JULY 2019 • UNCUT• 61
how, however, at the Isle Of
Wight festival in August
970, the band had reached
he end of the road. “There
was a strain around the
direction the management
were travelling in as
opposed to the one Rory
wanted to pursue,” says Donal
Gallagher. “That caused a
chism. There was no cash. They
were earning all this money but
gettinga fivera weekwages.We
werelivingina bedsitinEarl’s
ourt,touringina crappyFord
ransit,stillusingtheinadequate
A systemRoryhadinherited
romtheshowband.Allthese
ensionshadgrown.Whenthese
mattersweretackled,themanager
awthewritingonthewalland
Roryh d o lt nativebuttosplittheband,which
hesawashis.Hewasverydespondent.”H
AvInGagreedtofulfilexistingtourdates
bookedinsupportofTaste’ssecondalbum,
OnTheBoards, thebandfinallycalledit a
dayinOctober1970.It tooktheunlikelysaviourof
LedZeppelinmanagerPeterGranttoextricate
GallagherfromthecontractualmessEddieKennedy
hadleftbehind,andtheexperiencelefthimwitha
strongdistrustforthemachinationsofthemusic
industry.Infuture,hewouldcontroleverypartof
hiscareer.“Donalwasroadmanager,thenhewas
appointedmanager,buthewasmanagementin
nameonly,”saysMcAvoy.“ItwassoRorycould
controleverything.Becauseofwhathappenedwith
EddieKennedyandTaste,Rorywasverywaryof
outsidemanagement.”Hisbrotheragrees.“Allyou
coulddoina managementrolewastobeanofficer
andcarrythingsoutthewayhewantedtodoit.”
ByMarch 1971 hewasbackontheroadasa soloact,
withGerryMcAvoy,formerlyofBelfastbandDeep
Joy,onbass,andWilgarCampbellondrums.Within
weekstheywererecordinghisclassiceponymous
solodebutinAdvision,London.“He’dcomein,start
playinga song,andwe’djoinin,”saysMcAvoy.“You
hada lotofropetoplaywith.It wasallrecordedlive–
vocals,guitarsolos– theonlythingoverdubbedwas
rhythmguitar.It wasa wonderfulexperience.”
ThesessionsforhissecondsoloLP,Deuce, were
evenlooser.“We’dplaysomewherelikeSouthend,
drivebackintoLondon,andgointothestudioat2 or
3am,”remembersDonal.“Itwasa studiousedby
reggaebands,builtbyJoeMeek,downinDalston,
whichbackthenwasa kindofno-goarea.It was
roughandready,butRorylikedthefunkyideaof
goingfrom16-trackbackdownto8-track.Therewas
a bingohallnextdoor.If youlistenhardenoughto
themultitracksyoucanhear
thenumber-calling!”
“Whathewantedwaslifeand
oul,”saysMcAvoy.“Thereare
istakesonsomeoftherecords,
utif thetrackworkedhe’dleave
n a bassorguitarfluff.He
antedthesoulofthetrack
therthansomethingpristine.”
Foralltheundeniablequality
f hisstudioalbums,therewas
omethingabouttheenergyInspired by jazz-soul
rio The Peddlers,
back in Cork he
ormed The Taste
August 1966, with
orman Damery on
ass and the late Eric
itteringham on drums.
Hewas someone special
fromdayone,” says Damery. “We
were a partnership when we started out, all equal,
but he was the star performer.”
He was already writing. The nonconformist Taste
anthem “Blister On the Moon” appeared early on
during rehearsals in Kitteringham’s bedroom. “It
was the first complete song Rory did,” says Damery.
“We knew we had something special.” In January
1967, Taste were booked in Hamburg clubs for three
months. “We got tight and got our act together,” says
Damery. “But Hamburg was rough, it wasn’t a place
for innocent little Irish boys!”
Shortly after returning, the band moved to Belfast,
attracted by its burgeoning reputation as blues
mecca. “You’d see him walking around town,” says
McAvoy. “He was becoming a bit of a figure. With the
way he dressed, the long hair, he stood out. People
would recognise him in the street and say hello. He’d
go to a music store called Crymble’s, where budding
musicians would hang out on a Saturday morning.
He was so polite, so gentle. A pure gentleman.”
By early ’68, Taste were making inroads in London,
landing frequent spots at the Marquee, where they
broke Jimi Hendrix’s record at the box office. They
signed to Robert Stigwood’s booking agency and
began to gain a following on the Continent. Their
foundations were shaky, however. After signing with
Stigwood, Damery and Kitteringham were swiftly
jettisoned, a move apparently masterminded by the
band’s manager, Eddie Kennedy. “There was a divide-
and-conquer scenario,” says Damery. “They got hold
of Rory and convinced him to dump us. It was more
profitable to have Rory on his own than three of us. ”
In August 1968, Gallagher recruited John Wilson
and Richard McCracken, two Belfast music heads,
and Taste Mark II was born. “John Bonham was very
annoyed he didn’t get an audition!” says Donal. They
supported Cream on their farewell show at the Albert
Hall, signed to Polydor, and released an eponymous
debut in April 1969. John Lennon saw them at the
Lyceum and raved about Gallagher in the press. In the
summer of ’69, they toured the US for the first time,
supporting Blind Faith. By the time of their biggest K&
KUlf
KrUger
OHg/redferns
“THE
TRACKS
BLEWME
AWAY...”
DanielGallagherguides
UncutthroughBlues,
a newanthologyof
unreleasedperformances,
splitintoelectric,acoustic
andlivediscs“W
e dida deala whileback
withUniversal.After
gettinghiscatalogue
outthereagain,thenextstepwasa
newreleasewithasmuchunreleased
materialaswecouldputtogether.
Wewentthroughthetapearchive,all
theseunlabelledboxes,toseewhat
wasthereandstarteddigitisingstuff.
It wasreallyfun.Therewasonethat
saidVanMorrisonwasguestingonthe
track,butit turnedouthewasjustin
thestudiowhiletheywererecording.
fora minuteI thoughtwehadVan
singing!Weendedupwithquitea lot
ofmaterial,butI wantedsomething
thatcrystallisedrory’sbluesmoments.
live-wise,theglasgowtracksblewme
away.They’refrom1982,whenhewas
touchingonnewwaveandrockabilly
onJinx, butthelivestuffis sobluesy.
Thatsurprisedme.Andhisacoustic
playingis sounique,it deserveditsown
Cd.Highlights?‘PrisonBlues’,I’dnever
evenheardofthattrackbefore.The
fullacousticversionof‘Who’sThat
Comin’’is good.Wegotpermissionto
usetrackswith
MuddyWaters
andlonnie
donegan,and
there’sa track
withAlbertKing
nobodyhas
heardbefore.
There’ssomuch,
andsomuch
more.I’msure
you’llfindversion
twooutat
somepoint.”Taste mk II:
“John Bonham
was annoyed
he didn’t get
an audition!”