RoryGallagher

1. Hi Donal & Daniel and welcome to the Forum,
The first question that comes to my mind and i think will interest everybody on
here,when can we have the Taste Live at the
IOW tapes on DVD? Everybody has been waiting for sooo long for this
one,can you give us an update on that,thanks.
Cheers...Kenny

Daniel: Hi Kenny, this is a question which many of you have asked so if you
don’t mind I’ll address it all here. The festival was filmed by Murray Lerner
who has all the footage. We have been in touch with Murray over the years to
discuss ways of releasing the material, the main stumbling block has been
finding any DVD partner willing to meet Murrays costs and valuation of the
footage. Universal who own the Taste catalogue aren’t considering music
DVDs anymore which leaves us very much with Eagle Rock (who have
released most of the Isle Of Wight performances) who aren’t prepared to
meet Murrays valuation. We’re working on both parties to try and resolve the
costs etc but its not an easy task.

Donal: Eagle Rock (who will now become the Worldwide distributor for all
Rory’s DVDs) are keen to release the title, having issued much of the “Isle of
Wight”, DVD series but currently feel the costs of production, etc. don’t stack
up. However, we continue with the quest.

2. The 1984 televised show from the Ulster Hall (Rory at Midnight) was the
whole gig filmed and is there any possibility that all, or at
least some of it, may make it to a DVD release sometime?
Think I must have watched this shows version of 'I Wonder Who'
a thousand times, but would love to own an official version.
John W

Daniel: Hi John, we recently met up with the licensing manager at the BBC
who is currently compiling for us all the Rory footage the BBC has in its
archive. Once we see whats there we will try and put together some sort of
Rory at the BBC DVD release, again these things are dependent on finding a
partner company willing to help us with the release.

3."Rattlesnake Guitar - The music of Peter Green"- who accompanied Rory
on the tracks that Rory contributed to this album? Any info/images from the
recording sessions would also be great. Did Rory only record the tracks that
madeit to the release, or were there more?

Donal: Hi John, yes the recording session was photographed by our friend
Shu Tomioka (guitar archive photos), some of which have been utilized. As for
additional tracks, we will have to go back to the tapes but I doubt very much
that there are - given a little time will check ! As you may be aware these
recording were the first with Richard Newman (drums) and David Levy
(bass), I’ll check and see what their memories of the session are. I do know
how proud my brother was of this work at that time, Peter (Green) who I met
a number of times since expressed to me how pleased he was with Rory’s
tribute to him. Peter and Rory had always gotten on well since their first
meeting in Belfast in ’68. To reciprocate, I know Peter had intended to do a
version of “Million Miles Away”, at some point.

4.There is a story been doing the rounds for years now that hendrix was
asked "how does it feel to be the best guitarist in the world?" his answer was
to ask Rory Gallagher.Is this true and if it is where did the conversation take
place? thanks in anticipation.

Daniel: Hi Jim we know as much as you about this great quote. Theres an air
of myth and legend to it due to the various sources its said to have come
from. I’ve read that it was a quote from a Hendrix interview in Rolling Stone
magazine, that he said it at the Isle Of Wight Festival etc. I heard another
supposed Hendrix quote which was something like “I’ve heard about this Irish
speed! Man, its frightening!” All in all its a nice myth but Rorys playing needs
no qualification from anyone.

Donal: The first time I came across this statement was on a website of a
S.African journalist / broadcaster a number of years back, I endeavored to
contact him via e-mail but didn’t connect with him. So, it is hard to verify such
a statement, however, I do recall Jimi attending club gigs were Rory and
Taste (mk. 1 - bassist Eric Kitteringham and drummer Norman Damery). In
fact one time he walked in while Rory was jammin’ with the late Tim Rose,
Tim had been the person to record a popular version of the traditional “Hey
Joe” before Hendrix, so, Tim on spotting Jimi took off his instrument, left the
jam, headed aggressively in the direction of Hendrix. as Jimi was a hero of
my brother (while still performing on state he despatched me to encounter
Tim ), however, all ended fine with Jimi buying Tim Rose a drink. For the
record, Tim’s drummer was John Bonham, who at that time was keen to get
the job as Rory’s sticks-man, John sat in with Rory in a club in Birmingham
one night, it was great.

5.We know that Rory might have joined the stones and maybe deep purple
too. Is there any other instances where Rory was asked to join a band and if
so, who was it?

Donal: Canned Heat - having played a few shows together in Paris ’68 / ’69,
at the Olympia Theatre, the musicians hit it off, years later (80s), while playing
a gig in the Mid-West (Kanas city), backstage the Bob ‘The Bear’ Hite told
Rory that that had badly tried to get in contact with him, to see if he might join
them, following the sad passing of Al ‘Owl’ Wilson.

