60 • UNCUT• JULY 2019
Intheend,RonnieWoodgottheStones gig,
andGallaghercontinuedploughinghis own
uniquefurrow.Wouldthecombination of a
mercurialIrishbluesmanandtheworld’s
biggestrock’n’rollbandhaveworked?
“Idon’tthinkso,”saysGerryMcAvoy,who
playedbasswithGallagherfrom1971–1992.
“Rorywasa frontmaninhisownright.”
Thatmuchis undeniable.Bursting
throughasa teenagerin 1966 withhis
ground-breakingtrioTaste,Gallagherwas Ireland’s
firstrockstar,forgingvitallinksbetween American
blues,BritishrockandIrishfolk.Describing him as
a triplethreatbarelydoeshistalentsjustice. He was
a giftedsongwriter,singer,arrangerand producer, a
mesmerisingperformeranddazzlinginstrumentalist,
switchingbetweenslide,stingingelectric solos and
suppleacousticblues,allinfusedwitha deep
soulfulness.JohnnyMarrcalledhim“the man who
changedmymusicallife”.JeffBeck,The Edge, Slash and
BrianMayareamongscoresofadmirers. “nobody could
worka stagelikeRory,”saidTedMcKenna, Gallagher’s
formerdrummer,whohaspassedaway since speaking to
Uncut. “Claptoncertainlycouldn’tdoit, not even Hendrix
could.Theenergylevelwasfrightening, quite honestly.
Hewouldweara crowdout.”
Gallagherwasasshyandprivateoffstage as he was
animatedandopenonit.“Rorywasanenigma then,
andhe’sstilla mysterynow,”saysMcAvoy. Despite
classicalbumslikeTat to o,Deuce,LiveIn Europe and
AgainstTheGrain, heneverenjoyedthe starry status
ofhispeers.Unfailinglymodest,theiconography –
a long-hairedfellowina checkedshirtand jeans,
wringingfierybluesfroma 1961Sunburst Stratocaster- wasalwaysconsciouslylow-key.
“He’stheequalofanyguitaristyoumight care to
mention,andperhapshedoesn’tgetthe coverage he
deserves,”sayshisnephewDanielGallagher, who
oversawBlues, anilluminatingnewanthology of
largely unreleased Gallagher performances.
“But he didn’t care about being voted no 1. He
didn’t want to be a superstar; he didn’t want
a cloak-and-dagger lifestyle.” By the time of
his untimely death in 1995, aged 47, Rory had
drifted to the margins, but his commitment
never wavered. The quiet, handsome boy
from Cork possessed a fierce belief in his own
abilities and an unswerving idea of what was
best for his music. “He was such a private
individual, all I could do was witness the artist
n him and the torture he put himself through,” says Donal
Gallagher. “For good or ill, Rory ran his own race.”R
ORY Gallagher chose his path early. The son of a
musician – “a Jimmy Shand figure”, says Donal –
as an infant he tuned into US Armed Forces radio,
soaking up jazz, blues, skiffle, Chris Barber, Sonny Terry,
Brownie McGhee, Lead Belly and Woody Guthrie. After the
family moved from Derry to Cork, aged nine he got his first
ix-string wooden guitar. “That was it,” says Donal. “The
older brother I knew who played football after school was
suddenly locked away. It was a vocation, end of story.”
Gallagher was a prodigy, winning talent contests at 11,
gigging locally by 13. He was a quiet, polite child with a
stubborn streak of nonconformity. “He started
growing his hair long, freaking out the Christian
Brothers at school,” says Donal. “It turned quite
violent: guys jeering him in the street, calling him
names. I was always ready to have a swing at
somebody, but he would give me a bollocking. ‘That’s
what they want you to do. Rise above it, ignore it.’”
By 15, Gallagher was guitarist in the Fontana
Showband, restyling them as The Impact and
orientating the music away from country towards
Chuck Berry R&B. They toured Europe, and headed to
London when the Irish ballrooms closed for Lent.
There, Rory saw Georgie Fame, Long John Baldry,
K& Rod Stewart, and The Impact supported The Byrds.
KUlf
KrUger
OHg/redferns
RORY GALLAGHER
“What Rory
wanted on his
records was
life and soul”
G e r rY m cAvoY
Irishmen abroad:
Taste mk II at the
Star-Club in
Hamburg, 1969 –
(l-r) Gallagher,
richard mcCracken
and John Wilson