I was arguing with a Rory Gallagher fan a few weeks ago about what constitutes an “appropriate” memorial to the late, great Irish guitarist. The argument had arisen after the posting of a recent article on the possible renaming of the Cork airport. Representatives of Sinn Fein want Cork Airport renamed in honor of Terence MacSwiney, the famous mayor of Cork who died on hunger strike, while representatives of Fianna Fail and Fine Gael want a more modern figure like legendary hurler Christy Ring, or blues guitarist Rory Gallagher. Some may remember that several years ago there was an online petition to get the Cork International Airport changed to the Cork Rory Gallagher Airport. At last count the petition has received over 5,000 votes. My vote was number 285. Not that I thought this petition had any chance of swaying the Dublin Airport Authority or Cork City Council into renaming the airport after a Rock ‘n Roll guitar player, but I just wanted to add my name to a list of people who wish Rory to be remembered, regardless the vehicle.

And this is where Rory fans diverge. There are those who wish his name attached to things that they think he would have been proud to be a part of – an Academy of Music for example – and then there are those who just wish his name is put out there, be it on an airport terminal, a civic center, or a road sign. I fall into the latter group. A Rory Gallagher “School of Rock” would be a great way to honor the man, but I’m happy with just about anything that will bring attention, and hopefully sustained interest in the Irish Blues Master. Within reason of course, I wouldn’t want his name displayed across the archway of a local den of iniquity or city jail, but otherwise I’m not too particular. Sure there will be those nefarious few who will market his name purely for profit, but even if it’s done for the wrong reasons, the end result would still put the man’s name before the eyes of a fickle public suffering from significant long term memory loss. A bit Machiavellian? You bet, but if it increases the fan base, I’ll live with it.

There are those who say that doing things like naming the Cork Airport after Rory Gallagher won’t translate into more fans of the late, great Irishman, and in fact is a great disservice to the man because of his well documented fear of flying during his later years. These people have obviously never taken a Marketing 101 course: the more a name is put before the public eye, the more interest will be generated for products with that name on it. It’s a simple matter of numbers; with millions of travelers frequenting a busy International Airport, there will be plenty of curious travelers who, having never heard of the Irish legend, will check him out via Youtube, Pandora, iTunes, Facebook or other social networking sites. Travelers who were fortunate to have heard the great man but have forgotten about him, might just throw a Rory Gallagher album back on their turntable, or download a few tunes to their ipod. As for the appropriateness of naming an Airport after a man who, in his later years, developed a fear of flying? People forget what a humorous guy Rory was, I think he would appreciate the irony of it all.

While the renaming of the Cork Airport after Rory Gallagher might just be a pipe dream, there have been many other landmarks that have been built or renamed in his honor. Below are just a few. Many thanks to Chino’s wonderful French Rory Gallagher Forum Csilla’s Blues News, and Amanda McGowan’s Crashing Waves website for providing many of the photos you see below.

• Rue Rory Gallagher  In October 1995, the name of the road outside of the music venue, “Le Plan” in Ris Orangis, Paris, France was renamed after Rory Gallagher. One of Rory’s final French shows before his untimely death was a one-off gig at Le Plan to help celebrate their 10th Anniversary. Rory was so popular in France that fans convinced the small town of Ris Orangis, outside of Paris into renaming the street fronting “Le Plan” to “Rue Rory Galagher”.
  Rory’s brother Donal, and their mother Monica were in attendance at the dedication ceremony along with the mayor of Ris Orangis, and on November 3rd of that year, the first ever tribute to the Irish legend took place at Le Plan, featuring the music of Nine Below Zero, and videos from some of Rory Gallagher’s concert. Just outside the doors of Le Plan is a window box containing a short biography of Rory.
• Impasse Rory Gallagher  In the French town of Bedoin in Vancluse at the base of Mont Ventoux, there is a small cul-de-sac, or dead-end street, dedicated to the memory of Rory Gallagher. According to the Dutch website, Spinsister.nl a guitar player called “Boro” who lives near Mont Ventoux, was an admirer of Rory Gallagher and the last time he met Rory he accidentally spilled his wine on Rory’s trousers. After Rory’s untimely death he decided to post the “Impasse Rory Gallagher” sign on the previously unnamed cul-de-sac in honor of the Irishman and over time the name stuck and eventually adopted by the authorities. It is now the official name for the lane.
• Rory Gallagher Place  On October 25, 1997, in Cork city, St. Paul’s St. Square was formerly renamed “Rory Gallagher Place”, and a tribute sculpture honoring the Irish Master by Geraldine Creedon was unveiled. The sculptor was a childhood friend of Rory, the two having grown up together in the McCurtain Street area of the city. The abstract bronze sculpture takes the form of a guitar on one side, while the other side is made up of intertwined lyrics from Rory’s 1982 album, Jinx.

  “It’s a much more abstract piece, essentially because my mother at the time couldn’t cope with the idea of Rory being cast in stone or bronze. She just couldn’t face the idea of looking at Rory’s image.” — Donal Gallagher
  

  Playing at the unveiling was the Dave McHugh Band, who formed Ireland’s first tribute to Rory, ‘Aftertaste’ in 1995.

