Anthony Moore (also known as Anthony More) (born 13 August 1948) is a British

experimental music Experimental music is a general label for any music or music genre that pushes existing boundaries and genre definitions. Experimental compositional practice is defined broadly by exploratory sensibilities radically opposed to, and questioning of, ...

composer, performer and producer. He was a founding member of the band Slapp Happy, worked with Henry Cow and has made a number of solo albums, including '' Flying Doesn't Help'' (1979) and ''World Service'' (1981). As a lyricist, Moore has collaborated with

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...

on two of their albums: '' A Momentary Lapse of Reason'' (1987) and '' The Division Bell'' (1994), and contributed music to the instrumental "Calling" from '' The Endless River'' (2014). He contributed lyrics to Richard Wright's '' Broken China'' (1996), worked with

Kevin Ayers Kevin Ayers (16 August 1944 – 18 February 2013) was an English singer-songwriter who was active in the English psychedelic music movement. Ayers was a founding member of the psychedelic band Soft Machine in the mid-1960s, and was closely asso ...

on various projects and also contributed lyrics to Trevor Rabin's ''Can't Look Away'' (1989) and Julian Lennon's '' Help Yourself'' (1991). For a fuller list of works and more recent activity since 2010 to date see

Biography

Anthony Moore's musical career began when he met Peter Blegvad, while both were students at St Christopher School, Letchworth. They played in various bands, including Slapp Happy (the name was a reference to Blegvad's then-girlfriend) and the Dum-Dums. After school Moore studied

Indian classical music Indian classical music is the art music, classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It is generally described using terms like ''Shastriya Sangeet'' and ''Marg Sangeet''. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as ...

with Viram Jasani in 1969, and went on to compose his first film soundtrack for David Larcher's ''Mare's Tale''. In 1971 Moore moved to

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

, Germany and worked in Hamburg's

scene, recording two minimalist albums for

Polydor Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...

Germany. In 1972 Blegvad visited Moore in Hamburg and, along with Moore's girlfriend (and soon to be wife) Dagmar Krause, Moore (guitar, keyboards), Blegvad (guitar) and Krause (vocals) formed the avant-pop trio, Slapp Happy. Moore and Blegvad composed the band's music. Slapp Happy recorded two albums for Polydor Germany with

krautrock Krautrock (also called , German for ) is a broad genre of experimental rock that developed in Germany in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It originated among artists who blended elements of psychedelic rock, avant-garde composition, and electron ...

group

Faust Faust ( , ) is the protagonist of a classic German folklore, German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust (). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a deal with the Devil at a ...

as their backing band. Polydor released the first, '' Sort Of'' in 1972, but rejected the second, ''Casablanca Moon''. This rejection prompted Slapp Happy to relocate to London where they signed up with

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...

and re-recorded ''Casablanca Moon'', released in 1974 by Virgin as '' Slapp Happy''. (The original ''Casablanca Moon'' was later released by Recommended Records as '' Acnalbasac Noom'' in 1980.) In 1974 Slapp Happy merged briefly with

avant-rock Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. Artists aim to liberate and innovate, wit ...

group Henry Cow, recording two albums in 1975, '' Desperate Straights'' and '' In Praise of Learning''. However soon after recording the second album, first Moore, then Blegvad left the amalgamation on account of incompatibilities with the group. Blegvad remarked that the "chords and the time signatures were too complicated." But Krause elected to remain with Henry Cow and that spelt the end of Slapp Happy. Moore and Blegvad parted company at this point, but participated in brief Slapp Happy reunions in 1982, 1997, 2000 and 2016–2017. Moore, Blegvad and Krause also collaborated in 1991 on the specially commissioned opera 'Camera', which was made by the production company After Image and was broadcast two years later on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

in the United Kingdom. After leaving Henry Cow/Slapp Happy, Moore relaunched his solo career in 1977 by releasing ''Out'' on Virgin Records, with backing by

and Andy Summers. ''Out'', however, was not commercial enough for Virgin, and they cancelled Moore's contract. In 1979 and 1981 Moore recorded '' Flying Doesn't Help'' and ''World Service'', respectively on independent labels. Both albums were well received. The song "World Service", inspired by the

BBC World Service The BBC World Service is a British Public broadcasting, public service broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC. It is the world's largest external broadcaster in terms of reception area, language selection and audience reach. It broadcas ...

