Rory Gallagher

William Rory Gallagher (/ɡæləhər/ GAL-ə-hər; 2 March 1948 – 14 June 1995) was an Irish musician, singer, and songwriter. Regarded as "Ireland's first rock star", he is known for his virtuosic style of guitar playing and live performances. He has sometimes been referred to as "the greatest guitarist you've never heard of".
Gallagher gained international recognition in the late 1960s as the frontman and lead guitarist of the blues rock power trio Taste. Following the band's break-up in 1970, he launched a solo career and was voted Guitarist of the Year by Melody Maker magazine in 1972. Gallagher played over 2,000 concerts worldwide throughout his career, including many in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. He had global record sales exceeding 30 million.
During the 1980s, Gallagher continued to tour and record new music, but his popularity declined due to shifting trends in the music industry. His health also began to deteriorate, resulting in a liver transplant in March 1995 at King's College Hospital in London. Following the operation, he contracted a staphylococcal infection (MRSA) and died three months later at the age of 47.
Gallagher has been commemorated posthumously with statues in Ballyshannon and Belfast, a memorial sculpture in Cork, and public spaces renamed in his memory in Dublin, Cork, and Paris. He has been commemorated on an An Post set of postage stamps and a Central Bank of Ireland commemorative coin. Since 2002, the Rory Gallagher International Tribute Festival has been held annually in Ballyshannon.
A number of musicians in the world of rock and blues cite Gallagher as an influence, both for his musicianship and character, including Brian May (Queen), Johnny Marr (The Smiths), Slash (Guns N' Roses), The Edge (U2), Alex Lifeson (Rush), Glenn Tipton (Judas Priest), Janick Gers (Iron Maiden), Michael Schenker (Scorpions, UFO), Vivian Campbell (Def Leppard), Jake Burns (Stiff Little Fingers), Joan Armatrading, Gary Moore, Imelda May, Joe Bonamassa, and Moya Brennan.
Gallagher was born on 2 March 1948 to Daniel (Danny) and Monica Gallagher (née Roche) at the Rock Hospital in Ballyshannon in County Donegal, Ireland. He was baptised in the nearby St Joseph's Church.
His father, Danny, was originally from Derry and served for a time in the Irish Army. Danny was also an accordionist and led his own céilí dance orchestra. He met Gallagher’s mother, Monica – a native of County Cork – in the 1940s while stationed in Cork city, and they later married.
The couple moved to Ballyshannon when Danny was demobilised and took up employment with the Irish Electricity Supply Board (ESB), which was constructing the Cathaleen's Fall hydroelectric power station on the River Erne.
In 1949, the family moved to Derry City. It was here that Gallagher's younger brother Dónal was born later that year. Dónal would go on to manage Gallagher throughout most of his career. While in Derry, Gallagher attended the Christian Brothers Primary School, known locally as the Brow of the Hill.
Over the next seven years, due to a lack of steady work, the family moved frequently, spending time in Coventry and Birmingham in England, as well as moving back and forth between Cork and Derry. This instability put a strain on Danny and Monica’s marriage, and in 1956, Monica moved back to Cork permanently with her two sons. They lived with Gallagher's maternal grandparents in an apartment above the Modern Bar (later renamed Roche's Bar) at 27 MacCurtain Street. Gallagher attended the North Monastery School and, later, St Kieran's College.
Gallagher developed a love for music at a young age through the radio, listening to broadcasts from Radio Luxembourg, the BBC and the American Forces Network. His first musical inspiration was Roy Rogers, "the Singing Cowboy", followed by Lonnie Donegan, whose covers of American blues and folk artists introduced Gallagher to the genre. He later discovered rock and roll, particularly Buddy Holly, Eddie Cochran, and Chuck Berry, before finding his greatest influence in Muddy Waters. Other musicians he cited as influences include Woody Guthrie, Big Bill Broonzy, and Lead Belly.
At age nine, Gallagher received a plastic Elvis Presley model ukelele for Christmas, on which he taught himself basic chords. Recognising his aptitude, Gallagher’s mother later bought him an acoustic guitar. Gallagher would study music books in his local library, such as Lonnie Donegan’s Skiffle Hits, and copy the hand shapes of musicians from photographs in Melody Maker.
