Thin Lizzy guitarist Gary Moore dies in Spanish hotel

FORMER Thin Lizzy guitarist Gary Moore has died at a Costa del Sol hotel just hours after checking in for a six-day stay.

The 58-year-old, originally from Belfast, was found dead in his bed at the luxury Kempinski Resort Hotel in Estepona in the early hours of yesterday morning.

It is being reported that Moore, who was at the hotel with a female friend, died in his sleep.

A hotel source said Mr Moore and his companion ate after they checked in and later went for a stroll along the beach.

The alarm was raised around 4am, after which undertakers were called to Mr Moore’s room.

A postmortem was expected to be carried out late yesterday in the nearby city of Malaga.

Moore played in Irish rock band Thin Lizzy for several periods, as well as working separately with its lead singer Phil Lynott, who died in 1986. He also worked with Bob Geldof and Bob Dylan.

Thin Lizzy founding member Brian Downey paid tribute to his friend.

“I am in total shock,” he said. “He will always be in my thoughts and prayers and I just can’t believe he is gone.”

Moore had a successful solo career but it was for his time in Thin Lizzy that he will be best remembered.

He joined the band in 1973 after the sudden departure of guitarist Eric Bell but only played with them for four months.

Four years later he returned and went on to play on the band’s Black Rose album.

Thin Lizzy guitarist Scott Gorham said it been a pleasure to share a stage with him.

“Playing with Gary during the Black Rose era was a great experience; he was a great player and a great guy,” he said.

In 1969, aged 16, Moore moved to Dublin to join the group Skid Row with Noel Bridgeman and Brendan ‘Brush’ Shiels. It was with this group that Moore earned a reputation in the music industry and began his association with Lynott.

He had a string of top 40 hits in the 1970s and 80s including Parisienne Walkways in 1979.

Lynott and Moore famously put past feuds behind them and joined forces on the powerful rocker Out In The Fields in 1985. The hit was the last recording made by Lynott before his death the following year.