• Rory Gallagher Music Library  In October, 2004, Cork City Library’s music department was officially renamed the “Rory Gallagher Music Library” in honor of  the internationally renowned Irish blues and rock guitarist who grew up in the fair city. Attended by hundreds of devout Rory fans, the ceremony featured the late guitarist’s brother, Donal, presenting several mementos to be displayed permanently in the Rory Gallagher Music Library including Mounted Prints, Golden discs and a Fender Stratocaster presented to Donal by the Fender company of California and signed by some of the worlds greatest guitarists. The dedication ceremony was performed by the Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr. Sean Martin, with Monica Gallagher, Rory’s mother, cutting the ribbon to reveal the Innovative Signage and Artifacts now on permanent display in the Rory Gallagher Music Library.
  

  From his time with Taste in the late 1960’s until his untimely death in 1995, Rory Gallagher forged and maintained a reputation as one of the world’s great blues men.
  His eminence as a Musician was widely acknowledged ever since Taste’s legendary Isle of Wight performance in 1970, leading Rory to be recognized as one of the world’s greatest guitarists. His integrity and his loyalty to the blues and blues based rock, as well as his genius as a guitarist and songwriter, earned him the love of fans all over the world. He has given us a legacy of wonderful recordings, and for those lucky enough to have heard him live, a wealth of wonderful memories. –Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr. Sean Martin

• Rory Gallagher Theatre  In June, 2005, the main theatre at the multi-hall Abbey Centre in Ballyshannon, County Donegal was renamed the Rory Gallagher Theatre. Music and the Performance Arts were very much part of the Gallagher’s lives while living in Ballyshannon. Rory’s mother, Monica Gallagher, was a singer and acted with the Abbey Players, while Rory’s father Daniel played the accordion and sang with the Tir Chonaill Ceile Band. The theatre was renamed as the highlight of the four-day Rory Gallagher International Tribute Festival attended by over six thousand fans and marked the tenth anniversary of Gallagher’s death. Rory Gallagher becomes the first Irish star to have a theatre named after him in his own country. A plaque, commemorating the renaming of the theatre was unveiled by his brother Donal Gallagher at the festival. The ash plaque features a wood carving of the musicians face and was designed by local artist Barry Sweeney. The plaque hangs at the entrance to the theatre while a painted copy of the Photofinish album cover is used as a backdrop to the stage. (*note: the Cork Institute of Technology, Bishopstown campus, has also renamed one of its theatres after the late, great blues master.)
• Wall of Fame   On October 6, 2005, the “Wall of Fame” photographic exhibition was official unveiled. The Wall features 12 photos of Ireland’s finest musicians permanently displayed on the Temple Lane wall of the Temple Bar Music Centre, Dublin, Ireland. Each musician has a window devoted to them, framing a large photo, commemorating their contributions to Irish popular music. Included in this group of highly influential musicians is Rory Gallagher, Ireland’s ultimate Guitar Hero. Veteran radio broadcaster for RTE 2fm, Dave Fanning, was on hand to formerly launch the massive photo gallery, and did the honors of turning on the lights to reveal the twelve celebrated Irish music legends. The photograph of Rory Gallagher was taken by famed photographer Jill Furmanovsky, author of ‘The Moment’ 25 Years of Rock Photography’ and ‘Was There Then ‘ A Photographic Journey’. She is also the founder of the Rock ‘n Roll photograph collective, Rock Archive.
  

  A true bluesman who played with all his heart and soul, till audience and band alike were ready to expire in a pool of sweat. After this all-night gig I remember walking through Covent Garden to catch a bus at 6a. and stealing a bottle of milk from a doorstep thinking how lucky I was to have been there. — Jill Furmanovsky

• Rory Gallagher Corner   On June 16, 2006 a detailed, life-size bronze replica of Gallagher’s famously worn 1961 Fender Stratocaster guitar was unveiled, mounted high above bustling Essex Street East, at the Rory Gallagher Corner entrance to the Meeting House Square, Dublin, Ireland. Attending the ceremony were hundreds of the late guitarist’s admirers, his brother, Donal, Lord Mayor of Dublin Catherine Byrne, event organizer Mark Walsh of Dublin’s Keynote Music Sales Ltd., and U2 guitarist The Edge.
  

  “[Rory Gallagher was] a huge influence on my life. I always admired Rory as a musician and was later lucky enough to call him a friend. His legacy will live on in hundreds of bands in this country. He laid the road for everyone in music. It is an honour to be here and lay tribute to the man and his work.” — The Edge
  

  Mark Walsh of Keynote Music spearheaded the movement to get the commemorative sculpture approved, despite concerns by the National Photographic Archive (who rent the Temple Bar property where the bronze strat hangs) that the site may “become a shrine to Gallagher with fans drawing graffiti on the gable wall.” The sculpture, funded by the Fender company and the local music shops, is part of a series of permanent artworks which make up the Public Art Trail in Dublin’s cultural quarter, the Temple Bar area. Rory’s last Irish concert was at the 1994 Temple Bar Blues Festival.

