worlds. They’re bright and cutting without sounding thin, and they can be beefy and thumpy without being muddy or boomy. Whether you’re playing clean or driven, they stay articulate and clear, plus if you’re playing through a distorted rig, they’ll clean up nicely as you back the volume down. 

The design is as stripped back and simple as you can get without sacrificing any sort of versatility or practicality, and the TV Yellow finish is an absolute classic. Great value, and definitely one of the best Epiphone guitars out there. 

Read our full Epiphone Les Paul Special TV Yellow review

Best Epiphone overall

The Casino is a guitar in its own right, in that it’s not a direct copy or recreation of a Gibson model (though it is similar to a Gibson ES-330). Used by the likes of the Beatles, Paul Weller, Gary Clarke Jr, Elliott Smith and loads more, the Casino is a hollowbody guitar fitted with a pair of P-90 pickups – and for us, is definitely one of the best Epiphone guitars out there.

The hollow body helps it resonate really well, both unplugged and amplified. It does also mean that it’s more prone to feedback if you’re using a fair bit of gain, though when used carefully, this can actually lead to some really cool results – you can get notes that last forever when controlled right! The pickups have plenty of midrange and top end bite, so you’ll cut through the mix nicely, plus they compress slightly in all the right ways. 

The trapeze tailpiece adds a touch of class, and the Vintage Deluxe tuners keep your guitar in pitch whilst retaining the vintage aesthetic. Unless you’re playing really heavy music, there isn’t much this instrument can’t do – no wonder it’s been a best-seller since the early ’60s!

Best Epiphone for style

This is another model made in partnership with Gibson’s Custom Shop. This one takes us back to 1958, and what at that time was a radical new guitar shape – the Flying V. Even now, it’s one of the most striking guitars there is. Also, while it might be on the more expensive side of things for an Epiphone, this is a pretty good recreation of one of the rarest and most valuable guitars ever made. 

The Epiphone ’58 Flying V is made using korina wood, like the originals. It’s also fitted with Gibson Burstbucker 2 and 3 pickups, and high quality electronics. It’s a great sounding guitar – powerful, but dynamic. Whether you’re into heavy metal or slow blues, the ’58 Flying V can cater for it all, and look insanely cool whilst doing so. It’s not the easiest guitar to sit down with, though the rubber knee rest strip on the bottom of the body does help. 

It’s a fantastic recreation of a legendary guitar, built very well with some high quality electronics inside. All in all, one of the best Epiphone guitars on the market. 

Read our full Epiphone 1958 Korina Flying V review

Best value for money

It doesn’t get much more classic than an old-school Les Paul. The Epiphone Les Paul Standard 60s is a modern recreation of some of those early Les Pauls. A vintage Gibson would likely set you back hundreds of thousands; this one, a matter of hundreds. 

Like all other Les Paul Standards, this one has a mahogany body topped with a maple cap. It’s got Epiphone’s ProBucker 2 and 3 pickups in there that deliver the perfect classic rock tone, though should you want to play heavier music, the bridge pickup in particular will allow you to do that just as well.

In comparison to the ’50s version, the ’60s model has a slimmer neck which many players find more comfortable, especially if you use your thumb to reach around the top of the fingerboard. It’s also got a set of fantastic Grover machine heads which do a great job of holding the guitar’s tuning, and there are also some really nice finishes available. 

Best Epiphone for metal

Looking at this guitar, you might think that its most striking feature is its shape – it’s a really cool cross between an Explorer and a Futura, hence the name. However, we think the pickups are probably the star of the show here.

The Epiphone Extura Prophecy is fitted with a pair of Fishman Fluence Proprietary pickups that offer you three distinct tones. The first is the classic Gibson PAF tone, so if you want to cover some classic rock territory, then you can. You’ve then got a modern, high output voice that’s perfect for contemporary metal and other heavier styles of music, plus a beautiful, glassy single-coil sound. This makes it supremely versatile, allowing you to change sounds quite drastically at the flick of a switch.

