Rory Gallagher
A battered Strat, a plaid shirt, and no rock-star pretence whatsoever
Rory Gallagher was born in Ballyshannon in County Donegal in 1948 and grew up in Cork, where skiffle, early rock and roll and the folk-blues records of Lead Belly and Big Bill Broonzy fired his imagination. In 1963 he bought the second-hand 1961 Fender Stratocaster that would stay with him for the rest of his life, and the same year he joined the Fontana Showband. Irish showbands were built to play the hits of the day, but Gallagher steadily steered the group toward rhythm and blues, and it evolved into The Impact before he struck out on his own terms.
In August 1966 he formed Taste in Cork, a blues-rock power trio whose second line-up, with Richard McCracken on bass and John Wilson on drums, took them to London and beyond. Taste opened for Cream at their November 1968 farewell concerts, released the albums Taste (1969) and On the Boards (1970), and played a much-admired set at the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival. Tensions over credit and management split the band at the end of 1970, with a final show in Belfast on New Year's Eve.
Going solo in 1971, Gallagher released his self-titled debut and Deuce within the same year, and in 1972 Melody Maker readers named him Guitarist of the Year. Live! in Europe (1972) reached the UK top ten, and a run of strong studio records followed, including Blueprint and Tattoo (both 1973), Against the Grain (1975) and Calling Card (1976). Irish Tour '74, recorded in Belfast, Dublin and Cork and filmed by Tony Palmer, captured him at his fiery peak and became a gold-selling landmark.
Through the late 1970s and 1980s he toughened his sound on Photo-Finish (1978), Top Priority (1979), Jinx (1982) and Defender (1987), while touring relentlessly; he played well over two thousand concerts in his career. His final studio album, Fresh Evidence, arrived in 1990. Years of health problems led to a liver transplant in 1995, and he died in London that June from an infection that followed the operation, aged 47. Statues in Ballyshannon and Belfast and streets and squares named after him in Ireland and Paris keep his memory visible.
The 10 greatest Rory Gallagher solos
- 1Rory Gallagher · solo by Rory Gallagher · 1973
- 2Rory Gallagher · solo by Rory Gallagher · 1973
- 3Rory Gallagher · solo by Rory Gallagher · 1973
- 4Rory Gallagher · solo by Rory Gallagher · 1972
- 5Rory Gallagher · solo by Rory Gallagher · 1978
- 6Rory Gallagher · solo by Rory Gallagher · 1973
- 7Rory Gallagher · solo by Rory Gallagher · 1972
- 8Rory Gallagher · solo by Rory Gallagher · 1976
- 9Rory Gallagher · solo by Rory Gallagher · 1976
- 10Rory Gallagher · solo by Rory Gallagher · 1971
The sound
Gallagher played with raw, unvarnished urgency: a Stratocaster driven hard into a Vox AC30, often pushed further by a treble booster, producing a cutting, harmonically rich snarl. He mixed flatpicking with fingers, snapped out pinched harmonics, and could move from ferocious boogie riffs to delicate acoustic blues in the same set. Slide in open tunings, fast modal runs and a restless rhythmic drive made his solos feel improvised in the moment. Crucially, his tone came from hands and amplifier rather than elaborate effects, and his worn, paint-stripped Strat became a symbol of that honest, workmanlike approach.
- 1961 Fender Stratocaster (guitar) Bought second-hand in 1963 and played for over three decades; its heavily worn finish became iconic.
- Vox AC30 (amp) His core amplifier from the Taste years onward, cranked for a bright, crunchy tone.
- Dallas Rangemaster Treble Booster (effect) Placed in front of the AC30 to add bite and push the amp into richer overdrive.
- Fender Telecaster (guitar) A favoured choice for slide playing in open tunings.
- Martin D-35 (guitar) His main acoustic for the folk-blues numbers that formed a regular part of his concerts.
Covers
- Messin' with the Kid, originally by Junior Wells He sped the song up and gave it an almost punk-like attack.
- Bullfrog Blues, originally by William Harris A 1920s country blues reborn as an electric boogie that closed countless shows.
- I Wonder Who, originally by Muddy Waters A slow blues where he lets the Strat do much of the singing.
- Too Much Alcohol, originally by J.B. Hutto A raw, slide-driven reading that honours the Chicago original's grit.
- Just a Little Bit, originally by Rosco Gordon A loose, good-humoured R&B romp that shows his band at full swing.
- Catfish, originally by Traditional Taste stretched the old Delta theme into a long, dynamic power-trio jam.
Timeline
- 1948 Born on 2 March in Ballyshannon, County Donegal
- 1963 Buys his 1961 Stratocaster and joins the Fontana Showband
- 1966 Forms the power trio Taste in Cork
- 1968 Taste opens Cream's farewell concerts in London
- 1970 Taste plays the Isle of Wight Festival and then splits
- 1971 Launches his solo career with Rory Gallagher and Deuce
- 1972 Named Melody Maker's Guitarist of the Year; Live! in Europe hits the UK top ten
- 1974 Irish Tour '74 album and Tony Palmer film released
- 1990 Releases his final studio album, Fresh Evidence
- 1995 Dies in London on 14 June after complications following a liver transplant
Facts
- He played the same 1961 Stratocaster for more than thirty years, bought second-hand when he was a teenager.
- In 1975 he was among the guitarists considered to replace Mick Taylor in the Rolling Stones.
- He played alto saxophone on parts of Taste's second album, On the Boards.
- In 1970 he broke the Marquee Club's all-time box office record, which had been held by Jimi Hendrix.
- He was one of very few major rock artists who kept playing Belfast during the worst years of the Troubles.
- At a 1981 concert in Athens that turned into a riot, he was temporarily blinded by tear gas.
- He was a keen reader of hardboiled crime fiction by writers such as Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler.
- In his later years he checked into hotels under the alias Alain Delon, borrowing the French actor's name.
- He never married and devoted almost all of his energy to music and touring.
- Statues of him stand in both Ballyshannon and Belfast, and places in Dublin, Cork and Paris have been named in his honour.