Gerald Thomas Moore (born 2 May 1949) is an English singer, composer and multi-instrumentalist with a recording career that stretches back to the early 1970s. Moore recorded and performed with numerous musicians such as

Jimmy Cliff James Chambers, Jamaican Order of Merit, OM (born 30 July 1944), known professionally as Jimmy Cliff, is a Jamaican ska, rocksteady, reggae and soul musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer, and actor. He is the only living reggae musician to hol ...

Lee 'Scratch' Perry Lee may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Lee'' (2007 film), Tamil-language sports action film * ''Lee'' (2017 film), Kannada-language action film * ''Lee'' (2023 film), biographical drama about Lee Miller, American photojournalist * ''L ...

Thin Lizzy Thin Lizzy are an Irish rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. The band initially consisted of bass guitarist, lead vocalist and principal songwriter Phil Lynott, drummer Brian Downey, guitarist Eric Bell and organist Eric Wrixon although Wr ...

Johnny Nash John Lester Nash Jr. (August 19, 1940October 6, 2020) was an American singer and songwriter, best known in the United States for his 1972 hit " I Can See Clearly Now". Primarily a reggae and pop singer, he was one of the first non-Jamaican art ...

, and

Joan Baez Joan Chandos Baez (, ; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing mo ...

, Retrieved 2014-09-09 and

Airto Moreira Airto Guimorvan Moreira (born August 5, 1941) is a Brazilian jazz drummer, composer and percussionist. He is married to jazz singer Flora Purim, and their daughter Diana Moreira is also a singer. Coming to prominence in the late 1960s as a membe ...

covered his songs.

Early life and career

Moore was born in

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

, Berkshire, England. Moore started playing about the age of 14 at the English

Martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...

s Youth Club, Tilehurst. The first band was called The Missing Links but they quickly changed the name to The

Muddy Waters McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913April 30, 1983), better known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer-songwriter and musician who was an important figure in the post-World War II blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of moder ...

and eventually stayed with the name: The Delta Sound. The Delta Sound evolved along with the British scene from

Chicago blues Chicago blues is a form of blues music that developed in Chicago, Illinois. It is based on earlier blues idioms, such as Delta blues, but is performed in an urban style. It developed alongside the Great Migration of African Americans of the fi ...

to soul. At the end The Delta Sound had a large brass line-up. When The Memphis Gents singer, Terry Webster, became sick, Moore was asked to replace him temporarily but soon became the permanent singer of one of the top Reading bands. Most of the band members went to the same school as Moore, Ashmead. After moving to

Maidenhead Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England. It lies on the southwestern bank of the River Thames, which at this point forms the border with Buckinghamshire. In the 2021 Census, ...

to go to

Art School An art school is an educational institution with a primary focus on practice and related theory in the visual arts and design. This includes fine art – especially illustration, painting, contemporary art, sculpture, and graphic design. T ...

and later to London, Moore experimented with his own solo band. His first solo recording was 'I Wouldn't Mind' on the folk blues compilation 'Firepoint' released in 1969.

Heron

In this same period Moore met Roy Apps and Tony Pook at the

Dolphin A dolphin is an aquatic mammal in the cetacean clade Odontoceti (toothed whale). Dolphins belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontopori ...

folk club in

, and with them formed the band

Heron Herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 75 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genus ''Botaurus'' are referred to as bi ...

. Heron's line-up moved around in this period and included Robert Collins, Tony Brummle Smith and Martin Hayward. Producer and manager

Peter Eden Peter Eden (born 1943) is a British former record producer and record label executive, best known for his work in the mid-1960s with Donovan, and later with jazz musicians such as John Surman. Biography Eden was born in Hadleigh, Essex. In hi ...

was brought to see the band and with a new album planned Steve Jones was brought in to bolster the sound. Their first album is most notable for the fact that all the music was actually recorded outdoors in a field by the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

. In 1971 they got in to Pye Studios for their first studio recording, a maxi single with a version of

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

's 'Hobo'. The second album was released as a double album at the price of one. Like the first album, it was again recorded outdoors, this time outside a

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

country cottage, which gives the album a unique atmosphere. This album shows a greater variety of musical styles compared to the debut album. But still the acoustic folk-style is predominant mixed with some more rocking tunes.