There were ‘management’ conversations at the time of Cream’s split-up, to
have Rory team up with Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce, though Rory (then
with Taste) ‘scotched‘ the thought, as he didn’t wish to walk in Eric’s shoes as
it were.

Bogert and Appice who played with Cactus on a the Taste at Montreux show,
were very keen to form a band with Rory later they would form the rhythm
section with Jeff Beck in Beck, Bogert and Appice.

Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings, was initially formed by Bill and Rory but sadly
Rory became to ill to initiate his position. In recent years, I wrote the foreword
for Bill in Jean-Noel Coghe’s book on the Rhythm Kings. That’s a few for now
and I’m sure to recall others later.

6. I`m curious to know who it was that approached Bela Fleck about joining
Rory on stage at Motreux in 1994. I talked with Bela about it several months
ago, and he said that it was Rory`s manager. I`m guessing that means Donal,
but Bela was unsure who it was. Bela was confused by the event, as he
didn`t think that Rory knew who he was. He was also surprised by it being
included on Wheels Within Wheels. Bela was a very friendly fella, just like he
looks on the footage of the songs.....the compassion in Bela`s eyes as he
looks on at Rory through the songs.

Donal: Hi Rick, not me to be fair, though yes Rory would have been aware of
Bela’s musicianship and of Fleck’s ‘Nashville / Irish‘ connections. I recall on
that evening at Montreux, Bob Dylan had decided to open the show (as he
had an overnight drive to Austria), Bob came to Rory’s dressing room to say
hello, in the course of conversation the subject of his interest in Rory’s “Could
have had Religion” came up, Dylan asked my brother to play it while on stage
for him, later, Rory duly did so and the possibility of a jam was in the air, most
likely Rory would have asked a crew member to also include Bela.

7. I`m also curious to know whether Donal is still moving forward on a
biography about Rory, and whether other people are submitting parts for the
book from their perspectives. If so, who are some of the other contributors.
Donal: Yes, I am making slow progress as there is much time cover and
things happening going forward. I am endeavouring to get down the story first
and see to other contributors later.

8. Hi Donal and Daniel. I've a couple of questions -

1) Rory's birthday gig at Shepherd's Bush 2/3/76 - any likelihood of that finally
being officially released?

2) I read somewhere that Rory provided the guitar work to Maggie Bell's voice
on the theme to Taggart. Do either of you know if there's any truth in that?

Many Thanks Jacqui

Daniel: Hi Jacqui, like the Ulster Hall 1984 show we are speaking with the
BBC to collate all the footage Rory did at the BBC and see how best to get it
released.

Donal: Hi Jacqui, that’s not Rory on guitar, perhaps there is confusion with
Rory’s work with Frankie Millar on Jeremy Isaac's film about reformed
Scottish criminal Jimmy Boyle titled “A Sense of Freedom”. However, Maggie
Bell with her band ‘Stone the Crows’ was a friend and was on the final Taste
tour. After all those years, I met Maggie a few weeks back and will see if I can
find out for you who played guitar on the track.

Daniel: I just listened to it, very similar style to Rorys whoever it is!

9. Rory's songs he wrote just before his untimely passing. Enough apparently
for a whole album to be released in 1995. You said before that you let Peter
Green have a look at these and obviously nothing developed from that. Can
you ever see these songs being finalized and produced by an artist or
another band in the future?

Rock on for Rory,
Thanks, Jay Jay.

Donal: Hi Jay Jay, I can’t be sure of Peter’s take on the Rory material, the guy
Stuart Taylor (who had been a member of the Tornados and a Rory mate)
who was involved with Peter’s management in ’96, to whom I gave the
material sadly passed away, subsequently, Peter has gone through so many
changes since it is hard to ascertain what had transpired. Back then, it was a
very emotive period, with Rory’s passing, Peter’s reemergence from reclusion
and the fact he demonstrated he fondness for my brother (one of the songs
being a tribute to John Lee Hooker), I considered the collaboration on the
writings to be in the right ‘spirt’ as it were. However, this has prompted me to
take another look at that scenario and to review the possible use of the
material by others.

10.I'd like to ask Daniel and Donal about what Premium Membership on main
page of an official site does really means?
Jim

Daniel: Hi Jim, this is an idea the site creators Suntouch came up with, which
we wanted to get your feedback on first. It would be a membership section of
the site where for an annual fee the member would have access to live
recordings, more photos, live videos etc. I believe many other artists have
something similar like The Who and Bill Wyman.

11. Are there any plans for a future exhibition of Rory's strat? Or perhaps
other of his guitars?

Donal: Currently, we are discussing a U.S. exhibition for 2011/12 with the
persons who staged pervious guitar exhibition(s) [at; Harrods, London,
National Museum of Ireland, Dublin, Galleries Lafayette, Paris. ], with which
we were involved but it is a little early for us to elaborate. Due to the downturn
in the economy, plans in Cork for the building of a new library there have
been scrapped, the new construction would have provided some 825 metres
sq. for a permanent Rory exhibition in the City.

