In 1966, he walked away from showbands and his own group, blues-rock power trio Taste, arguably the first Irish rock band.

“I only joined a showband because there was nowhere else to go with an electric guitar,” he later explained.įrustrated with the vice-like grip of the Irish Federation Of Musicians, who controlled every aspect of the country’s showband circuit, Gallagher decided to take control of his own destiny. Like every young Irish musician who came of age in the early 60s, Gallagher served his apprenticeship on the showband circuit, playing covers of popular hits. “The brothers felt that Rory had played the devil’s music,” says Donal. The reason: Gallagher had covered Cliff Richard’s chaste 1959 hit, Living Doll. One appearance at a school talent show provoked the ire of the Catholic brothers who ran the establishment. He was a confident guitarist, albeit one with a rebellious streak.

The young Rory got his first guitar at the age of nine, and his listening tastes gravitated from Lonnie Donegan to Leadbelly and Big Bill Broonzy. His father sang and played accordion in local bands, while his mother had been a member of a theatre company. Rory Gallagher was born in Ballyshannon, County Donegal, in 1948, and raised in Cork.

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