The bands first gig was in 1967 in a basement club in Ireland. Cheevers left the band in '68, to continue working full time as an electrician. Before his departure, the search for a suitably proficient guitarist resulted in Gary Moore joining the band as a fifth member. Gary Moore and Cheevers both played for the band for a 'hand-off' period, and Cheevers was formally replaced by 16 year old Moore in mid 1968. The band recorded a single: "New Places, Old Faces" / "Misdemeanor Dream Facility" for
Later that year, Shiels dropped Lynott from the lineup, converting the band to a power trio and assuming the role of lead vocalist. By way of compensation, Shiels gave him a bass guitar he bought for 49 pounds in 1967, and he taught Lynott to play bass. After a stint in Orphanage, Lynott went on to achieve international success as the bass player/lead vocalist for Thin Lizzy.
The band recorded a second single for 'Song', "Saturday Morning Man" / "Mervyn Aldridge". These two singles, plus three track made for a BBC recording were issued on the 'Hux' label as Live and on Song in 2006. At the end of that year, demo tapes with Phil Lynott were discovered. These were his earliest recordings (1968) and had been presumed lost for decades.
Skid Row played support for some of the biggest acts of the 1960's, including Fleetwood Mac in 1970. Moore was influenced by Fleetwood Mac guitarist Peter Green, who was in turn impressed with Moore's playing and introduced him to Columbia/CBS records.
A third single, "Sandie's Gone (Part One)" / "Sandie's Gone (Part Two)" was released on the bands new label in 1970, and a number of sessions and live recordings were made for the BBC during this period.
The band released it's debut album Skid in 1970. A second album entitled 34 Hours - so called because it took them a mere 34 hours to record it - was released in early 1971, preceded by the single "Night of the Warm Witch" / "Mr. DeLuxe", and in 1971 the band also made an appearance on Germany's legendary Beat Club. There were short tours of Europe (with Canned Heat) and of the U.S.
A widely bootlegged show entitled "The Whisky, Los Angeles, Aug. 5th, 1970" with John Bonham as a guest appeared around this time. (it was more likely from August 1971). A third album was recorded in 1971, but Moore left the band in December, just before a planned U.S. tour. He was temporarily replaced by Eric Bell (from Thin Lizzy) for some live dates before Paul Chapman became the new full time guitarist. Chapman left in July of '72 (and later joined UFO). Shiels the joined with drummer John Wilson (ex-Taste, Them, and Stud) and future Sparks guitarist Adrian Fisher in a band simply named 'Brush'.
1973 through 1976 saw more members come and go than a Spinal Tap reunion,
Phil Lynott died of Septicaemia in January, 1986. Gary Moore died of a heart attack in 2007.
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