Having acquired a repertoire of songs, Gallagher began performing at minor functions around Cork, often accompanied by his brother. In 1961, he won a cash prize as a solo performer in a talent contest at Cork City Hall, and his photo was featured in the Evening Echo.
As Gallagher began performing more frequently, he sought to emulate the electric sound of beat groups. To achieve this, he persuaded his mother to buy him a black Rosetti Solid Seven electric guitar.
Gallagher was eager to form a band but struggled to find anyone in Cork who shared his interest. In the summer of 1963, while searching through local newspapers, he came across an advertisement from brothers Oliver and Bernie Tobin, who were looking for a lead guitarist to join their newly-formed band, the Fontana Showband.
The six-piece ensemble, which played the popular hits of the day, featured Bernie Tobin on trombone, Oliver Tobin on bass, John Lehane on saxophone, Eamonn O'Sullivan on drums, and Jimmy Flynn on guitar. Gallagher impressed the band with his audition and lied about his age to secure the position. In the following weeks, Flynn left the band by mutual consent and Declan O’Keefe joined as rhythm guitarist.
Shortly after joining the Fontana Showband, Gallagher purchased a 1961 Fender Stratocaster for £100 from Crowley's Music Shop. This guitar became his primary instrument and was most associated with him during his career.
The band performed in ballrooms and dancehalls across Ireland almost every evening, often for 5-6 hours at a time. This allowed Gallagher to earn the money for the payments that were due on his Stratocaster guitar. During Lent, when dances were "banned" by the Catholic Church in Ireland, they toured Great Britain.
Despite not playing the music he truly wanted, Gallagher saw the Fontana Showband as a valuable training ground. Recognising the shifting musical landscape of the time, he gradually began to influence the band's repertoire, steering it away from mainstream pop music and incorporating some of Chuck Berry's songs. By 1965, he had successfully moulded Fontana into "The Impact", now with Michael Lehane on keyboards and Johnny Campbell on drums, replacing O’Sullivan.
On 22 April 1965, The Impact made an appearance on Irish television show Pickin’ the Pops, where they were scheduled to perform Buddy Holly’s 'Valley of Tears’. However, at the last minute, Gallagher switched the song to Larry Williams’ ‘Slow Down’ instead, an act that caused a sensation.
As Gallagher’s guitar skills gained recognition, the band began performing at larger venues, including the Arcadia Ballroom, which was run by Peter Prendergast. Prendergast’s brother, Phillip, decided to take on management of the band, securing them support slots for major acts like The Animals. Around this time, Gallagher was also invited by the showband The Victors to play as a session guitarist on their recording ‘Call Up the Showbands’.
In June 1965, the band travelled to Spain for a residency at an American Air Force base outside Madrid, in Alcalá de Henares. With Spain under dictatorship at this time, Gallagher was required to cut his hair before entering the country. After their time in Spain, the band recorded their first demo tape, which featured a cover of ‘Slow Down’ with ‘Valley of Tears’ as the B-side.
By early summer 1966, The Impact had dissolved. Gallagher, along with bassist Oliver Tobin and drummer Johnny Campbell, formed a trio and started a three-week stint at the Big Apple in Hamburg, Germany. They were billed as ‘The Fendermen’.
Upon returning to Ireland, Gallagher jammed with local Cork band, The Axills, which featured bassist Eric Kitteringham and drummer Norman Damery, and was offered the position of guitarist. However, having completed a musical apprenticeship in the showbands and influenced by the increasing popularity of beat groups, he decided it was time to form his own band instead and asked Kitteringham and Damery to join him.
Together, they formed The Taste, which was later renamed simply Taste, a blues rock and R&B power trio. The band was formed inside the Long Valley Bar, with the name Taste inspired by a beermat boasting the superior taste of Beamish stout.
Taste began rehearsing on the upper floor of 5 Park View, where the Kitteringham family lived, and made their debut on 10 September 1966 at a school dance held at the Imperial Hotel on Grand Parade in Cork. While Taste performed many covers, they also began developing original material, including an early version of 'Blister on the Moon'.
