Gary Moore Sued for Guitar Theft!!
Legendary Irish blues guitarist Gary Moore has been accused by fellow rocker Ronnie Montrose of owning a guitar which had been stolen from him during a concert tour in the early seventies. It seems a ridiculous story but…
according to Montrose his prized 1959 Gibson Les Paul Sunburst which he had been playing whilst touring with the Edgar Winter Group was stolen during a show in Massachusetts. Not that Gary Moore was anywhere in the vicinity as Montrose admits. According to Montrose he saw a picture of Moore in a guitar magazine and in the background is, allegedly, the guitar he claims to be his. Montrose says that he has spent two years trying to contact Moore in order to retrieve the guitar and, according to reports is set to issue legal papers to Moore to get it back.
Moore has said that the whole thing is ridiculous and that he has owned the guitar for some twenty years, Montrose has not suggested that Moore had anything to do with the theft but wants to claim back what he is sure is his. Gary Moore is a top bloke who wouldn’t knowingly own a previously stolen instrument, I’m sure of that and how can Montrose pick out a Sunburst from a picture which he claims to be his from nearly forty years ago? Good luck Ronnie, you’ll need it!
Here’s some Gary Moore….with some Phil Lynott for good measure..
Miles,
Surely that generation of rocker can’t even tell you their own address, let alone what guitar they owned 35 years ago!
Regardless, what a quality clip! You know that it’s not my preferred choice in music but that didn’t stop the goosebumps.
GDave
May 28, 2009 @ 12:11 am
GDave,
Glad you liked it, Lynott and Moore were different class together, they wrote some incredibly soft and melodic songs. Nothing like what you might expect.
Miles
May 28, 2009 @ 8:20 am
Miles,
Gary Moore recently sold his main Les Paul - the one given to him by Peter Green.
It was for an undisclosed sum but I believe the dealer who bought it wants/wanted over $1,000,000 for it !
Best
Rod
May 28, 2009 @ 8:42 am
It sounds as though the loud music finally killed off brain cells.
Annie
May 28, 2009 @ 8:08 pm
Rod,
Unbelievable! Sure someone will pay it though.
Miles
May 28, 2009 @ 9:42 pm
Annie,
Very gud..oops, sorry for the spelling. Must be the loud music
Miles
May 28, 2009 @ 9:43 pm
Miles,
What did you say? I can’t hear you–music too loud.
May 29, 2009 @ 6:48 pm
Annie,
Touche!
Miles
May 29, 2009 @ 10:01 pm
I recently bought a Gary Moore signature Les Paul. When I was shopping around I must have looked at 50 pictures of GM LPs most of them looked identical. I bought a new Fender strat in 1978 and met a guy two weeks later with a 1978 Telecaster both natural. The wood grain looked identical. Without the serial numbers I think Ronnie is out of luck.
I also read an old artcle from the 70’s where Ronnie called it a 58?
June 28, 2009 @ 12:14 am
Tom,
Welcome to the site and thanks for the comment. It does seem a bit of a long shot doesn’t it? Tell you what though, I wouldn’t mind that Strat of yours!
Thanks Tom, hope you stop by again.
regards
Miles
June 28, 2009 @ 9:14 am
Miles,
If Ronnie has the Les Paul’s serial number, he should win. The biggest question is what court he should file in. English and American law are the same on this point: a thief never obtains valid title or ownership of property he steals. The fact that someone buys the stolen property later through a “legitimate sale” with a “reputable dealer” doesn’t give you legal ownership to the stolen property. Plus, there are no “squatter’s rights” to stolen property. Gary and his family can own that guitar for a 100 years, and if it is legitimately Montrose’s guitar, they will never have legal title. And here’s an added complication to the matter: when someone can prove you possess property stolen from them, the law requires you to return it immediately or you personally become liable for the current value of the stolen property. It’s a little thing called “conversion” by lawyers.
July 11, 2009 @ 3:00 pm
Adam,
Welcome to the site and thanks for a great and very insightful comment. I didn’t know that but I hope Gary Moore’s lawyers do!
Thanks again Adam, hope you return again soon.
kind regards
Miles
July 11, 2009 @ 4:25 pm