  Rory was Ireland’s first Rock’n’Roll star, selling records and touring the world, blazing a trail for others to follow. As musical instrument sellers we owe our livelihood to him and the others who followed, bringing Irish Rock to the world. Now as his beloved Cork, Paris, and Donegal have already done, Dublin
  honours one of Ireland’s greatest sons. Let’s remember Rory with this long overdue tribute. — Mark Walsh

  We are delighted to be involved in funding and supporting this project. The idea behind this new piece of public art is to celebrate and honour Rory Gallagher, a fantastic world class musician who played here in Temple Bar* and who has a public corner named in his honour. The idea of having a guitar sculpture in this high profile location really takes this celebration up a level. The sculpture will attract thousands of visitors and fans and remind us of the huge contribution that creative artists like Rory have made to Ireland’s culture, confidence and reputation.–Dermot McLaughlin, Chief Executive of Temple Bar Cultural Trust

  After the dedication ceremony, the Rory Gallagher tribute band, A Taste of Rory performed for the crowd, followed by a screening of vintage film from Rory’s ’74 Irish tour. Coinciding with the Temple Bar event was the DVD release of Rory Gallagher: Live at the Cork Opera House.
  

• Rory Gallagher Statue  A life-sized bronze statue of Rory Gallagher was unveiled in the town he was born in, Ballyshannon, County Donegal, Ireland. The unveiling took place on Wednesday, 2nd June, 2010 by the Mayors of Donegal, Cllr. Brendan Byrne and Cork City, Cllr. Dara Murphy, as well as Rory’s brother, Donal, and his family. The statue, located at the Diamond in Ballyshannon town centre, was crafted by award-winning sculptor, David Annand from Fife in Scotland, and funded by Donegal County Council Public Art Office. Speaking to Ocean FM News, Donal Gallagher said he was overwhelmed by how the sculpture captured the vibrant spirit of his late brother.
    The unveiling of the statue came at the start of the annual Rory Gallagher International Tribute Festival. The 2010 festival marked the 15th anniversary of Rory’s passing and seemed the largest to date; with over 25 folk, blues and rock acts performing to an estimated crowd of over 10,000 people for the 5-day event. Cllr. Barry O’Neill is the Chairperson for the annual Rory Gallagher International Tribute Festival held in Ballyshannon and states the event provides a major tourism boost for the county. 15 years after his untimely death, the statue seems an appropriate memorial to a man who blazed the trail for other Irish rockers to follow.
  

  “Rory Gallagher’s connections with his birth place Ballyshannon are as strong now in 2010 as they were in the year of his birth at the Rock Hospital in 1948.
  In several interviews in the years prior to his untimely passing in 1995, Rory was quoted as saying that when he would retire, he would like to do so in his native Donegal…
  
  This is a weekend to celebrate his life, acknowledge the contributions he made to the music industry world-wide and to simply sit back and savour the music which still rings loudly in our ears. This festival is a great tribute to Rory and his family and an honour for the people in Ballyshannon.
  – Barry O’Neill

So there you have some of the more notable landmarks commemorating the passing of a truly great musician. Hopefully with the passage of time many more statues will be erected, buildings constructed, roads renamed in his honor. In my mind he is the ultimate guitar hero. Now where can I get hold of a Rory bobble-head doll?

Bat Kinane is one of the guitarists for the band, Glyder, a hard rock band from Ballyknockan, County Wicklow, in southern Ireland. The four piece band is heavily influenced by legendary Irish rock band Thin Lizzy as well as other classic guitar-driven rock bands of the 1970′s. The band was formed in 2004 after a one-off gig at “The Vibe for Philo” in Dublin, and have recently released their third album, Yesterday Today and Tomorrow.

Smothered in sublime guitar harmonies and delivered with grit and precision…… for people who never tire of hopelessly romantic Rock & Roll songs laden with dueling guitars and wistful street poetry”
- KKKK KERRANG

During some recent downtime from his responsibilities with Glyder, Bat has recorded an 11 track solo album of rock, blues and folk called “A Lifetime to Kill.” Guesting on the album is legendary Irish soul man, Rob Strong, ex “Mama’s Boys” Pat McManus, and former bass guitarist for Johnny Cash, David Roe. You can listen to several of the tracks from the as yet unpublished album on Bat’s myspace page. Of particular interest to fans of Rory Gallagher is a track called, “Stagestruck 74,” a song honoring the late, great Irish legend. The song tells the story of a Irish lad of 17 going off to see his hero, Rory Gallagher in concert. From it’s Rory inspired opening riff to heartfelt middle solo, Bat does an admirable job capturing the mood, the excitement, and most importantly, the sound of going to see a Rory Gallagher concert in the early 70′s.