12. Does footage of Taste playing What's Going On at Isle of Wight exist?
And will it be released?

This has been haunting me since the darn record came out! Many thanks.
Daniel: Yes ‘What’s Going On’ was filmed, in total I think the footage covers 8

Taste tracks.

1. Same Old Story
2. What’s Going On
3. Sugar Mama
4. Morning Sun
5. Gambling Blues
6. Sinner Boy
7. I Feel So Good
8. Catfish

13. What are the chances of the two unreleased albums (the pre-Photo Finish
album) and Torch (the pre-Defender album) will ever get released? What
about Rory's recordings post-Fresh Evidence?

Daniel: I recently started work on getting all the San Francisco (pre Photo
Finish) tapes out of storage and digitised to look at the album. If we can make
it an album that we feel Rory would have been happy to see released then
we’ll get it released some time next year. From what I’ve listened to theres
some great playing on it, its well recorded and so on. As you might know Rory
re-recorded a lot of the material for Photo Finish and Top Priority so it won’t
be a completely ‘unheard’ record but its very interesting to here tracks like
‘Brute Force & Ignorance’ with Rod and Lou on them.

Donal: ‘Torch ‘ was a working title for ‘Defender’ (as was ‘Loan-Shark Blues’),
because this title was many years in the making, it may have confused.

14. It is the Complete-Stuff that Rory played in Germany for the Beatclub Tvshow!
1.Laundromat 2.Hands Up 3.Sinnerboy 4.Just The Smile 5.Used To Be 6.In
Your Town 7.Should’ve Learned My Lesson 8.Crest Of A Wave
9.Tore Down 10.Pistol Slapper Blues 11.I Don’t Know Where I’m
Going 12.Going To My Hometown(Song for/about Cork)
13.I Could’ve Had Religion 14.McAvoy Boogie (?!) 15.Hoodoo
Man 16.Messin’ With The Kid

The new release,scheduled for september and available for pre order on
amazon,when were these recordings made?
Thanks...Kenny

Daniel: The Beat Club DVD will feature all 16 tracks, due to time constraints
only 12 fit on the CD. The recordings are from 1971 and 1972 and feature
Gerry on bass and Wilgar on drums.

15. Q1; Did Rory ever find the time to go motorbike riding?
Q2; There is the story of a Ford Executive that Muddy Waters traveled
around in on his UK visit. It was said that Rory couldn't bear to move that car
on & it sat on the lawn for quite a long time. I'm wondering what ever became
of that car?
Cheers - Eno

Donal: Hi Eno, Rory didn’t have a license to drive ‘til late on, however, he
loved bikes and envied the freedom of the road that riders have, lyrically
displayed in the song ‘Shin-kicker’. The Ford, yes it sat outside the front of
our family home, in Cork. As it blocked my mother’s garage she had it
removed by a garage after my brother’s passing, as it was a daily reminder of
Rory’s absence.

16. We all know about Rory onstage.
What was Rory like offstage,how did he like to spend his free time(when he
had any) did he have any special hobbies outside of his love for music?
Cheers...Kenny

Donal: Hi Kenny, Rory was an avid book reader and film buff. But, Rory
devoted the majority of time to his instruments and musical experimentation
with them. Also, he was a good artist and sketched a lot, mostly other
musicians - in recent times I sent one to Ray Davies. Later on Rory had reawaked
his interest in art and had bought and studied books on the subject, I
got him a whole kit of art stuff to encourage him to further his interest,
suggesting he could paint a cover for his intended ‘acoustic’ album but he
preferred to commission others‘ work.

17.On the forum we have a desert Island discs post which asks us to select
10 albums of our choice we would take on a desert island. What woulf Rorys
choices have been? Rory was pretty open about what artists he liked and
who influenced him, but what actual discs did he spin most often? Would
really like to know

Donal: As Rory was often asked this kind of question, I’ll endeavor to find his
own written answers up, meantime, a few contenders would certainly have
been; ‘I Want You”, Bob Dylan. “Strawberry Fields Forever”, Beatles. “Honkey
Tonk Women”, Stones. “Nadine”, Chuck Berry. “Can’t Be Satisfied”, Muddy
waters. “Eight Miles High”, The Byrds.

Over such a long period of time it is difficult to narrow the titles down, as Rory
was constantly buying records and had a vast collection (majority vinyl ) and
he would check out most of the new ‘rock’ bands who would come along, in
the later years he would listen to a lot of folk music and always had a Martin
Carthy or a Dubliners album to hand, needless to say, Rory had most all
blues artists recordings, a lot of ‘rock & roll’ in his collection, artists like Eddie
Corcarn and Buddy Holly, early Elvis. A fair bit of Country music artists;
Waylon Jennings, Johnny Paycheck. The Stones records were always a
favorite, in particular with Brian Jones playing