Gary Moore’s 1956 Gibson ES-5
Gary got this guitar in 1981 while recording with Greg Lake. The story of how he acquired it varies, but the guitar originated from a guy who came to the studio where Gary and Greg were rehearsing. The same guy sold Gary his 1961 Fender Stratocaster.
A chap turned up at the rehearsals, or to the studio, with a couple of guitars. Gary was there and he was sold one first. It was an ES-5, which Gary either bought straight off or bought from Greg when Greg didn’t want it.
The Red STRAT, Guitarist, 16 Dec 2016
The guitar is most likely an early to mid-50s pre-Switchmaster model featuring a blonde finish and three P90 pickups. Most notably, it can be seen on the cover of the 1987 album Wild Frontier.
Apparently, sometime in early 2000, Gary decided to sell the guitar. The auction was organized in London, but there doesn’t seem to be any information online regarding whether the guitar was sold at that point or not.
That’s right; that guitar’s actually for sale in London. I got that guitar from Greg Lake when I played with him. It’s a very nice one. He has quite a selection of old acoustics.
VintageGuitar magazine – Gary Moore, Back to the Rock
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