Looking to expand their reach to Belfast's blues scene, Taste performed at the city's Sammy Houston's Jazz Club on Great Victoria Street in December 1966. Their performance caught the attention of promoter Eddie Kennedy, who offered them a residency at the city's Maritime Hotel and a management deal.
Gallagher persuaded Kitteringham and Damery, who were working as a printer and an insurance broker at the time, to go fully professional, and they agreed. Several months later, Damery’s work replacement died in the Aer Lingus 712 flight disaster, leading Damery to tell Gallagher, “Whatever turns out for me professionally now is a bonus. You saved my life.”
During their residency at the Maritime Hotel, Taste opened for acts like Cream, Fleetwood Mac and Chris Farlowe & The Thunderbirds, drawing audiences from both Protestant and Catholic communities.
In 1967, the Major-Minor record label, run by Phil Solomon, showed interest in signing Taste and gave them the opportunity to make a demo recording. ‘Blister on the Moon’ (with B-Side ‘Born on the Wrong Side of Time’) was subsequently released as a single without Gallagher's consent.
Kennedy’s connections with Robert Stigwood, the manager of Cream and the Bee Gees, helped secure gigs for Taste at London’s Marquee Club. At their first gig, supporting Robert Hirst and the Big Taste in February 1968, they were billed as ‘The Erection’ to avoid a name clash. The band’s raw sound made an immediate impression on critics and spectators, leading to a residency offer and a permanent move to London in the summer of 1968.
Polydor began showing interest in signing Taste, but Kennedy claimed the label was unhappy with the current rhythm section. Despite initial resistance from Gallagher, Kitteringham and Damery were replaced by bassist Richard McCracken and drummer John Wilson, both experienced musicians from Belfast who played in the band Cheese, also managed by Kennedy. The change was made amicably, with everyone understanding it was a necessary step for the band’s progression.
In August 1968, the new line-up of Taste signed with Polydor and relocated to Earl’s Court. While living there, Gallagher bought a saxophone and taught himself how to play, practicing in the cupboard of his bedsit to avoid disturbing the other residents.
Earl's Court was home to a number of other bands, including Brian May's Smile. After a performance at the Marquee Club, May went backstage and asked Gallagher, "How do you get your sound?". The sound to which May referred consisted of a Dallas Rangemaster Treble Booster in combination with a Vox AC30 amplifier.
Three months later, at Eric Clapton's request, Taste supported Cream at their farewell concerts at the Royal Albert Hall. After Cream disbanded, the band’s manager Robert Stigwood approached Gallagher with a proposal to join Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker in a new version of the band. Gallagher, however, refused the offer outright.
In early 1969, Taste recorded their eponymous debut album Taste in a single day at De Lane Lea Studios in London. The album was produced by Tony Colton, who had previously produced albums for Yes. Released in April, it included rearranged blues standards like ‘Leavin’ Blues’, ‘Sugar Mama’ and ‘Catfish’, a cover of Hank Snow’s ‘I’m Movin’ On, and Gallagher’s own song ‘Blister on the Moon’, among others. The album was praised by critics for its "raw and honest" sound, selling particularly well in Northern Europe.
In July 1969, Clapton invited Taste to support his new supergroup, Blind Faith, on their US tour. Despite Taste’s positive audience reception, the tour was fraught with issues. These included Taste being denied soundcheck time and a proper PA system, playing daytime gigs in large arenas, and tensions with Kennedy over travelling on the musicians’ bus and not allowing the band to stay on in the US to play smaller club gigs. During the tour, Gallagher saw Muddy Waters play for the first time at Ungano’s in New York.
Once back in London, Polydor requested that Taste begin recording their second album. This time, they were given almost a week to complete the project, which resulted in On the Boards. All ten tracks were composed by Gallagher and showcased his progressive blues style, mixing blues rock with acoustic ballads and experimental jazz-blues fusion. The album was released on January 1970 and reached no. 18 on the UK Albums Chart. Without Gallagher’s permission, Polydor issued the opening track ‘What’s Going On’ as a single in Germany, where it became a Top 5 hit.
Throughout 1970, Taste continued to build their reputation as a live band, breaking the Marquee Club’s all-time box office record on 21 July, previously held by Jimi Hendrix. John Lennon, who attended one of their performances, told a New Musical Express writer, “I heard Taste for the first time the other day and that bloke is going places.”
