William Rory Gallagher ( GAL-ə-hər; 2 March 1948 – 14 June 1995) was an Irish musician, singer, and songwriter. Regarded as "Ireland's first rock star", he is known for his virtuosic style of guitar playing and live performances. He has sometimes been referred to as "the greatest guitarist you've never heard of".
Gallagher gained international recognition in the late 1960s as the frontman and lead guitarist of the blues rock power trio Taste. Following the band's break-up in 1970, he launched a solo career and was voted Guitarist of the Year by Melody Maker magazine in 1972. Gallagher played over 2,000 concerts worldwide throughout his career, including many in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. He had global record sales exceeding 30 million.
During the 1980s, Gallagher continued to tour and record new music, but his popularity declined due to shifting trends in the music industry. His health also began to deteriorate, resulting in a liver transplant in March 1995 at King's College Hospital in London. Following the operation, he contracted a staphylococcal infection (MRSA) and died three months later at the age of 47.
Gallagher has been commemorated posthumously with statues in Ballyshannon and Belfast, and public spaces renamed in his memory in Dublin, Cork, and Paris. He has been commemorated on an An Post set of postage stamps and a Central Bank of Ireland commemorative coin. Since 2002, the Rory Gallagher International Tribute Festival has been held annually in Ballyshannon.
A number of musicians in the world of rock and blues cite Gallagher as an influence, both for his musicianship and character, including Brian May (Queen), Johnny Marr (the Smiths), Slash (Guns N' Roses), the Edge (U2), Glenn Tipton (Judas Priest), Janick Gers (Iron Maiden), Vivian Campbell (Def Leppard), Joan Armatrading, Gary Moore, and Joe Bonamassa.
Gallagher was born on 2 March 1948 to Daniel (Danny) and Monica Gallagher (née Roche) at the Rock Hospital in Ballyshannon in County Donegal, Ireland. He was baptised in the nearby St Joseph's Church.
His father, Danny, was originally from Derry and served for a time in the Irish Army. Danny was also an accordionist and led his own céilí dance orchestra. He met Gallagher's mother, Monica – a native of County Cork – in the 1940s while stationed in Cork city, and they later married.
The couple moved to Ballyshannon when Danny was demobilised and took up employment with the Irish Electricity Supply Board (ESB), which was constructing the Cathaleen's Fall hydroelectric power station on the River Erne.
In 1949, the family moved to Derry City. It was here that Gallagher's younger brother Dónal was born later that year. Dónal would go on to manage Gallagher throughout most of his career. While in Derry, Gallagher attended the Christian Brothers Primary School, known locally as the Brow of the Hill.
Over the next seven years, due to a lack of steady work, the family moved frequently, spending time in Coventry and Birmingham in England, as well as moving back and forth between Cork and Derry. This instability put a strain on Danny and Monica's marriage, and in 1956, Monica moved back to Cork permanently with her two sons. They lived with Gallagher's maternal grandparents in an apartment above the Modern Bar (later renamed Roche's Bar) at 27 MacCurtain Street. Gallagher attended the North Monastery School and, later, St Kieran's College.
Gallagher developed a love for music at a young age through the radio, listening to broadcasts from Radio Luxembourg, the BBC, and the American Forces Network. His first musical inspiration was Roy Rogers, "the Singing Cowboy", followed by Lonnie Donegan, whose covers of American blues and folk artists introduced Gallagher to the genre. He later discovered rock and roll, particularly Buddy Holly, Eddie Cochran, and Chuck Berry, before finding his greatest influence in Muddy Waters. Other musicians he cited as influences include Woody Guthrie, Big Bill Broonzy, and Lead Belly.
At age nine, Gallagher received a plastic Elvis Presley model ukulele for Christmas, on which he taught himself basic chords. Recognising his aptitude, Gallagher's mother later bought him an acoustic guitar. Gallagher would study music books in his local library, such as Lonnie Donegan's Skiffle Hits, and copy the hand shapes of musicians from photographs in Melody Maker.
Having acquired a repertoire of songs, Gallagher began performing at minor functions around Cork, often accompanied by his brother. In 1961, he won a cash prize as a solo performer in a talent contest at Cork City Hall, and his photo was featured in the Evening Echo.
As Gallagher began performing more frequently, he sought to emulate the electric sound of beat groups. To achieve this, he persuaded his mother to buy him a black Rosetti Solid Seven electric guitar.
1963–1965 The Fontana Showband
Gallagher was eager to form a band but struggled to find anyone in Cork who shared his interest. In the summer of 1963, while searching through local newspapers, he came across an advertisement from brothers Oliver and Bernie Tobin, who were looking for a lead guitarist to join their newly-formed band, the Fontana Showband.
The six-piece ensemble, which played the popular hits of the day, featured Bernie Tobin on trombone, Oliver Tobin on bass, John Lehane on saxophone, Eamonn O'Sullivan on drums, and Jimmy Flynn on guitar. Gallagher impressed the band with his audition and lied about his age to secure the position. In the following weeks, Flynn left the band by mutual consent and Declan O'Keefe joined as rhythm guitarist.
Shortly after joining the Fontana Showband, Gallagher purchased a 1961 Fender Stratocaster for £100 from Crowley's Music Shop. This guitar became his primary instrument and was most associated with him during his career.