Yesterday was the fifteenth anniversary of the death of the Irish guitarist and singer Rory Gallagher. From the late 60s, as a member of the trio Taste, and as a solo performer throughout the 70s, he was one of the first Irish rock musicians to achieve recognition outside of Ireland. He was born in Ballyshannon, Co Donegal in 1948, but grew up on MacCurtain Street in Cork city when he moved there with his family. His first musical instrument was a plastic ukulele which he received from his parents when he was seven and he graduated to an acoustic guitar a couple of years later. In his early teens, he bought his first electric guitar (on hire purchase) from Crowley’s music shop. He earned his spurs by playing in Irish music halls as part of a showband and this set him up to form his own trio called Taste in 1966. Various incarnations of the band toured around Europe and North America before the group disbanded in 1971. This allowed Gallagher to pursue his own musical interests, which were strongly influenced by American blues. He continually resisted record company pressure to write and release his songs as singles. Instead, he saw himself as an albums artist and this approach along with his constant touring allowed him to build up a strong cult following. It is estimated that he has sold over 30 million albums to date. In 1975, he played and recorded with The Rolling Stones following Mick Taylor’s sudden departure from the band, but didn’t join the group and continued as a solo performer
