Moore grew up on a road opposite Stormont, off the
Upper Newtownards Road in east
Belfast and started performing at a young age, having picked up a battered
acoustic guitar at the age of eight, and got his first quality guitar at the age of fourteen, learning to play the right-handed instrument in the standard way despite being left-handed. Like so many others, Moore's early influences were artists such as
Elvis Presley and
The Beatles. Later, having seen
Jimi Hendrix and
John Mayall's Bluesbreakers in his home town of
Belfast, his own style was developing into a
blues-rock sound that would come to dominate his career. His largest influence in the early days came from
Peter Green, of
Fleetwood Mac fame, who acted as a mentor when Moore was playing in
Dublin. Green continued to influence Moore, and Moore later paid tribute to Green in his 1995 album
Blues for Greeny, an album consisting entirely of Peter Green compositions. On the album Moore played Peter Green's celebrated 1959
Les Paul standard guitar which Green had loaned to Moore after leaving Fleetwood Mac. Moore ultimately purchased the guitar, at Green's request, so that "it would have a good home".
Gary Moore has remained relatively unknown in the US, although his work has "brought substantial acclaim and commercial success in most other parts of the world - especially in Europe". Moore has throughout his career been recognised as an influence to many guitarists such as
Randy Rhoads,
John Sykes and
Kirk Hammett.
Over his long career, Gary Moore has been anything but predictable in his style and
genre, at times to the dismay and confusion of his fans and critics alike, ranging from an amalgam of
rock,
jazz,
blues and
country, to traditional
electric blues, to
hard rock,
heavy metal and more. Although primarily recognized as a
blues-rock artist, his variations and versatility are no more evidenced than by a glimpse at some of his collaborations including such diverse acts/artists as
George Harrison,
Trilok Gurtu,
Dr. Strangely Strange,
Colosseum II,
Albert Collins,
Jimmy Nail,
Mo Foster,
Ginger Baker,
Jim Capaldi, Vicki Brown,
Cozy Powell,
The Beach Boys,
Ozzy Osbourne and
Andrew Lloyd Webber, to name a few.
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