For the track “Stage Struck 74″ I have a friend of mine whose name is Jerry McEvoy, not the Gerry McAvoy but Jerry McEvoy. They share the same name, spelling is different but they do have a similar bass style as they both play with a pick. I started off with the riff and it reminded me of Rory and Horslips. The initial working title of the song was “roryslips” before I had any lyrics wrote. I can never remember exactly how the words come but they just always seem to flow when the music is right. I wrote it from the perspective of a young lad going to see Rory Gallagher in 1974 in Ireland. I was only one years old so I’m just imagining how it would have been. Rock music back then was relatively new and to see someone like Rory must have been phenomenal. So basically its the story of a young man maybe 17 years old who has left school early and is now a working man. He saves his cash to go see Rory and the music distracts him and gives him a break from his back breaking day job. He is fueled up on whiskey, beer, nicotine and excitement. He leaves the gig drenched in sweat dreaming of the next time Rory will come back and play. The song changed a little since I first demoed, I reworked the lyrics and melodies. I kept the solo off the demo and imported it into the track because it was done in one take the way Rory would have done it. There are a few notes that aren’t perfect but I wasn’t striving for perfection just trying to create a mood and feel.

The world is certainly a different place since 1974, things were much simpler and that goes for the music business and everyday life. There are so many distractions now but back then a live band and to go buy an LP was something exciting and special. Its incredibly hard now as a musician but I think its always been hard. Rory was a unique talent and that’s why he went to the top and on his own terms which was very special. I feel with this solo album I’ve made it for the love of music and not money and that’s the way Rory was too. The solo album will be called “A Lifetime to Kill” I’m looking for a label and distributor for the album so I have no release date yet. I don’t see the point in hanging on to the music for too long I want it to be heard.– Bat Kinane

I’ve taken the liberty of including the song, “Stagestruck 74″ in a montage of Rory Gallagher video clips from various concerts and uploaded it to youtube. Hey, a song about going to see Rory in concert just HAS to have some footage of Rory in there! Just click on the embedded youtube video above to listen to Bat Kinane’s homage to Rory Gallagher. While you’re listening to Bat’s song, have a look at Rory in action. Can you identify all 8 concert appearances I’ve included in the video montage? Give it a try!

It’s eight o’clock a crowd is gathering outside the hall
A thousand feet shuffle, movin’ slowly ,when they get the call
Familiar faces I haven’t seen in almost a year, smiling
Makin’ chat , smoke cigarettes, and drinking beer
Then the lights go down shadows begin to play, my eyes
Zeroed in cheering for my hero

The curtains go back Rory takes to the stage
A tingle down my spine…..electrifying

I’m a million miles away when I hear him play
A tingle down my spine…..electrifying

Two hours fly by I just cant describe what I’m feeling right now
I’m so elated my eyes dilated, spinning on a wheel
Rory leaves the stage after two encores, my shirt is drenched,
Dripping wet as I face out into the cold, oh no
Monday comes fast ill be down in the dirt again, oh when,
When will I see him play again, l’lI have to

Wait another year till Rory comes back my way
A tingle down my spine…. electrifying

• Bat Kinane’s Myspace Page
• Bat Kinane’s Blog
• Official Glyder website

Dave Fanning is a veteran radio broadcaster for RTE 2 (now called RTE 2fm) whose various shows on Irish radio, such as “The Dave Fanning Show” and “Drivetime with Dave” have been mainstays of the Irish airways. Fanning is widely regarded as Ireland’s answer to the late, great John Peel of BBC1, and his “Fanning Sessions” gave his Irish audience their first listen to such big name rock bands as U2, The Cranberries, and Hothouse Flowers.

When RTÉ Radio 2, Ireland’s first pop music station, was launched in the summer of 1979, Dave Fanning’s midnight slot came to be regarded as the Irish equivalent of the Peel show. Chief among its innovations was the Fanning Sessions, overseen by Ian Wilson, whereby a fledgling band was given the opportunity to record four tracks which were aired at least twice, thus granting valuable national exposure, not to mention a few quid and a free lunch in the RTÉ canteen. U2 were the first band to record a session, and allowed the show’s listeners to choose the A-side for their first single. Other notables to avail of the service included The Cranberries, Hothouse Flowers, Therapy? and JJ72. Peter Murphy, Hot Press Magazine

Dave Fanning, Christy Moore, & Rory at
Self Aid. Photo from christymoore.com

In a recent interview for Hot Press Magazine, Fanning claims to have interviewed over 200 of the greatest Rock stars. None greater perhaps than Irish guitar legend, Rory Gallagher, who Fanning interviewed on several occasions. I’ve uploaded one of these interviews to my downloads page. The interview was done on February 16, 1988; Fanning interviews Rory prior to an upcoming 4-night stand at Dublin’s Olympia Theatre. You can listen to the interview here: Dave Fanning Show February 16, 1988. In Part One of the interview Rory talks about; his 15 minutes at the ’86 Self Aid Festival at the RDS Showgrounds in Dublin, Ireland, Chuck Berry’s autobiography, his latest album Defender and the scrapped album Torch, his new record label Capo, and his recent touring. In Part 2 Rory talks about his love of detective novels, spy novels, his song “Philby” and his attitude towards making “singles”. In Part 3 Rory talks about working with producers such as Roger Glover as well as producing on his own, and in Part 4 he talks about his current and past lineups, the gimmickry of many heavy metal bands, the devolution of Fleetwood Mac, and the music he listens to now a days.

