Micky Moody

1960s

While still at school in Middlesbrough and attending private guitar lessons, Moody formed The Roadrunners with several others from the area including Paul Rodgers (later of Free and Bad Company). They were joined some time later by bass player Bruce Thomas, who moved onto play with Elvis Costello and the Attractions. The band performed a range of covers in local halls and clubs. 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.

1970s

In 1970 he joined the recently re-patriated 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 John Peel The Old Grey Whistle Test session and the T.V 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 had known Coverdale from the local music scene in the Middlesbrough area in the late sixties, upto this time Coverdale had been fronting Deep Purple and was looking to undertake a solo venture. 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) which were recorded by a modified line up with Jon Lord on keyboards. Moody is credited with co-writing four of the ten tracks on Trouble and was sole writer of Belgian Tom's Hat Trick', an instrumental. While working with Whitesnake he also played slide guitar on Roger Chapman's debut solo album Chappo.

1980s

Moody contributed slide guitar to three tracks on former Lindisfarne member Ray Jackson's solo debut In the Night, which was released in 1980. By this point Whitesnake now featured Ian Paice from Deep Purple on drums, who had been brought into the group to replace Dowle. In 1980 this line up released the album Ready an' Willing, from which two UK singles were taken, Fool for Your Loving and the album title track, both co-written by Moody. The band also released the double album Live...in the Heart of the City in the same year. At his time he recorded two singles with Bob Young, with all tracks written by Moody.

In 1981 Graham Bonnet released his album Line-Up which featured Moody playing guitar on all tracks and also featured three songs written by Moody in partnership with Bob Young. Moody continued to maintain a busy schedule with Whitesnake and the band released the album Come an' Get Itin the same year. Relationships within the band were beginning to sour and Moody's guitar partner Bernie Marsden left prior to the final completion of the next album Saints and Sinners. Moody himself followed soon after. Whitesnake took time out for much of 1982 and Moody undertook some session work, with Sheena Easton and others. By late 1982 Whitesnake was reformed with Mel Galley replacing Marsden and Moody joining Galley on the album's backing vocal sessions. In 1983 Coverdale replaced Ian Paice and Neil Murray with Cozy Powell and Colin Hodgkinson. Moody was not happy with the direction the new band was taking and felt increasingly sidelined by Coverdale. However, despite the deteriorating situation within Whitesnake, Moody recorded Slide It In with them. A process he described as an 'unhappy experience' and after which he left the band in 1983.

Moody returned to session work with Mike Oldfield, Gary Glitter, Mike d'Abo and Roger Chapman, as well as selected T.V music library work. He toured with Chris Farlowe and also worked with former Meal Ticket singer Willy Finlayson and his band the Hurters. Taking a wry, yet witty view on some of the people and experiences they'd encountered over the years, he got together with Bob Young to write a book on musician's humour, the acclaimed Language of Rock and Roll. He also put together the first version of the Micky Moody Band featuring former Taste bassist Charlie McCracken and drummer Chris Hunt. Towards the end of the decade he and Bernie Marsden played selected venues with their own Moody Marsden Band.

1990s

During the early part of the 1990s, Moody toured extensively with Roger Chapman before re-uniting on a more permanent basis with Whitesnake guitarist Bernie Marsden, to tour and record with the Moody Marsden Band in U.K and Europe. The Moody Marsden Band recorded two live albums, Never Turn Our Back on the Blues and Live in Hell and a studio set, Real Faith. In 1996, Moody toured the USA as part of the Best of British Blues tour which also featured Eric Burdon, Alvin Lee, Aynsley Dunbar, Boz Burrell and Tim Hinkley. The following year, Moody and Marsden teamed up with Norwegian rockers Jorn Lande, Willy Bendickson and Sid Ringsby to form The Snakes, a band that specialised in re-producing the sounds of the original Whitesnake. Don Airey would often be brought in to augment them on keyboards. The band recorded two albums, Once Bitten and Live in Europe before making way for The Company of Snakes, which featured in its line up former Bad Company vocalist Robert Hart, original Whitesnake bass player Neil Murray and ex-Manfred Mann's Earth Band drummer John Lingwood. Hart was eventually replaced by ex-Snakes in Paradise frontman Steffan Berggren, and the band released two albums, Burst the Bubble and a live set Here They Go Again.

2000s

In 2000, Micky wrote and produced library music prior to the release of his first official solo album, I Eat Them For Breakfast. Whilst continuing to perform with Company of Snakes and take on occasional session work, Moody joined his former Juicy Lucy bandmate Paul Williams to arrange and record a selection of acoustic classic Chicago blues tracks for the album Smokestacks, Broomdusters and Hoochie Coochie Men. He also started to play occasional duo gigs with bluesman Papa George. 'Snake' metamorphosed into M3 Classic Whitesnake and also released released a live CD featuring Martin and a live DVD featuring Berggren with a guest appearance from former Ritchie Blackmore and Yngwie Malmsteen frontman Doogie White. Also featured in this line-up were Go West and Tears for Fears drummer Jimmy Copley and keyboard player Mark Stanway from Magnum.

Around this time Moody played on the album Nah Aufnahme by German musician Westernhagen, which eventually appeared in thethe national charts. 2006 saw the release of Moody's self-produced solo album Don't Blame Me which was released at the same time as publication of his autobiographical memoirsPlaying with Trumpets – A Rock 'n' Roll Apprenticeship. M3 broke up later that year, after which Moody performed more shows with Roger Chapman plus selected dates with a line-up of the Micky Moody Band that featured his eldest son Micky Moody Jr. on drums. In 2008 he toured Japan as special guest of Jimmy Copley and Japanese guitar legend Char. Also featured was ex-Herbie Hancock bassist Paul Jackson and keyboard wizard Yoshinobu Kojima. The shows were recorded and released on DVD as Jimmy Copley & Char: Special Session. To celebrate his love of instrumental music, Micky wrote and produced the albums Acoustic Journeyman (2007) and Electric Journeyman (2009).

2010s

In 2011, Moody co-wrote library music for both Warner/Chapell and Universal before co-forming Snakecharmer, a line up which also includes former Whitesnake colleague Neil Murray and Adam Wakeman. He also made regular appearances alongside blues guitarist Papa George and has been an active member of the Sunflower Jam house band and the Bad Apples.

With Tramline

With Juicy Lucy

With Snafu

With The Moody Marsden Band

With Bob Young

With David Coverdale

With Whitesnake

With The Snakes, Company of Snakes & M3

With Snakecharmer

With The Bad Apples

With Ali Maas

Solo

Guest appearances