Micky Moody

Michael Joseph Moody (born 30 August 1950) is an English guitarist, and a former member of the rock bands Juicy Lucy and Whitesnake.

He was also a founder-member of Snafu.

Together with his former Whitesnake colleague Bernie Marsden he founded the Moody Marsden Band, and later, The Snakes, having previously collaborated with unofficial 5th Status Quo member Bob Young in Young & Moody.

Along with Marsden and ex-Whitesnake bassist, Neil Murray, he formed The Company of Snakes and M3 Classic Whitesnake with which they mainly performed early Whitesnake songs.

By 1967 they had developed and outgrown the local music scene and turned professional, changing their name to The Wildflowers and subsequently moving to London.

They had some success and undertook some touring, but relationships within the band frayed and they eventually split without making any recordings.

Moody returned home to Middlesbrough where for a while he widened his musical horizons by taking classical guitar lessons.

He also became increasingly interested in slide guitar techniques (a style he would later be closely associated with).

While living in Middlesbrough he was asked by local singer and entrepreneur John McCoy, to form a group which became Tramline.

A deal for two albums was signed with Island Records, but by the time the second album was released the band had broken up.

Moody joined Lucas and the professional Soul band Mike Cotton Sound who became Gene Pitney's backing band for UK tours as well as others such as Paul Jones.

In 1970 he joined recently repatriated keyboard player Zoot Money as guitarist.

He then replaced Neil Hubbard in Juicy Lucy with whom he recorded three albums and toured extensively before the group disbanded.

After the band split, Moody co-founded Snafu which combined his funk-rock guitar style with U.S down-home stateside grooves.

The band recorded three albums SNAFU, Situation Normal and All Funked Up.

They also appeared on a 1974 "Sounds Sounds of the seventies" session and both a 1974 [Bob Harris] The Old Grey Whistle Test and 1975-08-28 (broadcast 1975-09-04) John John Peel radio session and the TV series Supersonic.

Extensive touring followed before the band broke up.

At this time Moody undertook occasional work as a session player most notably for Graham Bonnet.

He also contributed to one track on Gerry Rafferty's City to City.

He performed with the former Status Quo drummer John Coghlan's Diesel Band, then recorded an album with the band's tour manager and lyricist Bob Young which became Young & Moody.

He then toured with Frankie Miller and stood in as a guest with Hinkley's Heroes before joining his friend David Coverdale.

Moody knew Coverdale – who had fronted Deep Purple and was looking to undertake a solo venture – from the Middlesbrough music scene in the late sixties.

Coverdale invited Moody to work with him and the album White Snake was released in 1977.

Moody shared writing credits on four songs including the title track.

A second album Northwinds followed in 1978, on which Moody contributed to three songs.

Following the demise of Deep Purple MkIV, Coverdale and Moody joined forces with Bernie Marsden, Neil Murray, Dave 'Duck' Dowle and keyboardist Brian Johnston to form a band that took its name Whitesnake from the title of Coverdale's first solo album.

In 1978 they recorded the E.P Snakebite followed by two studio albums, Trouble (1978) and Lovehunter (1979), recorded by a modified lineup with Jon Lord on keyboards.

Moody is credited with cowriting four of the tracks on Trouble and was sole writer of 'Belgian Tom's Hat Trick', an instrumental.

Since 2000 he has released several solo albums: I Eat Them For Breakfast (2000), Don't Blame Me (2006), Acoustic Journeyman (2007) and Electric Journeyman (2009).

A versatile guitarist, Moody has been an active session musician and his own website lists over 100 albums to which he has contributed musically.

2006 saw the release of the autobiographical Playing With Trumpets – A Rock 'n' Roll Apprenticeship, a memoir about his early days on the music scene.

From 2011 to 2015, Moody toured and recorded with Snakecharmer, a band he co-formed.

Besides this, Moody has also toured with Roger Chapman, Frankie Miller and Chris Farlowe.

He has also performed live alongside the likes of Eric Clapton, Alvin Lee, Mick Taylor, Bruce Dickinson, Sam Brown, Gary Brooker, Suggs, Dennis Locorriere, Paul Jones, P. P. Arnold, James Hunter, Rick Wakeman, Jon Lord, Newton Faulkner, Uriah Heep, Alice Cooper, Mark King, Alfie Boe, Sandi Thom, Brian Auger, Paul Weller, Eric Bibb, Meat Loaf, Boy George, Elkie Brooks, Nona Hendryx, Mud Morganfield and one of his early guitar heroes, Duane Eddy.

Another book of memoirs, Snakes and Ladders, was released in 2016.

His library music has been featured on such TV programmes as Waking the Dead, Bo' Selecta!, America's Next Top Model, How to Look Good Naked, Top Gear, Horizon, Jersey Shore, Mad Men, Wife Swap and Paul Hollywood's Bread.

More recently, Moody has worked alongside Ali Maas Moody and they have co-written and released two albums, Black & Chrome and Who's Directing Your Movie?

While at school in Middlesbrough and attending private guitar lessons, Moody formed The Roadrunners with others from the area including Paul Rodgers (later of Free and Bad Company).

They were subsequently joined by bass player Bruce Thomas, later to play with Elvis Costello and the Attractions.

The band performed covers in local halls and clubs.