Of interest to me was when Fanning asked Rory about who comes to a Rory Gallagher concert now: is he still relevant to the younger generation, to the audience of a U2? Fanning has been a huge supporter of U2. His very first “Fanning Session” on RTE Radio 2 was with the young four-piece Dublin band and his friendship with, and support of the band continues to this day. Six months prior to the interview with Rory Gallagher, Fanning talked with some of the U2 road crew: Joe O’Herlihy, Steve Iredale, Tim Buckley, Tom Mullany, and Sam O’ Sullivan — affectionately called the “Cork Mafia”. Joe O’Herlihy may be the sound engineer and crew boss for U2, but back in the seventies Joe was Rory’s man. Joe had been working with a band called Sleepy Hollow and caught the eye of Rory Gallagher:

[Sleepy Hollow] supported Rory Gallagher on his Irish tours and one or two college tours in Europe and the U.K., and Rory saw me doing my little trick for the boys and one day asked me if I’d be interested in working for him. So the situation opened up from there doing backline, monitors and, eventually, to sound. I was with Rory for the best part of five years, up until September ’78… One very good thing about that relationship with Rory, it was an incredible apprenticeship… Rory is a real 100% performer and you have to be on top of your case all the time to maintain that consistency. Because other people growing up, they fall in love with the girl of their dreams but with Rory it’s his guitar that is the girl of his dreams. He’d work eight days a week, 48 hours a day if he could. When you’re working under those conditions you grow up very quickly. Rory’s from Cork as well, so it meant I walked into an ideal working situation. — Joe O’Herlihy

During the interview with the “Cork Mafia” Fanning asks Joe about working with Rory back then as well as on the occasional tour date when U2 was on holiday or taking a break from touring. He also asked whether Joe thought Rory would still be playing the Blues when he’s in his 50′s and 60′s. Joe replied that, “I think Rory has always had that ambition within himself to be around when, you know, like all the other blues artists as you say are 50 or 60 years of age, that sort of thing, and Rory will definitely be there.” Here’s an audio excerpt from that interview: Dave Fanning interview with the “Cork Mafia”. Sadly, it proved not to be the case, as Rory was taken from us far too early.

Still, Rory’s memory lives on, and on June 1, 2010, Donal Gallagher and Bernie Marsden were on RTE 2fm radio’s, Dave Fanning Show to talk about the upcoming International Rory Gallagher Festival and the dedication of the new Rory Gallagher statue in Ballyshannon, County Donegal. You can listen to the interview here: Dave Fanning Show. (My apologies for the occasional dog barking, I taped the show through an external mike, and got my dog, “Big Blue” in there as well.) The memorials to the Irish legend seem to multiply from year to year. He may have not lived to play into his 50′s and 60′s as some of the great Blues masters did, but the legend that is Rory Gallagher, has grown large over the years, and his legacy stands with the best of them.

There have been several movies that have included a Rory Gallagher song in the soundtrack. Recent independent releases, “Waveriders” and “32A” have already been mentioned in earlier posts for containing the songs “In Your Town” and “I Fall Apart” respectively. This time around it’s a movie from a few years back, the 2003 “Grand Theft Parsons”, a movie about the death of Gram Parsons (former member of The Byrds and Flying Burrito Brothers), and the off the wall attempt by his road manager to kidnap his corpse and cremate him at Joshua Tree State Park. The film stars Johnny Knoxville and Christina Applegate and features among other songs, the Rory Gallagher classic, Bad Penny, from his 1979 album ‘Top Priority’. Gram Parson has been called the “the father of country-rock” and ranks no. 87 in Rolling Stone’s list of the 100 Most Influential Artists of All Time.

And speaking of Bad Penny, there have been some pretty nice covers of the song recently. Here’s a list of some of them:

1. Ampiphy is a Dutch “guitar rock” band whose live set list is a mixture of their own original material and covers of classic songs by such artists as Neil Young, Bob Dylan, and Irish guitar legend, Rory Gallagher. You can listen to their cover of Rory’s Bad Penny here: Ampiphy — Bad Penny.
2. Natalie Wells Band is a blues/rock trio fronted by 22-year old female guitar phenom, Natalie Wells, who was voted ‘blues artist of the year’ by the Cincinnati Entertainment Awards in 2003. The band also features Curt Hall on bass, and former drummer for Adrian Belew’s band, “Adrian”, Mike Hodges. You can listen to a snippet of their cover of “Bad Penny” here:
   Natalie Wells Band — Bad Penny.
3. Mountain of Power is a hard rock 70′s tribute project by Sweden’s Janne Stark (OVERDRIVE/CONSTANCIA/LOCOMOTIVE BREATH) featuring a huge ensemble of heavy metal guitarists from Sweden. Volume 2 of the project widens the scope of their guest list to include other nationalities, and also includes a cover of Rory’s “Bad Penny” successfully merged with another of his heavier songs, “Keychain”. You can listen to the song here: Bad Penny’/'Keychain’ (RORY GALLAGHER) featuring Conny Bloom (ELECTRIC BOYS), Pontus Snibb (BONAFIDE), Mikael Nord Andersson
4. Croftstown. Originally called Croftstown Traffic, this 3-piece band from Australia put out one CD, Croftstown Unboogie before guitarist Stephen Crofts was forced to retire due to the debilitating effects of Huntington’s Chorea. His wife, Christina Crofts, continues on and in 2008 released her debut solo album titled, ‘Midnight Train’. Ronny Bervoets of Rootstime ezine described her musical style as ‘Lucinda Williams meets Rory Gallagher down under’. You can listen to the Croftstown cover of Rory’s Bad Penny here: Croftstown — Bad Penny.