Add into the mix some high quality hardware, slim neck profile and some insane finishes and you’ve got what has to be one of the best Epiphone guitars out there, particularly for more modern players.

Best for playability

The Gibson SG really is a do-it-all guitar; whether it’s blues, rock, metal, country, pop or whatever else you’re playing, the SG – in particular this Epiphone 60s Maestro Vibrola – can tackle everything. It’s a guitar based on a model from 1961 and is dripping in vintage mojo. There have been a few changes to bring it more in line with the needs of modern players though: there’s a slimmer neck profile, 12” fingerboard radius and medium jumbo frets, making it superbly playable all over the neck.

The pickups are Epiphone ProBucker 2 and 3; the latter being slightly overwound in the bridge position leading to a higher output that sounds immense through a high gain rig. They’re inspired by some legendary Gibson pickups, so they deliver that classic warm PAF-style sound that so many people are after. The old-school vibrola allows you to add some subtle vibrato when it’s called for, though it might not give enough for those wanting more extreme dive-bombs. 

Best Epiphone for jazz

Now this is a guitar that screams class. It’s a design that has been around for over 70 years and is perfect for guitar for jazz. The hollowbody design gives it plenty of resonance, and a deep, luscious tone, further enhanced by the Alnico Classic PRO humbuckers. 

With it having two pickups, and a volume and tone knob for each, you can get a variety of sounds from this guitar. The maple body does lend a touch of brightness to the sound, which means that it works for a lot more than just jazz – old school rock and rollers will love it, as well as blues and country players too. Dial back on the tone knobs though and you’re instantly back in that dark, warm jazz tone territory. 

Wine Red and Sunburst are two classic color options, and the Frequensator Split Trapeze tailpiece is a beautiful finishing touch. It’s also got a very playable Slim Taper ’60s C neck profile and sturdy, quality tuners. 

Best Epiphone guitars: Buying advice

Body shape and weight considerations

The body of the guitar can have a big impact on how comfortable it is for you. Something like an SG or Les Paul is generally pretty comfortable to play standing up or sitting down, as the curves of the body allow for it easily – a Flying V not so much!

Also bear in mind the body construction. A Les Paul Standard has a mahogany body topped with a maple cap, which can end up being fairly heavy. A Les Paul Special does away with the maple cap, so will generally be lighter; the same goes for most SGs. A hollowbody is likely to be even lighter still, so if you’re standing up playing for long periods of time, then that could be worth considering. Just remember though that a hollowbody guitar is going to be more prone to feedback. 

How we choose products

Here at Guitar World, we are experts in our field, with many years of playing and product testing between us. We live and breathe everything guitar and bass related, and we draw on this knowledge and experience of using products in live, recording and rehearsal scenarios when selecting the products for our guides.

When choosing what we believe to be the best Epiphone guitars available right now, we combine our hands-on experience, user reviews and testimonies and engage in lengthy discussions with our editorial colleagues to reach a consensus about the top products in any given category.

First and foremost, we are guitarists, and we want other players to find the right product for them. So we take into careful consideration everything from budget to feature set, ease of use and durability to come up with a list of what we can safely say are the best Epiphone guitars on the market right now.

Read more about our rating system, how we choose the gear we feature, and exactly how we test each product.

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The Greeny Les Paul needs no introduction. Currently in the possession of Kirk Hammett, Greeny is one of the most iconic electric guitars of all time, having passed through the hands of both Peter Green and Gary Moore before landing in the Metallica maestro’s lap.

Owing to its heritage, Greeny has seen its fair share of action. Not only has it been used by Green, Moore and Hammett in the studio to record some of blues and rock’s most iconic tracks, it’s also a live workhorse.

Because of this, though, it faces significant occupational hazards. Under its previous owners, Greeny was cracked, damaged, and significantly injured, resulting in a long chain of repairs that merely add to the instrument’s lore.

Now, speaking in a new interview with Rick Beato, Hammett revealed that another injury was recently added to that long medical history, after he witnessed an accident that set him off “bawling like a baby.”

