Gary Moore guitars set for auction

A selection of guitars owned by the late Gary Moore will go up for auction in the coming months.

The Belfast-born musician and former Thin Lizzy member died of a heart attack in 2011, leaving behind a selection of instruments, amps, cabinets and pedals. And his longtime guitar tech Graham Lilley plans to put some of the items under the hammer later this year.

He tells Guitar magazine (via the Belfast Telegraph): “A chunk of it will be retained by the estate for the time being. But there’s a lot of stuff left and it’s made to be played, to make a noise with, so somebody should make a noise with it.

“It’s just trying to find the best way to do it. Some of it might find its way to auction websites, so anybody can bid on it, fans for example, and get a little piece of that heritage.”

Lilley continues: “Quite a few of the bits have been viewed by one of the top-end auction houses. What will actually go in the sale is unclear at this moment.

“We’re possibly looking at June, but there’s no reason that the less-documented stuff couldn’t go out before that.”

The magazine issued a video of Lilley showcasing a selection of Moore’s guitars.

Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent 35 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving to the e-commerce team in 2020. Scott keeps Louder’s buyer’s guides up to date, writes about the best deals for music fans, keeps on top of the latest tech releases and reviews headphones, speakers, earplugs and more. Over the last 10 years, Scott has written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog. He's previously written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald newspapers, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to tech reviews, video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.