Not so bad Pennies, eh?

Rory Gallagher and Phil Lynott are two of the musicians included in the pages of the newly released Dictionary of Irish Biography. Published last November, the 9-volume Dictionary is edited by James McGuire and James Quinn, and contains 9,700 biographies of Irish men and women who made their mark on the world. It is the largest work ever written about the lives of the Irish people. A joint project of the Royal Irish Academy and Cambridge University Press, the dictionary took a total of 12 years to compile and spans over 2,000 years of Irish history. To include Rory Gallagher amongst the important personages of the past two milleniums seems a no brainer if Irish historians consider the realm of music important to the Irish legacy. Clearly Rory Gallagher and Phil Lynott are two of the greatest Irish exports in that field; particularly Rory, who blazed the trail in Irish Rock that all others followed. However, this was exactly the discussion on Newstalk 106-108 fm radio several weeks ago.

On the Sunday, May 9, 2010 broadcast of Talk History, Patrick Geoghegan and a panel of experts in musical and social history discussed the lives and careers of two of Ireland’s most famous rock musicians, Rory Gallagher and Phil Lynott, and whether their recent inclusion in the Dictionary of Irish Biography was deserved. Joining Patrick was Professor James Quinn, co-editor of the Dictionary of Irish Biography and author of the Phil Lynott entry in the biography, Colm O’Hare, journalist for Hot Press Magazine, and MarK McAvoy, Cork journalist and recent author of Cork Rock — from Rory Gallagher to the Sultans of Ping. (McAvoy’s book has been previously mentioned on this blog HERE.) You can listen to the podcast of the Rory Gallagher & Phil Lynott Talk History show here: Talk History, Rory Gallagher & Phil Lynott. While all agreed on the show that both musicians belonged in the distinguished volumes, one wonders why there could have been any doubt. So head out to your local library and check out “Volume 4, G to J” of the Dictionary of Irish Biography where Rory Gallagher is given his due. Don’t forget to bookmark Rory’s entry for future readers of the tome!

Belgium guitarist Jacques Stotzem creates a fingerstyle landscape both intriguingly familiar and absolutely unique. A stylistic chameleon whose original compositions delve into blues, jazz, folk and even rock & roll, Stotzem transcends easy classification, but his polished and emotionally powerful playing has garnered fans in Europe, the United States and beyond. — Modern Guitars

On his latest CD, “Catch The Spirit” Jacques Stotzem turns to Rock ‘n Roll for inspiration and covers some of Rock’s classic tracks and transforms them into acoustical masterpieces. Using fingerpicks on the thumb and two fingers of the right hand, his ability to transform electric guitar classics such as U2′s “With or Without You,” Radiohead’s “No Surprises” and Jimi Hendrix’s “Purple Haze” is down right amazing. And nowhere does he shine more than in his interpretation of Rory Gallagher’s “Moonchild”. Recently I had a chance to ask Jacques a few questions about his admiration for the late, great, Irish legend, Rory Gallagher:

• Shadowplays: How long have you been a Rory fan?
• Jacques: I am Rory’s fan since I am 16. The first LP I bought was “Live In Europe”. I still remember the pleasure I had to discover the LP, I listened to it so many times. I bought it again recently on CD and what a joy to listen again to “Pistol Slapper Blues” or “Bullfrog Blues”!
• Shadowplays: Did you ever meet Rory?
• Jacques: No, unfortunately, I never met him and also I just saw him live once. I don’t remember exactly which year I saw him, but it should be around 77 or 78, it was in Liège (Hall Omnisport de Grivegnée). My dream was to meet him at least one time, but sadly, it never happened.
• Shadowplays: What is it about his music that made you want to cover his songs?
• Jacques: Even if I am an acoustic player, my favorite players are always electric players, so Rory and Jimi Hendrix are my two favorites. It’s for me always a challenge and a pleasure to try to find ways on the acoustic guitar to perform Rory’s music. To try to catch the original spirit and perform it on acoustic guitar. What I really love in Rory’s pieces is that his music was combining energy and melody.
• Shadowplays: Have you done any of his acoustic numbers?
• Jacques: No, not yet, at the moment I concentrate myself on his electric numbers like “Moonchild”, “Wayward Child”, “Shadow Play”, etc. I perform some pieces instrumentally, but I have also a duo project with a female singer (Géraldine Jonet), and we would like to make an acoustic tribute set to Rory. The singer is only 23, but she’s a big fan of Rory.

