Gary Moore could soon be honored with a statue in Belfast, hot on the heels of fellow Irish blues guitar great Rory Gallagher receiving a statue in the Northern Irish capital.
Gallagher’s statue has caused a little controversy in the city in which he often played shows — particularly during the Irish Troubles — after one crucial detail appeared to have been overlooked. It’s hoped that Moore’s statue will avoid a similar fate.
Plans for Moore’s (presumably) bronze immortalization on the streets of his hometown have been shared by Belfast’s Green Party councilor, Brian Smyth as the city looks to show a greater recognition of its musical heritage.
“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,” he said in an Instagram post. “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.”
Gallagher, born in Ballyshannon, but raised in Cork, passed in 1995, meaning the statue's unveiling came just shy of 30 years after the fact. Belfast-native Moore died in 2011 leaving a legacy of work behind him that transcended across rock, blues, and jazz fusion playing styles as a member of Skid Row, Thin Lizzy, and a solo artist.
Smyth, it seems, wants to make up for lost time by recognizing the city's most beloved musicians.
“Gary was one of the greatest ever guitarists and deserves to be honored in his home city,” his post goes on. “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.”
The councilor has been collaborating with the Wild Frontier Memorial Project, established in Moore's memory, to raise €80,000 (approx. $83,202) of private funding for the statue.
Speaking to The Irish News earlier this month while highlighting the need for the funding, he called Moore, “probably the greatest guitarist to come out of Belfast.”
Gary Moore famously came to own Peter Green's "Greeny" Les Paul – now under the care of Metallica's Kirk Hammett – and even played it on a kid's TV show on a Saturday morning to promote his Wild Frontier album in 1987 as his sensational musicianship blew his peers away time and time again.
The electric guitar also starred on the iconic slow blues song, Parisian Walkways, a song characterized by some incredible sustain from the guitarist. In a 2007 interview with GP, he reflected on how a young Randy Rhoads became enamored with the song after seeing him play it love. He would pull from the song for his epic outro solo on Mr Crowley.
By the latter part of his career, 'Greeny' took a back seat as he “tried to get a modern, less high-gain version of that natural sound that Eric Clapton had in the '60s.” The revelation came during a 2009 chat with GP which also revealed the extent of blues greats have impacted his sound.
Speaking after his passing, former Thin Lizzy guitarist Eric Bell said of Moore: “His playing was exceptional and beautiful. We won't see his like again.”
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