, was released as a single and combines shortwave radio with heavy dance beats. Moore has worked in various European locations as a freelance composer, writing songs and film scores. He produced a number of albums, including This Heat's debut album, '' Angel Station'' by

Manfred Mann's Earth Band Manfred Mann's Earth Band are an English rock band formed by South African musician Manfred Mann (musician), Manfred Mann. Their hits include covers of Bruce Springsteen's "For You (Bruce Springsteen song), For You", "Blinded by the Light" an ...

(in conjunction with Mann who later covered his song "World Service"). Moore also collaborated with

on three of their albums. In 1996 Moore was appointed professor for research into sound and music in the context of new media at the Academy of Media Arts in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

, Germany. From 2000 to 2004 he was the principal of the Academy of Media Arts. Moore has also travelled to many European locations, presenting lectures on sound and music. In 2002 Moore formed a music trio with Jörg Lindenmaier and Peter C. Simon called LMS, named after the first letters of their surnames. They performed in France and Germany between 2002 and 2003. Krause, Moore and Blegvad reformed Slapp Happy in November 2016 to perform with Faust at the Week-End festival in

, Germany. The two groups also played together on 10–11 February 2017 at Cafe Oto in London. On 24 February 2017 Slapp Happy, without Faust, performed at Mt. Rainier Hall,

Shibuya is a Special wards of Tokyo, special ward in Tokyo, Japan. A major commercial center, Shibuya houses one of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shibuya Station. As of January 1, 2024, Shibuya Ward has an estimated population of 230,60 ...

in Tokyo.

Discography

Bands and projects

;With Slapp Happy *'' Sort Of'' (1972, LP,

Polydor Records Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...

) *'' Slapp Happy'' (also known as ''Casablanca Moon'') (1974, LP,

) *'' Slapp Happy or Slapphappy'' (1980, LP, Recommended Records) *'' Ça Va'' (1998, CD,

V2 Records V2 Records (or V2 Music and V2 Benelux; V2 being an abbreviation for Virgin 2) is a record label that was purchased by Universal Music Group in 2007, sold to PIAS in 2013 and partially acquired by Universal in 2022 (as part of larger PIAS 49% ...

) *'' Live in Japan'' (2001, CD, FMN Records) ;With Slapp Happy and Henry Cow *'' Desperate Straights'' (1974, LP, Virgin Records) *'' In Praise of Learning'' (1975, LP, Virgin Records) * '' The 40th Anniversary Henry Cow Box Set'' (2009, 9xCD+DVD, Recommended Records, UK) * '' The Henry Cow Box Redux: The Complete Henry Cow'' (2019, 17xCD+DVD, Recommended Records, UK) ;With Peter Blegvad and Dagmar Krause *''Camera'' (2000, CD, Blueprint Records)

Solo

;Albums *''Pieces from the Cloudland Ballroom'' (1971, LP, Polydor Records) *''Reed Whistle and Sticks'' (1972, LP, Polydor Records) *''Secrets of the Blue Bag'' (1972, LP, Polydor Records) *''Out'' (1976, LP, Virgin Records) *'' Flying Doesn't Help'' (1979, LP, Quango) *''World Service'' (1981, LP, Do It Records) *''The Only Choice'' (1984, LP,

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 1923 as the Parloph ...

) *''Arithmetic in the Dark'' (2019, Download LP, Touch Music) ;Singles *"Johnny's Dead" / "Mr.Rainbow" (1975, 7", Virgin Records) *"Catch a Falling Star" / "Back to the Top" (1976, 7", Virgin Records) *"World Service" / "Diving Girl" (1981, 7", Do It Records, DUN 16)

Footnotes

References

;Works cited * Cutler, Chris, ed. (2009). ''The Road: Volumes 1–5'' (book from ''The 40th Anniversary Henry Cow Box Set''). Recommended Records.

External links

Prof. Anthony Moore
'' Academy of Media Arts Cologne''. *. {{DEFAULTSORT:Moore, Anthony 1948 births Living people English film score composers English male film score composers English record producers English experimental musicians Henry Cow members People educated at St Christopher School Virgin Records artists Slapp Happy members Academic staff of the Academy of Media Arts Cologne Musicians from London