In 1989 MTV premiered their “MTV Unplugged” series. The show featured stripped-down acoustical performances by artist who were not usually known for such performances. Rory Gallagher would have been a fantastic artist for this series. Although his prowess as an acoustic player was well known — his live shows always had a few acoustic numbers thrown into the mix — to be able to hear Rory play his electric numbers on acoustic guitar would have been a feast for the ears. And on February 14, 1977, Rory did just that, at least briefly, on a show for Irish TV called “Me and My Music”. Rory played “Secret Agent” on his National acoustic guitar, and showed to the world that he didn’t need electricity to make his songs electrifying.

So I can hardly wait to listen to an acoustic tribute set of some of Rory’s best electric numbers by Jacques Stotzem and Géraldine Jonet. A couple of these songs have already made their way to youtube: Wayward Child and Keychain. What a welcome addition the duet of Jacques Stotzem and Géraldine Jonet would be to the Rory Gallagher International Tribute Festival held in Ballyshannon each year. Barry O’Neill are you listening?

In the April 1998 issue of Guitar Player magazine, Rory Gallagher is featured in their Hot Tips section. The quotes they use are from a July 1974 interview for Guitar Player magazine that was used in their March 1978 cover story. In the interview, Rory talks about how in some ways he takes an acoustical approach to playing his Strat. The short excerpt from the interview that is used for the Hot Tips feature is transcribed below. You can also download a scan of the original Guitar Player Hot Tips page by clicking on the picture to the left.

In his July ’74 GP Interview and March ’78 cover story, Rory Gallagher shared his views on dynamics, tone, and setting playing levels:

I try to get a volume where my Strat still responds like an acoustic instrument. You know, if you hit the string you’ll get a hard note, and if you pick quite gently, you can get a soft tone. Does that sound crazy? I don’t like to see a guy let his volume control do all the work. I like to go woomph and really dig into the note. I’m into getting as much as possible out of the guitar with my hands — almost a classical approach. For an intro or solo, I have my guitar at maybe 9 1/2 to give myself a little room. For rhythm, I’ll have it at about 7 1/2 or 8. I like single-coil pick-ups because the volume goes down nice and gradually. Even at 6, the guitar is still doing something.

  For amps, I’ve always liked a Vox AC30 or a Fender 4×10 setup. I find old amps have an atmospheric sound. I’ve never been a fan of 100-watt stacks. Instead of a wall of sound, where you lose your tone because it’s spread out among eight speakers, I’d rather see a small amp turned to 8 or 9 and really hopping off the chair. I like to overdrive the amp, as opposed to using a fuzz box. And I still prefer to get a wah-wah effect by manually working the guitar’s tone control. It’s more fun. The Strat is ideal because you can get the crying sound with the volume and tone controls.

In the April 2008 issue of Guitar Player magazine, Rory was featured in their “10 Things You Gotta Do to Play Like” column. They forgot one: you can’t really play like the G-man he was one of a kind. You can only hope to approach his mastery of the strat! Written by Jesse Gress, the article does an excellent job of dissecting the mechanics of what Rory did, however the tone and feeling he laid into his licks is something not so easily put to pen and ink. One thing I found particularly interesting was something included in his number 10 “thing” — Add Some Amazing Phrasings. In that section, Gress makes a passing reference to the note not taken. The author tells the student to, “Be sure to observe the numerous rests during and between the licks — these spaces play a huge role in Gallagher’s phrasing.” I couldn’t agree more. Too many “speed” guitarists try to cram as many notes as possible in a lick. Sometimes it’s the lack of a note, or the silence between the notes, that can make all the difference. You can read the article online at guitarplayer.com or you can download a scan of the article (including pictures!) that I’ve uploaded to the server HERE.

At a time when in Greek radio (which was limited to state radio stations) you could only listen to greek or “easy-listening” music, he was the first one who dared to dedicate a daily music programme to good Rock, Pop, Soul, World, Punk or even Country music. — Zaffy

Rory Gallagher was interviewed on Yannis Petridis’ radio show, Rock Club, prior to his show at the Philadelphia Stadium in Athens in Fall of 1981. In an interview interspersed with selections of Rory’s songs and songs by other blues and contemporary artists, Rory discusses various topics such as his new lineup with Brendan O’Neill on drums, the 60′s Blues Explosion, Muddy Waters, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, the current music scenes in both Ireland and abroad, and his future recording plans.

• Download an mp3 of Rory’s interview on Yannis Petridis’ “Rock Club”,
  HERE.
• Receive notification when a new bootleg is uploaded, HERE.
• Listen to the interview on your computer right now, HERE
  (You must have Adobe Flash Player 9 installed)

On June 25, 2009, Anne Marie of Rock-Interviews.com interviewed Brendan O’Neill prior to his appearance with Nine Below Zero at the Blues en Bourgogne festival in Le Creusot, France. During this interview he mentioned his time as the drummer for the Rory Gallagher Band. Anne Marie asked Brendan what was his best memory of Rory Gallagher, and he replied that one of the most memorable concerts was the gig at the NEA Philadelphia Stadium in Athens, Greece. Below is the transcript of that short interview, you can also click on the video to the left to watch the interview:

Anne Marie: And you toured with Rory Gallagher ?

