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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 You can listen to several of the tracks from the as yet unpublished album on Bat’s myspace page.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.