Rory Gallagher

Rory Gallagher (1949-1994) was an Irish blues/rock guitarist whose career started in the mid-sixties with the band Taste, featuring his guitar and vocals, which included albums such as Taste, On the Boards and Live at the Isle of Wight.

He soon went solo (dropping the band's name and replacing the bassist and drummer) and produced more than a dozen albums (not including many compilations by various record labels) with titles such as 'Rory Gallagher' and 'Deuce' from 1971, Blueprint and Tattoo from 1973, Irish Tour from 1974, 1975's Against the Grain featuring his old worn out looking Fender Strat on the cover, and Calling Card in 1976.

The release of Photo-Finish in 1978 introduced an increase of volume and power on all tracks which continued on his later albums. With his rugged vocals, guitar, bass and drums, you could say that Gallagher had that permanent garage-band sound, which would be no insult with his broad range of playing styles (no stranger to the accoustic guitar on his early albums) and a sound that evolved over an almost thirty year career.