However, behind the scenes, tensions were escalating due to creative differences and management issues. Gallagher and his brother Dónal were aware that Kennedy was misappropriating funds, but Wilson and McCracken sided with the manager, creating a rift within the group. The situation worsened when Taste’s van was broken into the night before the Isle of Wight Festival, and Wilson accused Gallagher of orchestrating the break-in because only his drum pedals were stolen.
Despite these tensions, Taste delivered a strong performance at the Isle of Wight Festival before a crowd of 600,000 people, returning for multiple encores. Their performance was recorded in full by Murray Lerner and later released as the concert film Live at the Isle of Wight (2015).
Gallagher had intended to disband Taste after the Isle of Wight Festival, feeling that the band had "just came to the end of our natural life." However, with Polydor having already scheduled several festival dates and a major European tour, contractual obligations required them to continue. Just three days later, the band performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival, marking the beginning of Gallagher’s long relationship with the festival.
Taste's final concert took place at Queen’s University in Belfast on 24 October 1970. Following the breakup, Gallagher would never perform a released Taste song on stage again. McCracken and Wilson would go on to form the rock band Stud.
Despite describing the break-up of Taste as a "traumatic" and "very dreadful time", particularly because "the press all attacked me as if I was some kind of dictator", Gallagher always refused to publicly speak ill of the other band members. He would later reflect on the break-up with regret, describing it as a "communications breakdown" that "shouldn't have been allowed to happen."
Gallagher's brother Dónal, who took on the role of his manager, insisted they bring his previous manager, Eddie Kennedy, to court to recoup royalty payments, but Kennedy capitulated before the case reached trial. He agreed to transfer the Taste royalties, though he claimed to have no money. This meant that Gallagher never received any of the funds generated from Taste’s album sales. The episode made Gallagher reluctant to seek out 'big' management deals in future, and he later turned down an approach from Led Zeppelin's manager, Peter Grant. Grant, however, was instrumental in negotiating Gallagher a favourable solo deal with Polydor, which secured him a contract for six albums on more generous terms.
After the break-up of Taste, Gallagher toured under his own name, hiring former Deep Joy bass player Gerry McAvoy ( later of Nine Below Zero ) to play on Gallagher's self-titled debut album, Rory Gallagher.
It was the beginning of a twenty-year musical relationship between Gallagher and McAvoy; the other band member was drummer Wilgar Campbell. The 1970s were Gallagher's most prolific period. He produced ten albums in that decade, including two live albums, Live! in Europe and Irish Tour '74. November 1971 saw the release of the album Deuce.
In 1972, he was voted Melody Maker's Guitarist/Musician of the Year. However, despite a number of his albums from this period reaching the UK Albums Chart, Gallagher did not attain major star status.
Gallagher played and recorded what he said was "in me all the time, and not just something I turn on ...". Though he sold over thirty million albums worldwide, it was his marathon live performances that won him the greatest acclaim. He is documented in Irish Tour '74, a film directed by Tony Palmer.
During the heightened periods of political unrest in Northern Ireland, as other artists were warned not to tour, Gallagher was resolute about playing there at least once a year during his career. In 1974, they stayed in the Europa Hotel in Belfast, which was known as "the most bombed hotel in Europe". This approach won him the dedication of thousands of fans, and in the process, he became a role model for other aspiring young Irish musicians.
Gallagher said in several interviews that there were not any international Irish acts until Van Morrison and he, and later Phil Lynott and Thin Lizzy. The line-up which included Rod de'Ath on drums and Lou Martin on keyboards performed together between 1973 and 1976. However, he eventually dropped down to just bass, guitar and drums, and his act became a power trio. In January 1975, when the Rolling Stones gathered in Rotterdam, Netherlands, to continue working towards their album Black and Blue, they auditioned new guitarists, to replace Mick Taylor, as they recorded. Gallagher went over for a jam with the band "just to see what was going on," but did not join the group, happy with his solo career.
