Plans to erect a statue to celebrate son of Belfast and guitar legend Gary Moore have been given the go-ahead just weeks after a similar tribute to rock icon Rory Gallagher was unveiled.
A proposal by Green Party Councillor Brian Smyth, on behalf of the Wild Frontier Memorial Project, to locate a suitable site on unused council land and to discuss the matter at the Belfast City Council statue working group, was approved at a City Hall committee meeting this week.
Earlier this month a statue to Donegal-born Rory Gallagher was unveiled beside the Ulster Hall on Bedford Street. Gallagher grew up in Derry and Cork, but was closely associated with Belfast and regularly played gigs in the city in the 1970s and 1980s when other acts stayed clear of the city due to the Troubles.
Gary Moore befriended Gallagher in Belfast as a teenager in the late 1960s before both hit the big time, and the two would often play the same venues on the same dates.
Moore (1952-2011) was an acclaimed Irish rock guitarist, singer songwriter, who was raised by his mother and music promoter father in the Ballymiscaw area beside the Stormont estate in East Belfast.
Moore was celebrated for his guitar skills, particularly in the field of rock blues and metal. He had a remarkable solo career, with collaborations such as BB King, Albert King, Phil Lynott and George Harrison, and was also an influential member of Thin Lizzy.
He started playing guitar at a very young age, and his first notable band was Skid Row in Dublin, where his talent quickly caught the attention of the music industry, including Fleetwood Mac’s Peter Green, who became a mentor. Moore purchased one of Green’s guitars, nicknamed Greenie and played it for over 30 years. It was sold after his death to a member of Metallica for over two million pounds, and is is estimated to be worth three million now.
Moore was known for several stints in rock bands including Thin Lizzy, and had a very close relationship with Phil Lynott, with whom they collaborated on a number of projects. He was in Thin Lizzy for the recording of their classic album Black Rose, and his solo on “Parisienne Walkways,” which he wrote with Lynott, became iconic in blues rock.
His solo career took off on the back of Parisienne Walkways in the late 1970s and into the 1980s, with other notable hits such as “Out in the Fields.” He turned back to the blues in the 1980s, releasing a highly acclaimed LP “Still Got the Blues” in 1990, one of his greatest successes featuring a number of collaborations with blues greats.
His guitar playing was characterized by an intense emotional depth mixed with blistering speed, and while influenced by figures such as Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix and Peter Green, from early on he developed a unique signature sound. He is regarded in rock guitar circles as one of the greatest guitarists of all time.
At the January meeting of the council’s City Growth and Regeneration Committee, Green Councillor Brian Smyth said Moore was “probably the greatest guitarist to come out of Belfast.”
He said: “Over the last couple of years I have been in touch with and gotten to know the Wild Frontier Memorial Project who are campaigning for a statue for Gary Moore in the city was born in.”
He said: “They seek to celebrate Moore’s contribution to blues and rock, inspire future generations of musicians, encourage tourism into Gary’s native city, and celebrate one of Belfast’s most remarkable talents, who is admired around the world. The campaign has been steadily building funds for a Gary Moore statue in Belfast, via tribute shows in Dublin and Belfast.
“If a statue of him was to become a reality, it would be similar to the Rory Gallagher one, and would be privately funded. The campaign has the full endorsement of Gary’s family in Belfast and in England, including his wife Jo, daughter Lily and son Jack.
“The Wild Frontier Memorial Project has expressed an interest in the potential statue being placed in the Cathedral Quarter. As a result, there are supporting letters from organisations such as the Cathedral Quarter bid, the Cathedral Quarter Trust and the Oh Yeah Centre.”
He asked for officers to carry out a land check in the Cathedral Quarter of council land that could be used as a potential site for the statue. The committee agreed and the matter will also go to the council’s statues working group.