G.T. Moore and the Reggae Guitars

In the spring of 1973 a new

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

band was formed, 'G.T. Moore and the

Reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

Guitars'. The line-up included Tom Whyte, Martin Hayward, Malcolm Mortimore, Tony Hannaford, Tom Robinson and Tim Jones. But there were several variations of their band with guest musicians like John 'Rabbit' Bundrick,

Steve Holley Stephen Jeffrey Holley (born 24 August 1953) is an English rock drummer. He was a member of Wings from August 1978 to April 1981. In 1984 he played drums and percussion in Julian Lennon's debut album '' Valotte''. He has also toured with Ian ...

and Tony Braunagel. At some point they had two drummers, congas and a three-piece brass section. They started off on the Pub Rock circuit but grew fastly to eventually play gigs all over the country and in Europe. Moore signed to the

Charisma () is a personal quality of magnetic charm, persuasion, or appeal. In the fields of sociology and political science, psychology, and management, the term ''charismatic'' describes a type of leadership. In Christian theology, the term ''chari ...

label and released two albums: G.T. Moore & The Reggae Guitars (1974) and

Blue (1975) and five 7" singles. Attracting both white and black fans touring with

Betty Wright Bessie Regina Norris (December 21, 1953 – May 10, 2020), better known by her stage name Betty Wright, was an American soul music, soul and Rhythm and blues, R&B singer, songwriter and background vocalist. Beginning her professional career ...

and Dr Feelgood. An American launch was set up and a mix of live and studio material was released in America but shortly after, in 1977, the band split up. A third studio album was recorded but never got released. Later in 1979

did a

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

ian cover of Move It on Up. In 1985 he covered this again but now with Flora Purim.

Session work

After the split up, Moore focused on session work. He went to America to play on

's 'Tears on My Pillow'. It is there he met Tony Braunagel and Terry Wilson, with whom he later formed ' The Rhythm Tramps'. They played almost exclusively in Europe, mainly Amsterdam. Eventually Moore started living in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

. It's there he met Henk Targowski, who was then working at the famous coffeeshop ''De Melkweg''. Henk was the former of ' Black Star Liner', a distribution company and record label with the purpose of releasing Jamaica's best producers. Recently visiting

, Targowski had to find session players for his new Upsetters album, so he asked Moore and some of the Rhythm Tramps to audition. The audition went well. The album would be recorded in Lee Perry's Black Ark Studios in Kingston so a trip to

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

was set up. Musicians added to the entourage included former Rhythm Tramps keyboardist James Lascelles and saxophonist Bud Beadle, a former member of Geno Washington's Ram Jam Band. While they were there the situation became chaotic and it took a while before they started recording the album but still constantly music was played with or without Perry. Many other musicians like

Joe Higgs Joseph Benjamin Higgs (3 June 1940 – 18 December 1999) was a reggae musician from Jamaica. In the late 1950s and 1960s he was part of the duo Higgs and Wilson together with Roy Wilson. He was a popular artist in Jamaica for four decades and i ...

, Rico Rodriguez,

Max Romeo Maxwell Livingston Smith (22 November 1944 – 11 April 2025), known professionally as Max Romeo, was a Jamaican reggae and roots reggae recording musician who achieved chart success in his home country and in the United Kingdom. He had several ...

, Dwight Pickney would come to the studio. Meanwhile, Moore was also doing sessions with Zap Pow at

Harry J Harry Zephaniah Johnson (6 July 1945 – 3 April 2013), known by the stage name Harry J, was a Jamaican reggae record producer. Biography Born in Westmoreland Parish, Jamaica, in 1945, Johnson started to play music with the Virtues as a bass p ...

's and with

Sly & Robbie Sly and Robbie were a prolific Jamaican rhythm section and production duo, associated primarily with the reggae and dub genres. Drummer Sly Dunbar and bassist Robbie Shakespeare teamed up in the mid-1970s after establishing themselves separat ...

at Channel One. Back in Europe he did some session work on

Poly Styrene Marianne Joan Elliott-Said (3 July 1957 – 25 April 2011), known by the stage name Poly Styrene, was an English musician, singer-songwriter, and frontwoman for the punk rock band X-Ray Spex. She was recognized as rock's original Riot grrrl, t ...

's album ' Translucence'. In the early and mid 1970s, he also played on most of Shusha Guppy's studio albums. Together they were responsible for the soundtrack to the 1976 documentary film '' People Of The Wind''. The following year, the film was nominated for the Best Documentary Feature

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

and also for a

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Januar ...

.Imdb: "People of the Wind" awards
Retrieved 22 September 2014 The film follows the annual migration of the nomadic Bakhtiari tribes in southern

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. The

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

was later released on vinyl in the US.

Selected discography

Collaborations

* G.T. Moore and the Reggae Guitars – G.T. Moore and the Reggae Guitars (1974) * G.T. Moore and the Reggae Guitars – I'm Still Waiting / Judgement Day 7" (1974) B 236* G.T. Moore and the Reggae Guitars – Reggae Blue (1975) * G.T. Moore and the Reggae Guitars – Reggae Reggae / Otis Blue 7" (1975) B 263* G.T. Moore &

Shusha Shusha (, ) or Shushi () is a city in Azerbaijan, in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Situated at an altitude of 1,400–1,800 metres (4,600–5,900 ft) in the Karabakh mountains, the city was a mountain resort in the Soviet Union, Soviet ...