In 1975, Gallagher's contract with Polydor came to an end, and he signed with Chrysalis Records. At the time, it was hoped that Chrysalis "wanted to give him the close, personal attention that he never really had before. [They] wanted to go all-out with him." Some early interaction with Chrysalis showed that Gallagher liked to keep tight artistic control over his work: while making Calling Card, he resisted producer Roger Glover of Deep Purple's effort to make a cleaner sound; rejected the mixes made by Elliot Mazer, and "hit the roof" when Chris Wright suggested that the song "Edged in Blue" be cut in length to make it a single, and the album's name be changed to match it. Other releases from the Chrysalis period include Photo-Finish and Top Priority.
The Gallagher band performed on several TV and radio shows across Europe, including Beat-Club in Bremen, Germany and the Old Grey Whistle Test. He recorded two "Peel Sessions" (both February 1973 and containing the same tracks), but only the first was broadcast. Along with Little Feat and Roger McGuinn, Gallagher performed at the first Rockpalast live concert at the Grugahalle, Essen, Germany in 1977.
Gallagher collaborated with Jerry Lee Lewis and Muddy Waters on their respective London Sessions in the mid-1970s. He played on Lonnie Donegan's 1978 album Puttin' on the Style.
In the 1980s he continued recording, producing Jinx, Defender, and Fresh Evidence. After Fresh Evidence, he embarked on a tour of the United States. In addition, he played with Box of Frogs, a band formed in 1983 by former members of The Yardbirds. Becoming obsessive over details and plagued by self-doubt, Gallagher nevertheless retained a loyal fanbase. During this period he stated "I agonize too much".
Notes From San Francisco, an album of unreleased studio tracks and a San Francisco 1979 concert, was released in May 2011.
In addition to Gallagher himself (on guitar and vocals), over the years Gallagher's band included:
A number of guest musicians also recorded and played with Gallagher and his band, including:
The main instrument that Gallagher played throughout his career was a sunburst 1961 Fender Stratocaster (Serial Number 64351). It was reputedly the first in Ireland, and originally owned by Jim Conlon, lead guitarist in the Irish band Royal Showband. Gallagher bought it second-hand from Crowley's Music Shop of Cork's MacCurtain Street in August 1963 for £100. Speaking about Gallagher's purchase, his brother Dónal recalled: "His dream ambition was to have a guitar like Buddy Holly. This Stratocaster was in the store as a used instrument, it was 100 pounds. In today's money you couldn't even compare; you might as well say it was a million pounds. My mother was saying we'll be in debt for the rest of our lives and Rory said, 'Well, actually with a guitar like this I can play both parts, rhythm and lead, we won't need a rhythm player so I can earn more money and pay it off.' So the Stratocaster became his partner for life if you like."
In 1967, while in Dublin to visit Pat Egan at the Five Club, Gallagher's Stratocaster was stolen, along with a Telecaster he had borrowed from a friend. Gallagher contacted the producers of a television programme called Garda Patrol, who featured the stolen guitars in one of their segments. A few days later, the Stratocaster was discovered abandoned in a ditch behind a garden wall on the South Circular Road and was returned to him.
Virtually all of the finish on Gallagher's Stratocaster was stripped away over time, and, while he took care to keep the guitar in playable condition, Gallagher never had it restored, stating "the less paint or varnish on a guitar, acoustic or electric, the better. The wood breathes more. But it’s all psychological. I just like the sound of it". Gallagher's brother Dónal has also stated that, owing to his rare blood type, Gallagher's sweat was unusually acidic, acting to prematurely age the instrument's paintwork.
The guitar was extensively modified by Gallagher. The tuning pegs and the nut were replaced, the latter changed a number of times. The pickguard was also changed during Gallagher's time with Taste. Only the middle pick-up is original. The final modification was the wiring – Gallagher disconnected the bottom tone pot and rewired it so he had just a master tone control along with the master volume control. He installed a five-way selector switch in place of the vintage three-way type.
Speaking of the Stratocaster in a 1993 interview, Gallagher said, "This is the best, it's my life, this is my best friend. It's almost like knowing its weak spots are strong spots. I don't like to get sentimental about these things, but when you spend 30 years of your life with the same instrument, it's like a walking memory bank of your life there in your arms."
In late October 2011, Dónal Gallagher brought the guitar out of retirement to allow Joe Bonamassa to perform with it on his two nights at the Hammersmith Apollo in London. Bonamassa opened both night's performances with his rendition of "Cradle Rock" using Gallagher's Stratocaster.
