ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON MAY 18, 1984

“I always liked the Yardbirds when I was a kid,” says metal guitar-hero Gary Moore. “I was always into Jeff Beck and everything. And apart from the fact that I like the song and the guitar, the lyrics appealed to me as well because they fitted in with the theme of the record–being about warfare and that. It was written 16 years ago, but it’s still relevant today.”

On the phone from Reno, Nevada, Moore is commenting on the inclusion of the Yardbirds’ “Shapes of Things” on his new album Victims of the Future. That song is almost sure to make an appearance when Moore opens for Rush at the Pacific Coliseum tomorrow (Saturday) night with a band that includes former Elf and Rainbow bassist Craig Gruber and Billy Squier’s drummer Bobby “Prime Time” Chouinard. (Regular drummer Ian Paice, originally of Deep Purple, is not touring because his wife is having a baby.)

With tunes like “Shapes”, “Devil in Her Heart” and “Empty Rooms”, Victims of the Future is a strong followup to last year’s devastating Corridors of Power LP, and is now firmly entrenched in the British Top 30. Ozzy Osbourne‘s Bob Daisley, Whitesnake‘s Neil Murray, and session-man Mo Foster all contributed bass parts to the record, and were joined on keyboards by Neil Carter, formerly of UFO.

Though barely known on this side of the Atlantic, Gary Moore has built up a reputation as one of Britain’s most versatile and intense rockers, performing with G-Force, Colosseum II, and Thin Lizzy (he replaced Brian Robertson on the last Lizzy tour to hit Vancouver and played on their 1979 LP Black Rose.) He also worked with Emerson, Lake and Palmer bassist/singer Greg Lake on the latter’s previous two solo albums.

The Gary Moore band toured North America last year with Def Leppard, and are keeping equally strong company this time around with Rush. Opening for such top-drawing acts is sure to pay off eventually for Moore, as hard rock bands are still the best at filling up arenas.

“When you go to a metal show it’s an exciting event for a lot of people,” he says. “A lot of the newer, more poppy kinds of bands–although they make really good records and produce them great–don’t really deliver on stage.

“And I think that’s where the heavier bands can really score.”