“Two weeks ago… I got up one morning, it was about six o’ clock, and I’m sitting at my desk drinking my coffee,” Hammett began. “Of course I have a stack of guitar magazines – ‘cause I still read all the guitar magazines – and I’m sipping [my coffee], out of the corner of my eye I see the stack of guitar magazines just sliding off the desk.

“I turn my head, and I see the stack graze Greeny’s neck, and then Greeny going in slow motion [falling to the ground face first]. I set down my coffee, picked it up, and sure enough there was the existing crack – it’s been there since [the] Gary Moore days – that crack opened up.”

Understandably, Hammett’s immediate response was an emotional one: “I hate admitting this to the audience but I started bawling like a baby. I don't know why – it was a weird emotional reaction, and I was surprised by my reaction.”

However, the injury wasn’t as bad as Hammett first feared. After receiving instructions from his guitar tech to contact repair extraordinaire Gary Brawer, the Metallica member was informed that the crack was, fortunately, an easy fix.

Hammett went on, “I sent [Brawer] pictures, and he was like, ‘That’s great.’ I was like, ‘You’re nuts.’ He said, ‘Let me explain: you want big, open cracks like that so that you can get the glue in there and cover as much surface area as possible.’”

With the help of new wood glues, Greeny was restored to its former glory with yet another injury under its belt – but one that paled significantly in comparison to some of the past ones it has experienced.

Indeed, as Hammett explains in the interview, Greeny – while in the possession of Moore – was once obliterated into “25 pieces” during a road accident that saw a vehicle crash into the back of the car that Moore and Greeny were in.

“What I did to Greeny a couple of weeks ago is kind of like an arm sprain,” Hammett said.

Though, at the time, seeing Greeny’s head hanging off the neck was borderline traumatic, Hammett resolved to take a philosophical approach to the incident, saying how overseeing a headstock crack indicates true ownership of the mythical Les Paul.

He reflected: “When Peter Green had it, the headstock was broken. When Gary Moore had it, the headstock was broken. Now that I have it and accidentally broke the headstock? It’s really my guitar now.”

We imagine Hammett will probably be more careful where he places Greeny in the future, but at least he’s got some signature guitar versions of the legendary Les Paul he can place on his guitar magazine guitar stand instead (probably not the $50,000 collector’s edition or $20,000 Custom Shop version, mind).

They include the USA Standard Greeny Les Paul and an upcoming Epiphone Greeny – an affordable take on the single-cut that Hammett himself said he prefers to the $20k Gibson version.

Head over to Rick Beato’s YouTube channel to watch the full interview with Hammett.

Just over 30 years ago, in November 1992, Gary Moore stepped onstage at London's Town And Country Club to play a show that would later be immortalized on his album, Live Blues. The high point of the night was two songs with guest of honor (and then some): B.B. King.

The collaboration yielded what must rank as one of the greatest call and response sequences ever committed to tape, but to fully understand its power onstage, it's useful to look at the context offstage.

By the early '90s, Moore was thoroughly at home in the blues stage of his career – a move that had been signposted on his breakaway 1979 hit, Parisienne Walkways, and then finally embraced on his hugely successful 1990 LP, Still Got The Blues.

Following the album’s Platinum success, however, Moore had the creative (and commercial) license to embed himself fully in the music he loved most – and the confidence followed.

Many players would quake in the presence of King, but in the Live Blues footage, Moore is in his element, rampaging across the stage and locking eyes with the blues master with a grin on his face.

What’s more, he yields Greeny – the legendary Les Paul he inherited from Peter Green, notable for the reverse position of its neck humbucker – with a lightness of touch that puts him right at home next to King's instinctive, unconscious fretting.

At around 4:10, the two players begin to exchange ideas and stretch each other out, and it all builds over four minutes of unmissable playing into an astonishing call and response sequence. King's expressions say it all.