In July 2024, Dónal Gallagher announced that he would be auctioning the Stratocaster through Bonhams. The guitar was sold later in 2024 for £700,000. The buyer, the concert promoter Denis Desmond, made the purchase following discussions with the Irish Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, with the intention of donating the guitar to the National Museum of Ireland (NMI). On 5 February 2025, it was announced that the Stratocaster would be put on display by the NMI from September 2025.
Known for his Stratocaster, Gallagher also used a number of other guitars, including acoustic examples, during his career. In April 2014 one of the last guitars owned by Gallagher, a custom-built Patrick Eggle 'JS Berlin Legend', was sold at auction in England for £25,000.
Gallagher used a number of models of amplifiers during his career, generally preferring smaller 'combo' amplifiers to more powerful Marshall stacks popular with rock and hard rock guitarists. To make up for the relative lack of power on stage, he would link several different combo amps together.
When Gallagher was with Taste, he used a single Vox AC30 with a Dallas Rangemaster treble booster plugged into the 'normal' input. Gallagher also used an Ibanez Tube Screamer, and several Boss effects, including a flanger.
In the 1970s, Gallagher began to use Fender amplifiers with a Hawk booster. Later in the 1970s, when Gallagher was moving towards a hard rock sound, he experimented with Ampeg VT40 and VT22 amplifiers, and also used Marshall combos.
Gallagher was an early adopter of Boss ME-5 all-in-one floor-based effects units, and used such a unit for his live work until his death. He also used Stramp 2100a amplifiers, which can be seen in his appearances on the German Beat Club programme. Another company that built amplifiers for Gallagher was PCL Vintage Amp.
In the later years of his life, Gallagher developed a phobia of flying. To overcome this, he was prescribed various drugs. Gallagher also had a series of health problems for which he was prescribed steroids (e.g., thyroid disorder, psoriasis, asthma). By the time of his final performance on 10 January 1995 in the Netherlands, he was visibly ill with severe abdominal pain and the tour had to be cancelled.
Gallagher was admitted to London's King's College Hospital in March 1995, and it was only then that the extent of his ill health became apparent; his liver was failing and the doctors determined that, in spite of his relatively young age, a liver transplant was the only possible course of action. After thirteen weeks in intensive care, while waiting to be transferred to a convalescent home, his health suddenly worsened when he contracted a staphylococcal (MRSA) infection, and he died on 14 June 1995, at the age of 47. He was unmarried and had no children.
Gallagher was buried in St Oliver's Cemetery in Ballincollig, near Cork City, in Ireland. The grave's headstone is in the image of an award he received in 1972 for International Guitarist of the Year.
In 2003, Wheels Within Wheels, a collection of acoustic tracks, was released posthumously by Gallagher's brother Dónal. Collaborators on this album included Bert Jansch, Martin Carthy, The Dubliners, Spanish flamenco guitarist Juan Martin and Lonnie Donegan.
Many modern-day musicians, including The Edge from U2, Slash of Guns N' Roses, Johnny Marr of the Smiths, Davy Knowles, Janick Gers of Iron Maiden, Alex Lifeson of Rush, James Dean Bradfield of Manic Street Preachers, Glenn Tipton of Judas Priest, Vivian Campbell of Def Leppard, Gary Moore, and Joe Bonamassa, cite Gallagher as an inspiration in their formative musical years.
Brian May, lead guitarist of Queen, relates: "So these couple of kids come up, who's me and my mate, and say 'How do you get your sound Mr Gallagher?' and he sits and tells us. So I owe Rory Gallagher my sound." The sound to which May refers consists of a Dallas Rangemaster Treble Booster in combination with a Vox AC30 amplifier. In 2010, Gallagher was ranked No. 42 on Gibson.com's List of their Top 50 Guitarists of All Time. Gallagher was also listed in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time, at 57th place. In April 2014, at the time of the auction of Gallagher's Patrick Eggle "JS Berlin Legend" guitar, the BBC noted: "Eric Clapton credited him with 'getting me back into the blues'".
Gallagher released 14 albums during his lifetime as a solo act, which included three live albums: