Rory Gallagher

Rory Gallagher (1948-1995) was an Irish blues/rock guitarist, born in Ballyshannon, County Donegal, and raised in County Cork. He is regularly credited as one of the most influential Irish rock and blues musicians of all time.

Life and works

His first bands were showbands which played the popular hits of the day. In 1965 he turned the showband The Impact into an R'n'B group which played gigs in Ireland and Spain. He formed Taste in 1966, but the line-up which became legendary was formed in 1967, featuring his guitar and vocals, the jazz-tinged drumming of John Wilson and intricate bass playing of Richard McCracken. Recordings of the earlier version of Taste are still available and it's interesting to compare Rory's rudimentary guitar playing to the virtuosity that became evident fairly soon after in the later Taste. This was the group who released two studio albums, Taste and On the Boards, and made two live recordings showing the band at its incendiary best, Live at Montreux and Live at the Isle of Wight, the latter appearing a long time after the band broke up, famously, at that same Isle of Wight Festival in 1970. A legend of blues music, Rory had the fortune to play with many of the genre's biggest stars and some of his best work was in collaboration with Muddy Waters on tracks recorded in London in the early '70s.

Related Topics:
1965 - The Impact - R'n'B - Ireland - Spain - Taste - 1966 - 1967 - John Wilson - Richard McCracken - Isle of Wight Festival - 1970 - Muddy Waters

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Rory went solo (dropping the band's name and hiring another bassist, Gerry McAvoy, and various drummers, the most notable being Rod De'Ath) and produced more than a dozen albums, among them Rory Gallagher and Deuce from 1971, Blueprint and Tattoo from 1973, Irish Tour from 1974, 1975's Against the Grain, featuring his old worn out looking Fender Strat on the cover, and Calling Card in 1976.

Related Topics:
Gerry McAvoy - Rod De'Ath - 1971 - 1973 - 1974 - 1975 - Fender Strat - 1976

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At times a painfully shy and humble man Rory never married and had no children, instead thought to have devoted his life to his music, especially the blues. Steadfastly refusing ever to release singles of his music he played and recorded what he said was "in me all the time, and not just something I turn on ...". Though he sold over 30 million albums world wide it was his marathon live performances that won him greatest acclaim. His passion and skill for the blues is well documented in the 1974 film "Irish Tour '74" directed by Tony Palmer.

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In 1972 he was voted Melody Maker's Top Musician of the Year, dethroning Eric Clapton. His album Live in Europe has been a big selling album not only in the UK but internationally. Generally regarded as one of top ten guitarists ever, many of today's top musicians, including The Edge from U2, Slash of Guns N' Roses fame, Johnny Marr of the Smiths and Brian May of Queen cite Rory as an inspiration in their formative musical years. It is also well documented that the Rolling Stones asked Rory to join the band as their permanent guitarist in the '70s but he refused on the basis that it was against all he believed in terms of his own name and style.

Related Topics:
1972 - Melody Maker - Eric Clapton - UK - The Edge - U2 - Slash - Guns N' Roses - Johnny Marr - The Smiths - Brian May - Queen - Rolling Stones

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Rory lived for a time in Belgium and from the late 1980s suffered increasingly poor health yet continued touring. His final performance, by a visibly unwell man, was in January 1995 in Holland. Rory Gallagher died in London on 14th June 1995 from complications following a liver transplant.

Related Topics:
1995 - Liver transplant

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"An uncompromisingly serious musician" - The Times, 16th June 1995.

Related Topics:
The Times - 1995

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