Empty Rooms

Album: Victims of the Future (1983)
Charted: 23
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This is a song with which everyone who has ever had a broken romance will identify. Although he could shred with the best of them, "Empty Rooms" is basically a slow bluesy type track, and is widely regarded as Moore's greatest guitar solo. It was co-written in 1984 with keyboard player/guitarist Neil Carter, who said the vocal track was originally laid down by Glenn Hughes - one-time bass player with Deep Purple - but this "obviously never made it out of the studio". Of the track itself, Carter said "I always joke that song has bought my house, but I suppose it probably has over the years!"
  • "Empty Rooms" was released as a single in both 7-inch and 12-inch formats, although the radio edit really doesn't do it justice. Gary Moore died suddenly in Spain on February 6, 2011 aged only 58, leaving more than a mere room empty, but also leaving us many fine live recordings of this rock classic.
  • In Happy Together, an interview with Gary Moore and Phil Lynott by Derek Oliver published in a May 1985 issue of Kerrang!, Moore said of this song, it is "very personal. It wasn't written because I felt sorry for myself, it was something I went through at one time - something that everyone goes through at one stage or another." >>>
    Suggestion credit:
    Alexander Baron - London, England, for above 3
  • The song reached #51 in the UK in 1984 when it was first released, then it reached #23 in 1985 when it was reissued.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Jon Anderson

Jon AndersonSongwriter Interviews

Jon Anderson breaks down the Yes classic "Seen All Good People" and talks about his 1000 Hands album, which features Chick Corea, Rick Derringer, Ian Anderson, and many other luminaries.

Lita Ford

Lita FordSongwriter Interviews

Lita talks about how they wrote songs in The Runaways, and how she feels about her biggest hit being written by somebody else.

Modern A Cappella with Peder Karlsson of The Real Group

Modern A Cappella with Peder Karlsson of The Real GroupSong Writing

The leader of the Modern A Cappella movement talks about the genre.

Pam Tillis

Pam TillisSongwriter Interviews

The country sweetheart opines about the demands of touring and talks about writing songs with her famous father.

David Paich of Toto

David Paich of TotoSongwriter Interviews

Toto's keyboard player explains the true meaning of "Africa" and talks about working on the Thriller album.

Marvin Gaye

Marvin GayeFact or Fiction

Did Marvin try out with the Detroit Lions? Did he fake crazy to get out of military service? And what about the cross-dressing?