Anthony Moore

From minimalist composer to Pink Floyd lyricist, with many interesting stops in between, Anthony Moore (aka Anthony More) has had quite a varied career. Sadly, obscurity, in relation to the music-buying public, is the one consistent aspect of his work. More's the pity. Moore's first few solo recordings, which fit squarely into the John Cage school of minimalism, give little hint of the idiosyncratic pop music he would later write. However, in 1972, when he joined forces with like-minded oddballs Peter Blegvad and Dagmar Krause to form Slapp Happy, his potential for peculiar pop was realized. Moore and Blegvad split the writing duties for the band, crafting songs about spies, Siamese twins, and other assorted oddities. In 1975, shortly after Slapp Happy merged with Henry Cow, Moore departed to relaunch his solo career. He collaborated with Canterbury scene legend Kevin Ayers, as well as Blegvad and Andy Summers on his first post-Slapp Happy effort, 1977's Out. Prompted by disappointing sales, Moore's label, Virgin, dropped him soon afterward. Moore went on to record a pair of exceptional albums — Flying Doesn't Help and World Service — on small independent labels. After 1984's The Only Choice, Moore traded the uncertain fate as unsung singer for steadier employment as lyricist for the post-Roger Waters incarnation of Pink Floyd. Slapp Happy sporadically reared its quirky head into the '90s, recording occasional singles and even an opera (Camera) for British television. In 1998, Moore, Blegvad, and Krause reunited to record Ça Va, an album of all new material. In the late '90s, many of Moore's earlier works were made available on CD for the first time. Flying Doesn't Help and World Service, two of his most acclaimed solo outings, were combined and reissued as a double-disc set on the Floating World label in 2012. During the '90s and into the 21st century, Moore has focused much of his work on music and sound research and education, including serving as professor at Cologne, Germany's Academy of Media Arts.