Some years down the line, Moore would tell the UK’s Planet Rock radio (via Far Out) that King's The Thrill Is Gone was one of his favorite tracks.

“I love sad love songs that are played in that kind of blues mode,” said Moore. “I've always liked it, going back to Peter Green and people like that. That minor-key thing to me in the blues and the guitar, they just go together so well, and he is a master of it.”

Of course, Moore himself has proven hugely influential on the likes of Kirk Hammett, Joe Bonamassa, and many other leading players, but given his shot to perform alongside his own hero, it’s fair to say Moore did one of his favorite songs justice. 

If this has left you inspired, why not take a look at this lesson on Moore’s signature guitar style? Or, you could go direct to the master himself and learn how to play like B.B. King.

Gibson has officially launched what is perhaps the most anticipated signature guitar in its history, the USA Standard Kirk Hammett ‘Greeny’ Les Paul – confirming it will be priced at $3,199.

The firm first detailed the USA Standard option a few weeks back, alongside the announcement of a painstaking $20k Custom Shop reproduction of the legendary instrument. Now it has opened orders and announced a price that shaves some 85 percent off the Custom Shop offering.

The Greeny is renowned first for its famous owners – notably Peter Green, Gary Moore and, currently, Kirk Hammett. Aside from its pedigree as one of Gibson’s storied ’59 ’Bursts, it carries a famous technical quirk in that its neck pickup was accidentally installed the wrong way round. 

As such, when played in the middle position with both pickups selected, it creates a partially out-of-phase tone that Peter Green came to lean on heavily in his early Fleetwood Mac recordings.

When the guitar passed into Hammett’s hands, the Metallica man began to work with Gibson to document and analyze the instrument. The now-notoriously slavish studies led to several high end reissues, including a strictly limited $50k Custom Shop Collector’s Edition and the more recent Murphy Lab-aged $20k Custom Shop build.

Both of those runs have proven to be enormously successful, despite the prohibitive pricing, and Gibson’s initial Custom Shop stock of the $20k model is said to have sold out in the first morning of the announcement.

The USA Standard Greeny still represents a considerable chunk of change in the days of affordable overseas production, but compared with Gibson’s wider USA Standard line looks to represent reasonable value. 

For instance, it’s only $200 over the price tag of the Les Paul Standard ’50s at $2,999 and is on the cheaper end of the range of USA Standard signature Les Pauls, which also start at $2,999. We’re not sure if that will fully justify the purchase in the eyes of your significant other/accountant/hungry children, but it’s a start… 

Most of the saving is achieved by producing it in Gibson’s main factory, as opposed to the meticulous eyes of the firm’s boutique Custom Shop.

Inevitably, some compromises have also had to be made on the spec and components. For instance, the USA Standard favors an unblemished AAA maple top over the carefully reproduced wear of the Custom Shop’s Murphy Lab aging process.

Elsewhere, it comes loaded with Greeny Bucker pickups, which are still proprietary, but are probably not going to have the same nuance as Custom Shop-produced units found in the more expensive model. The neck is also a standard ’50s vintage profile, rather than a complete copy of the carve found on the original Greeny.

Nonetheless, it’s still a high-end build in the grand scheme of 21st century guitar production and, more importantly, one that will place those killer out-of-phase LP tones in the hands of mere mortals.

If the USA Standard still feels a bit rich for your tastes, well, we’d bet good money that there’s an Epiphone Greeny currently being developed behind closed doors.

In the meantime, head over to Gibson for more information. And for more background on the much-mythologized Greeny itself, check out our guide to 6 times the legendary “Greeny” Gibson Les Paul was used to create electric guitar magic.

For this lesson, I’ve gone with what is essentially a two-chord vamp (A7 and D), taking a blues-rock approach with nods to Joe Bonamassa, Gary Moore and a little bit of Joe Walsh.

It is unashamedly pentatonic, with a few b5s to make it technically the ‘blues scale’ – plus a couple of brief triads and descending A Dorian run at the end. 