Brendan O’Neill: I did, yeah.

Anne Marie: What is your best memory, the best memory you have from him ?

Brendan O’Neill: The best memories, oh, there were lots of them and it’s very difficult to pinpoint one thing. Obviously we had some fantastic shows, all over the world. One very memorable one was in Athens in Greece where Rory played, he was the only band on, just the Rory Gallagher band and we played in a big football pitch, reputedly between 30 or 37 thousand people at the show and it was a magnificent event, it was a highlight really.

Anne Marie: How was Rory Gallagher ?

Brendan O’Neill: He was a fantastic musician and a gentleman, he was very dedicated to his art, very dedicated to his art, in fact it was all consuming with him really, it was his life.

As mentioned in the Brendan O’Neill interview, Rory Gallagher played to a packed crowd at the NEA Philadelphia Stadium in Athens, Greece. The country had seen very few rock stars of Rory’s stature since the infamous Rolling Stones Debacle in 1967. On September 12, 1981 Rory and his band performed, with no supporting act, to an Athens crowd of 40,000 strong. Like the Stones, Rory played against a backdrop of political and social upheaval. Although not nearly as tense as the pre-election firestorm that Jagger and company faced in 1967, the political climate Rory faced there in 1981 was one of trepidation as it became increasingly likely that the incumbent “New Democracy” party would suffer its first defeat at the hands of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK). Indeed, less than a month later “PASOK” won in a landslide and became the first socialist government in Greece’s history. Rory’s show at the Philadelphia stadium was, at least muscially, no less momentous:

… The news of Rory Gallagher concert circulated by word of mouth to all schools, the courtyards, the schools, cafes, computer, squares, illegal radio stations in FM … and the name became a legend — Elias Tomaras, garagefuzz21.blogspot.com

They expected fifteen thousand people and that’s serious! And I said well, they must be kidding!! I didn’t realize that you could have that amount, but as it turned out, there was twice that many, or thereabouts, but half of them were outside, and either they supposedly gate crashed, or else the police over reacted because the audience were all up on their feet.

It was a great gig really if I say so myself and, all of a sudden, the police started getting a little heavy with the audience, things started getting a little bit hard, y’know. We were just playin’ away it really only all happened after the encore. The crowd were grand, but y’see they don’t have all that many big shows like that, and I suppose the police were nervous. There was the election coming up, as well, in two weeks or something, so I think they used the concert as an example to show how they could keep control of a crowd, or something like that! — Rory Gallagher: A Rap on the Road, Hot Press Magazine, 1981

   

(Photos of Rory at the NEA Philadelphia Stadium courtesy of Stefanos)

If anything, the heavy-handedness of the police, made things worse, and a full-fledged riot ensued:

… the atmosphere within the country was very volatile. With the stadium packed to bursting point, you could feel the tension in the air, but the gig itself was amazing… the crowd loved it, but as we hit the closing chords of the final number, it all kicked off. It seemed like every single member of the 35,000 crowd went berserk and within minutes a full-scale riot had broken out. — Gerry McAvoy autobiography, Riding Shotgun

In an interview for Hot Press magazine, Rory describes the very real danger they found themselves in, and their escape from the mayhem :

A short while into the show, I started to see all these flames, way at the back of the stadium. They were burning down restaurants and shops on the streets outside the gig. I think they wouldn’t let enough people into the stadium or else they let too many in but, anyway, the police arrived and started to fire CS gas at us. It was the most frightening gig I’ve ever done. That CS gas is dangerous stuff. It messes up your eyes and you can’t see where you’re going or anything.

When we eventually got backstage, there was so much confusion that we couldn’t be sure who was going to protect us and who might attack us. There were those semi-militia guys walking around and they looked very threatening. So we just jumped into a car and tried to head back to the hotel. Then, on the way, we ran out of petrol so we had to walk. And there was so much going on, it was a nightmare. We were soaking wet and our eyes were watering and we were all literally trembling. The gig itself had been great by the way. But it was very frightening. I just didn’t want to die in a football pitch in Greece, not even knowing what was happening — Rory Gallagher, Tangled up in Blues, Hot Press Magazine 1992

Brendan O’Neill’s fourth gig as the drummer for the Rory Gallagher Band was a very memorable event indeed. Unfortunately the bootleg tape of this show is of very poor quality. I’ve uploaded it to the server just the same. So have a listen to Rory in Athens, and then ask yourself the same question Anne Marie posed to Brendan O’Neill at the Blues en Bourgogne festival. What is your best memory of Rory? I think you’ll agree it will be hard to top his.

• Download an mp3 of Rory’s Athens show,
  HERE.
• Receive notification when a new bootleg is uploaded, HERE.
• Listen to the concert on your computer right now, HERE
  (You must have Adobe Flash Player 9 installed)