– People of the Wind Soundtrack (1977) RS 1001* G.T. Moore and The Outsiders – You're The One 7" (1981) P 016* G.T. Moore & The Goldmaster Allstars – Alpha (2011) MCD004* G.T. Moore & The Lost Ark Band – Seek The Kingdom First (2013) AMCD001

Solo

* Gerald Thomas Moore – Song of America / Wake Up 7"(1972/1973) K17* G.T. Moore – Utopia 7" (1980) SL005* G.T. Moore – Meets the High Tech Roots Dynamics at Channel One UK (1993) W011-L* G.T. Moore – Turn Israel 10" (1995) W-016TS* G.T. Moore - Ganja Flower - Jah Works 10" (2002) JW033TI * G.T. Moore – Herb of Africa / Secret Love 12" (2009) W041T* G.T Moore - Utopia b/w G.T Moore - Utopia Dub - Partial Records 7" - PRTL7012 (2014 reissue) * G.T. Moore and The Lost Ark Band - Be True, Be True Dub b/w G.T. Moore and The Lost Ark Band - One Two Three Simple As Dub - PRTL12003 Partial Records 12" (2014) * G.T. Moore - Jerusalem b/w G.T. Moore - Solomon's Temple - Partial Records 7" - PRTL7024 (2015) * G.T. Moore - Ganja Flower EP Part One: Ganja Flower, Ganja Flower Dub, Divided City b/w Divided City Dub, New Day. New Day Dub - Partial Records 10" PRTL10008 (2016) * G.T. Moore - Ganja Flower EP Part Two: Heal the Blind, Heal the Blind Dub, Sound of the Ghetto b/w Sound of the Ghetto Dub, Turn Israel, Turn Israel Dub - Partial Records 10" PRTL10009 (2016) * G.T. Moore - Serengeti b/w G.T. Moore - Serengeti Dub - Partial Records 7" - PRTL7047 (2017) * G.T. Moore - The Harry J Sessions - Partial Records LP / CD - PRTLLP001 / PRTLCD001 (2018) • G.T. Moore - Concrete Jungle - Partial Records 7” PRTLDP002 - one-sided 100 copies (2019) * G.T. Moore & Goldmaster All Stars - Alpha - Partial Records 10” - PRTL10024 (2020) * G.T. Moore - Jerusalem (Harry J Cut) b/w Mount Zion Dub - Partial Records 7” - PRTL7069 (2021) * G.T. Moore - Individualism b/w Individualism Dub - Partial Records 7” - PRTL7083 (2023)

Heron

* Heron (1970) NLS 3010* Twice as Nice & Half the Price (1971) NLS 3025* The Best of Heron (1988) EE CD 242* Upon Reflection – The Dawn Anthology (2006) MDDD 1432* Simple as One Two Three (2011) IRNF-011* King's Road (2011) IRPROMO-025

Selected session work

* Mike Cooper and the Machine Gun Co. – Places I Know (1971) NLS 3026*

– From East To West (1974) AS 29575& (1978) GS 138*

– Tears on My Pillow (1975) BS 69148ref name="Allmusic"> Retrieved 2014-09-09 *

– Before the Deluge (1975) AS 29879* Christopher Jones – No More Range to Roam (1978) 0055TLQTU*

Lee "Scratch" Perry Lee "Scratch" Perry (born Rainford Hugh Perry; 20 March 1936 – 29 August 2021) was a Jamaican record producer, songwriter and singer noted for his innovative studio techniques and production style. Perry was a pioneer in the 1970s development ...

– The Return of Pipecock Jackxon (1980) SLP 9002*

– Translucence (1980) AG 30320* Wigbert – Ticket in De Nachtkastla (1991) R211723* Radical Dance Faction – Wasteland (1991) Z3V* Brian Nelson – Beautiful Losers (1995) R4004* Goldmaster Allstars – Dub Style (2007) MCD0003* Congo Ashanti Roy & Pura Vida – Hard Road (2012) AM002

References

Bibliography

* ''People Funny Boy'', David Katz () * ''The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music'', Lincoln, Abe-Primettes () * ''The Virgin encyclopaedia of 70s music'', Colin Larkin () * ''Electric Eden'', Rob Young ()

Early life and career

Heron

G.T. Moore and the Reggae Guitars

Session work

Selected discography

Collaborations

Solo

Heron

Selected session work

References

Bibliography

External links