That said, I was not thinking in those terms as I played. The pentatonic and CAGED shapes exist within the same spaces on the fretboard, and, if you link the positions together, it’s easy to find yourself playing a linear scale pattern like that last one. (Initially, I had felt this unimaginative and was going to go for another take, but then realised it’s quite a good demo of that last point…) 

Aside from the notes/patterns used, a major consideration is the rhythm. It would be perfectly possible to play an interesting line with just one or two notes – for a while, at least. Perhaps the boldest rhythmic contrast here is the use of short staccato passages and longer sustained notes side by side, though things do get a little more ‘70s cop show’ in Example 2! 

It isn’t really until halfway through the solo that I start making use of the drive and sustain available with this kind of tone, with some held high notes/vibrato. You might want to consider what sort of vibrato works for you best: fast Paul Kossoff, introduced selectively like Gary Moore, or wide and aggressive like Zakk Wylde. The best way to assess these aspects of your own playing is to record and listen back. Enjoy! 

Example 1

Initially, I was thinking here of Joe Walsh at the beginning of Funk #49. This is classic shape 1 A minor pentatonic, which fits okay over the A7 as long as you don’t labour the C natural or bend it slightly sharp. 

At bar 4, I change position for the D major chord. Though I’m not playing the whole chord here, it is the lower part of the shape Hendrix uses in Wind Cries Mary. This happens again later, so don’t worry if it isn’t obvious.

Example 2

Back to the shape 1 A minor pentatonic for some doublestops and staccato rhythms, sliding down to the adjacent shape 5 at the 3rd/5th frets. You may notice the chromatic slide in bar 3. 

To be honest, this wasn’t really intentional, but that’s how it’s come out so that’s what I’ve transcribed! Be sure to exaggerate/emphasise the staccato phrases for the full effect – and lose a little gain if necessary.

Example 3

Once you internalise the patterns, this kind of position shift isn’t difficult. Starting from the shape 5 mentioned in Example 2, a bold slide up to the 9th fret leads to a restatement of the Jimi-style D chord I mentioned earlier. 

Knowing there is a brief C chord here, I’ve grabbed a nearby C major triad then, in the heat of the moment, a D major as a passing thing. From here, it’s back to pentatonic with a series of slides and doublestops, for which you’ll need to organise your fingers carefully.

Example 4

A brief excursion to the highest register before using the third and fourth strings to shift all the way back to where we started: the shape 1 A minor pentatonic. However, we don’t stay there long, either. 

The palm-muted A Dorian run might not be the most melodic choice, but it does demonstrate another option at your disposal. This would also run neatly back into chord accompaniment in a band context.

Hear it here

James Gang – James Gang Rides Again

This 1970 classic from James Gang kicks off with Funk #49, from which I briefly borrow the repicked bend for the beginning of my own solo. It’s also well worth checking out Joe Walsh’s funky blues-rock riffing and solo phrasing on tracks such as Asshton Park, Woman and Thanks. 

Pay particular attention to the way certain chord inversions can integrate into the pentatonic‑based riffs and phrases; there are very few ‘straight’ powerchords to be found.

Joe Bonamassa – Dust Bowl

Joe has always straddled the gap between British Invasion-style blues, and classic and modern rock. Check out the title track for blues with a soul/funk tinge, plus some atmospheric textures.

Elsewhere, try You Better Watch Yourself for a more traditional blues shuffle – though, as ever, with lots of useful ideas worth lifting! Finally, check out The Whale That Swallowed Jonah to hear how Joe brings a blues sensibility to a less obviously ‘blues-based’ chord progression.

Gary Moore – Blues and Beyond

Gary Moore’s combination of rip-roaring technique and melodic awareness is unmatched, even in his ’70s/fusion days, which saw him integrate jazz lines into his repertoire with the same flair. 

There’s so much to enjoy in this collection: check out his fiery phrasing on Stormy Monday, some more soulful lines on That’s Why I Play the Blues, and, finally, hear him bring a Jeff Beck vibe to The Prophet.