Rory Gallagher (1948-1995) is one of the greatest Irish guitarists and rockers of all time! Adored by many fans, Gallagher was one of those renowned“Guitar Heroes” who lived and breathed rock and blues. A true symbol of an entire generation, Gallagher thrilled audiences with his beautifully played riffs on his Fender stratocaster. Discover without further ado the life of this undisputed master of the 6-string…
Gallagher discovered music at the age of 9, listening to renowned artists such as Elvis Presley, Muddy Waters and Chuck Berry… It wasn’t long before he caught the bug, and all he could think about was buying a guitar and learning the secrets of rock. His parents agreed to give him a guitar, and it was at the age of 9 that Rory Gallagher discovered his first love: learning to play music.
By the age of 15, Gallagher was already a professional musician. It was at this age that he acquired his first Stratocaster, a ’61 Fender Stratocaster Sunbusrt, which he kept for the rest of his life.
Wishing to further his musical evolution, he founded his first band, “Taste”, in 1966… And already he was monopolizing guitar and vocals with all his talent… The band released two albums, “Taste” and “On the board”, before splitting up.
Gallagher embarked on his solo career in 1970, a career rich in recordings.
The early years saw the release of the albums “Rory Gallagher” and “Deuce”, which met with only moderate success in the U.K… After a gruelling tour covering the U.S. and Europe, Rory returned to the studio for a new album…
1972 saw the release of “Live in Europe”, which rocketed into the top 10 of the charts. The live album went platinum, and earned Rory the title of “Musician of the Year” from Melody Maker magazine.
After a new album, “Blueprint”, Gallagher is back on the road… 4 months of touring from the USA to Australia, back-to-back dates with his inspired solos and riffs, sometimes aggressive, sometimes softer and bluesier… We can already say that Rory has established himself as a master of the 6-string. But after this long tour there was little time left to record the album “Tatto” in autumn 73.
1974 was another busy year for touring… Only one album was released that year, and not the least, the fabulous “74′ Live Irish Tour”… This album was accompanied by a 90-minute documentary in which the artist drips with talent, whether on his Stratocaster blues or his acoustic ballads.
In 1976, after the release of “Against the grain” the previous year, the artist went to the prestigious Montreux Jazz Festival in France. Shortly afterwards, he released “Calling Card”, which met with only moderate success… Live, Rory still shines, if not more so, never disappointing his audience, even taking part in the summer 1977 show “ADD Rockpalast” broadcast on Germany’s first TV channel…
Photo finish” was released in 1978, “Top priority” in 1979 and “Stage struck” in 1980…
Then came the hour of silence: Rory made no further public appearance until 1986, when the long-awaited album “Defender” was released… His stage appearances were rare, and it was an obese, bloated Rory Gallagher who offered himself to the public… Irish stout and pills had indeed taken their toll on him, and the great Gallagher had lost his panache, under the circumspect gaze of his fans…
1990: a new opus, “Fresh Evidence”, is released… Rory is in increasingly poor health. It wasn’t until 1992 that he regained the strength to return to the stage. The same year saw the release of the “Echted in blues” compilation, featuring all the great blues songs of his career.
In 94, in the midst of his European tour, Gallagher fell seriously ill… In 95, he underwent surgery and a liver transplant… Unfortunately for him, the transplant was rejected: he died in London on June 14, 1995 at the age of 48, leaving behind him a considerable musical legacy.
