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Rory Gallagher is the man who, without question, spearheaded and
influenced the entire Irish rock movement.
Rory's
music was his religion. The conviction and sincerity with which he
projected it have assured him a place in rock history and earned him
critical acclaim as one of the greatest torchbearers of driving,
effusive rock and blues. Born
in 1948 in Ballyshannon and raised in Cork, Gallagher's rock 'n roll
odyssey began at an early age when he saw Elvis Presley on TV and became
inspired to get his first guitar. Rory would listen and learn from the
likes of Lonnie Donegan, Woody Guthrie, Leadbelly, Chuck Berry, Muddy
Waters and Jerry Lee Lewis, many of whom Rory went on to record with. He
played in pickup bands until leaving school at age 15 and toured in the
early Sixties with the Fontana Showband. By the time the group broke up
in 1965, they were called the Impact. Gallagher then began working
regularly in Hamburg, Germany, and in Ireland with bassist Charlie Mc-Cracken
and drummer John Wilson in a power trio he called Taste. They moved to
London in 1969 and subsequently were an immediate success at London's
famed Marquee Club, counting among their fans John Lennon.
When
Taste disbanded at the end of 1970, Gallagher went on to a successful
solo career. From his first solo album in 1971 through to 1990's
acclaimed "Fresh Evidence" and beyond, Rory Gallagher sold
many millions of albums worldwide and toured the globe several times,
mounting more than 25 tours in the US alone. Following
extensive tours of Europe, throughout 1972, Rory followed up with the
album "Live In Europe," a top ten triumph both in the UK and
internationally. While touring the US solo for the first time, he was
voted Melody Maker's Top Musician Of The Year, and to cap off 1972
"Live In Europe" became Rory's first gold album, and his
second chart album success in the States. In
1973 Rory changed the line-up of his band and released a further two
successful albums, "Blueprint" and "Tattoo". Later
in the same year he achieved another personal high when he was invited
to guest on Muddy Waters' "London Sessions" album on Chess. At
the end of '73, Rory toured his native Ireland, an almost legendary tour
that happily was caught on film via a documentary made by Tony Palmer.
On
his return, Rory was invited to guest on an album by yet another of his
heroes, Jerry Lee Lewis (a double album recorded in London), and went on
to the Montreux Jazz Festival to record with Albert King on his
"Live In Montreux" album, then guested with jazz/blues giant
Chris Barber. Having
completed his contract with Polydor, Rory signed with Chrysalis in 1975
and released "Against The Grain". After an extensive worldwide
tour, Rory returned to the UK to headline the Reading Festival (one of
his many performances at this festival for which Rory held the record
during his lifetime for number of appearances). "Calling
Card" was recorded, with the aid of Roger Glover, at Musicland
Studios in Munich, and charted worldwide on its release. Gallagher then
returned to the States for yet another tour. Rory
made television history as the first ever artist to appear on Rockpalast,
transmitted live to some fifteen countries with an estimated audience of
50 million. In 1978 he returned to Germany to record the critically
acclaimed album "Photo-Finish" at Dieter Dierks' studios in
Calogne.
In
1982, Rory released his final album for Chrysalis, "Jinx",
released by PolyGram in the US, and then returned to where he was
happiest, the stage, and a successful tour of the world. After the return of his entire catalogue in 1985, Rory formed his own label and publishing company, Capo, and began recording the "Defender" album, released in 1987, which charted strongly in many countries. The 1990 release of "Fresh Evidence" saw Gallagher opening the ears of an even wider audience. Although he had suffered health problems for some time, he toured until falling seriously ill late in 1994. Rory
died in London at the
early age of 47, on 14 June 1995, from complications following a liver
transplant
ALBUMS Rory Gallagher - 1971 (BPI: 100,000) Deuce - 1971 (BPI: 100,000) Blueprint - 1973 (BPI: 100,000) Tattoo - 1973 (BPI: 100,000) Against the Grain - 1975 (BPI: 100,000) Calling Card - 1976 (BPI: 60,000) Photo-Finish - 1978 (BPI: 60,000) Top Priority - 1979 (BPI: 60,000) Jinx - 1982 (BPI: 60,000) Defender - 1987 (BPI: 60,000) Fresh Evidence- 1990 (BPI: 60,000) The G-Man Bootleg Series Vol.1- 1992 Let's Go To Work - 2001 Meeting With The G-Man- |
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