And it was. The battle-scarred instrument would outlast its master, a man who became one of the hardest working, most celebrated purveyor of incendiary white blues of the last 50 years.Taste played their final show at Belfast’s Queens University on October 24, 1970. Thousands of people lined the streets of Cork to bid him farewell with an ovation.Thank you for signing up to Classic Rock. “I don’t think he did that with Gerry.”Gallagher was also growing increasingly frustrated at not being able to capture the energy of his live shows. When one journalist enquired if having his name alone on the cover meant that Gerry McAvoy and Wilgar Campbell were just sidekicks, Gallagher’s response was telling. Plus the band had caught wind that interested parties would ensure their safety.“I only joined a showband because there was nowhere else to go with an electric guitar,” he later explained.McAvoy’s view is that the guitarist was too single-minded in his dedication to his craft to let himself be distracted by women. He obviously knew that he was taking a risk because Taste was on the verge of becoming a major band.
His approach to life, like his approach to playing guitar, was almost monastic. It was designed to reflect his love of old jazz albums, as well as deliberately contradicting any preconceptions held over from his time in Taste.Rory Gallagher was born in Ballyshannon, County Donegal, in 1948, and raised in Cork. Back in London, Campbell would return, but he only managed a few more shows before having a complete breakdown (he died in 1989, after suffering liver problems brought on by alcoholism). All rights reserved. He was a bit outlandish but at the same time he was very polite and pleasant. I didn’t realise he was headhunting me and Wilgar. “He was known as a bit of a character because of his long hair. It would also be the last album to feature Rod de’Ath and Lou Martin.“Rory’s mum picked me up in a taxi at Cork Airport and we flew down to Limerick,” says de’Ath, an eccentric, eye-patch sporting character who was rumoured to have died in the early 90s.
It was RTE’s first colour transmission. More than anything, he wanted to capture the visceral energy of a live show, as McAvoy found out.“Our work rate was extraordinary,” says de’Ath. It was there that he befriended Roland Van Campenhout, a bohemian musician who played guitar in the band Blue Workshop. “I couldn’t get into his head and what he was thinking about.” “He loved going back to Cork, but it was getting impossible for him to walk down the street, so we hired a boat club on the river where he could relax and eat home-cooked food. Giving nothing away.”Donal Gallagher recalls his brother’s social life in his later years revolving around the studio, the canteen and the bar, where he’d run up “terrifying bills”.“They would have got on,” says Rock. “Rory was always thinking more about his place in history than living a regular adolescence,” says his brother Donal Gallagher, who curates Rory’s estate. Rory loved old black and white movies.”The resulting album, Irish Tour ’74, remains the highlight of Gallagher’s career. “If I look back now I think ‘Jesus, how did he manage to cram in all those albums between ’71-’74?’” says Donal. He soon found two players he could work with: drummer Wilgar Campbell and 17-yearold bassist Gerry McAvoy, whose own band, Deep Joy, had supported Taste. Having toured there since his days with Taste, he had amassed a loyal following that would ensure his music – and his working-class approach – resonated with later generations.But the punishing schedules took their toll.
His father Daniel was employed by the Irish Electricity Supply Board, who were constructing Cathaleen's Fall hydroelectric power station on the Erne River above the town. If Rory was feeling pressured to prove himself after the demise of Taste, he wasn’t letting on, even to his bandmates.“I was never officially asked to join the band,” the bassist confirms. Significantly, the songs Lonnie covered introduced Rory to Leadbelly and the blues on one hand, and Woody Guthrie on the other, so for Rory, two really influential strands were pulled together there.”Amy Winehouse Quotes: Ten Poignant Insights Into Her Life“I suppose the ultimate dream, aside from wanting to be a good player or having a good band, is that in 50 years’ time, one of your songs matched a blues classic,” he says modestly. He pushed himself. “Of course, he should have been offstage at ten, but he overran and did several encores. We were both drunk and I remember him getting quite agitated and storming out shouting, ‘That’s blasphemy!’”“Maybe it was time for a change, I don’t know,” says Martin. He also began to experience stage fright, a fear of flying and bouts of physical exhaustion. I got a bit peeved about that.”The 15-year-old told her that this was his guitar for life. It’s the sound of a band leaning out over the precipice – something Gallagher deliberately encouraged, making up the show as he went along.“He was being pressurised all the time,” says Donal.