Gary Moore – History of Sorts

ROCKTOBER Episode 3: Over the Hills and Far away-Gary Moore

“Over the Hills and Far Away” is a song by Northern Irish musician Gary Moore, released in December 1986 by 10 Records as the first single from his sixth solo album Wild Frontier. The song peaked at number 20 on the UK Singles Chart,[but was most successful in the Nordic countries, topping the charts in Finland and Norway.

The song features The Chieftains, who also appear in the video.Moore performed the song with the group at the TV show celebrating their 25th anniversary in 1988.

If anyone thinks the Chieftains are rigid in their attitudes, a look at the list of people with whom they have recorded (Mick Jagger, Paul McCartney, Art Garfunkel, Dan Fogelberg, Mike Oldfield) or jammed (Jerry Garcia, Eric Clapton, Jackson Browne) should put that notion to rest.

They have recently finished a single with Canada’s rising rock group Glass Tiger, and Moloney chuckles when he talks about another collaboration, with Irish rock guitarist Gary Moore, a platinum seller in Europe. “ ‘Over the Hills and Far Away’ was the single, the video for which, incidentally, they dressed me up in black leather. I looked like Napoleon gone wrong.” Paddy Moloney said.

sources

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-03-24-ca-212-story.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Over_the_Hills_and_Far_Away_(Gary_Moore_song)

Instrumental Tunes

This is going to be a bit of a deviation from my usual heavy historical blogs. It will all about music in this one.

A great tune doesn’t always need to be accompanied by lyrics, sometimes the music itself does all the talking. These are just some of my favourite instrumental tracks.

Happy Birthday Gary Moore

Robert William Gary Moore was born in Belfast on 4 April 1952,the son of Winnie, a housewife, and Robert Moore, a promoter who ran the Queen’s Hall ballroom in Hollywood. He grew up near Belfast’s Stormont Estate with four siblings.

He credited his father for getting him started in music. When Moore was six years old, his father invited him onstage to sing “Sugartime” with a showband at an event he had organised, which first sparked his interest in music. His father bought him his first guitar, a second-hand Framus acoustic, when Moore was 10 years old. Though left-handed, he learned to play the instrument right-handed. Not long after, he formed his first band, The Beat Boys, who mainly performed Beatles songs. He later joined Platform Three and The Method, amongst others. Around this time, he befriended guitarist Rory Gallagher, who often performed at the same venues as him. He left Belfast for Dublin in 1968 just as The Troubles were starting in Northern Ireland. A year later, his parents separated.

After moving to Dublin, Moore joined Irish blues rock band Skid Row. At the time, the group were fronted by vocalist Phil Lynott. He and Moore soon became friends, and they shared a bedsit in Ballsbridge.

After leaving Skid Row, Phil Lynott formed the hard rock group Thin Lizzy. After the departure of guitarist Eric Bell, Moore was recruited to help finish the band’s ongoing tour in early 1974. During his time with the group, Moore recorded three songs with them, including “Still in Love with You”

After Thin Lizzy, Gary Moore had a successful solo career. He is one of my all time guitar heroes. Unfortunately I never got to see him live, he died on 6 February 2011. I did get to see his brother Cliff Moore perform live in our local pub. In 1994.

It takes two-Duets

This is not going to be a complicated blog, it is basically what is says in the title, Duets, just another way to get you all some entertainment during this era of lock downs . Just a few of my favourite Duets.

Rod Stewart and Tina Turner – It Takes Two