YER BLUES

IN January 1975, Rory Gallagher received an unexpected phone call. It was Mick Jagger, inviting him to jam with The Rolling Stones in Rotterdam. “Jagger had been very positive about Rory in interviews and particularly liked that Rory had a good sense of country music,” recalls Donal Gallagher, Rory’s younger brother and longstanding manager. On arrival, Gallagher was met by Jagger at the airport and greeted by the band’s executive manager, Marshall Chess, with the words: “Welcome to The Rolling Stones! You’re the man for the job.”

Gallagher jammed with the band for three days, playing tracks from the forthcoming Black And Blue album. “On the final night he was asked up to Keith’s suite to have a chat about things,” says Donal. “Keith was comatose. Rory waited all night for him to wake up – but he never did.” With matters unresolved, Gallagher headed for the airport, already cutting it fine for his own Japanese tour.

In the end, Ronnie Wood got the Stones gig, and Gallagher continued ploughing his own unique furrow. Would the combination of a mercurial Irish bluesman and the world’s biggest rock’n’roll band have worked? “I don’t think so,” says Gerry McAvoy, who played bass with Gallagher from 1971–1992. “Rory was a frontman in his own right.”

That much is undeniable. Bursting through as a teenager in 1966 with his ground-breaking trio Taste, Gallagher was Ireland’s first rock star, forging vital links between American blues, British rock and Irish folk. Describing him as a triple threat barely does his talents justice. He was a gifted songwriter, singer, arranger and producer, a mesmerising performer and dazzling instrumentalist, switching between slide, stinging electric solos and supple acoustic blues, all infused with a deep soulfulness. Johnny Marr called him “the man who changed my musical life”. Jeff Beck, The Edge, Slash and Brian May are among scores of admirers. “Nobody could work a stage like Rory,” said Ted McKenna, Gallagher’s former drummer, who has passed away since speaking