Talk:Rory Gallagher/Archive 1

Old posts

The fact that Rory was born in Ballyshannon,Donegal means that he is from Donegal.If this is correct then the 'Cork people' category should be removed.--Fenian Swine 02:14, 20 August 2005 (UTC)

rory gallagher is about as cork as you can get my friend

Both sides of the argument hold valid points but neither overrides the other. Rory was born in Donegal and moved to Cork when he was six years of age, spending the major part of his younger life in Cork.

Rory Gallagher also spent the majority of his adult life in Cork, (while touring Europe, had a second home in London).--Leahtwosaints (talk) 12:42, 29 December 2009 (UTC)

Tributes

Someone needs to provide a source for every quote in this section. TheRingess 22:35, 24 December 2005 (UTC)

The quotations all come from the inlay for the posthumous "Blue Day for the Blues" compilation as far as I am aware. I will verify and update with references. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 193.120.161.13 (talk) 11:20, 6 December 2007 (UTC)

They are all listed on Rory's official website here, around a quarter of the way down the page, listed under the title "June 14th, a sad day indeed..." --NotoriousTF (talk) 12:34, 14 December 2007 (UTC)

There I added a single citation to the heading. If someone insists that they be added to each one individually, I'll do it, but I think this is pretty suffecient Paul5121 (talk) 17:31, 11 March 2008 (UTC)

Who-ever fixed the section good work it looks pretty unreal Paul5121 (talk) 16:14, 19 March 2008 (UTC)

If you want a more reliable source than the Official Rory Gallagher website (is it actually official?) - I found The Rory Gallagher Story (originally broadcast BBC Radio 2, 2005) through Youtube @ www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b007kld4/The_Rory_Gallagher_Story Dave (talk) 23:45, 20 October 2008 (UTC)

(Sorry, just don't have time to edit it now) Dave (talk) 23:46, 20 October 2008 (UTC)

Tribute page: http://www.CallingCardband.piczo.com

(outdent) The tribute that jars with me is the one 'from Brian May' - May was born a year before Gallagher and had formed Queen only eighteen months after Gallagher had first appeared in the UK, so would have been very unlikely to refer to himself as a kid at the master's feet, seeking advice on developing a guitar sound. 21st CENTURY GREENSTUFF 23:38, 15 March 2014 (UTC)

Singles

Sorry haven't got the time or skill to edit the entry however Rory did release several singles. This link gives a discography http://www.geocities.com/nm96020/ including the singles. I personally have a clear vinyl version of Philby with Hellcat and Country Mile on the B side. The Chrysalis i.d. is CHS 2364.

Free time's not on my side, but POV, unless backed up?

'He is regularly credited as one of the most influential Irish rock and blues musicians of all time.'

thewastedsmile10:49 EST 31 Jan. 06

Beef Up

I'm going to add sources for all of the quotes I can, delete the quotes I can't source and maybe add a few more. I'm also going to add some information on his main instruments and some information about his legendary stratocaster. This is my first edit so please let me know how I do.

I'm also thinking about reworking his biography. His brother Donal has recently revealed that Rory became addicted to medication he took to alleviate his fear of flying. Should I include this or is it too "gossip"-y?

---

I heard this "medication" had a big part in his liver's destruction, along with a salty sweat and alcohol. I was told the doctor gave it to Rory knowing it was not yet commercialized and bad for the liver, I can try to find reliable sources (and sorry for my clumsy english, I'm french). 81.255.220.67 21:47, 7 March 2007 (UTC)

The problem is in the previous comment, the words, "I heard"-- meaning of course, we can't use anything but valid reliable references to back up our text or it becomes hearsay at the least, and libelous at it's worst. Obviously, I shouldn't have to remind anybody that too much libel or copyright violations on even one biography article, and it would cripple the whole of Wikipedia financially. --Leahtwosaints (talk) 13:15, 26 March 2012 (UTC)

Infobox

I originally added just the image but I thought it looked odd so I did up an infobox. Hopefully there are no objections or errors. The first active date was chosen for the year he joined his first showband according to http://www.rorygallagher.com/ . -I also added specific birth and death dates.

HeartOfGold 15:12, 26 June 2006 (UTC)

RoryOn Link

Hello unregistered user, I added this link on the recommendation of several fans on the official Rory Gallagher website when I showed them the wiki article and they said that the page suffered for the lack of the link. If you have any objections please express them here. --RadioElectric 14:39, 5 July 2006 (UTC)

I just cleaned the links a bit. I took out "loads of information" because it didn't sound very encyclopedia-like, I took out a link to an article on the German fansite already listed and made the links a little clearer. RoryOn should definitely stay, it does have a lot of information. HeartOfGold 22:54, 5 July 2006 (UTC)

Thank you HeartOfGold, you know you do have a... well, you do. :D --86.20.223.168 23:19, 5 July 2006 (UTC)

Argh! I'm FOREVER making edits when I'm not signed in. Hey, would you mind hopping over to the "ghost" talk page and having a look at a dispute? It's the "Magore" bit at the bottom. At the moment it's just me and this one guy in disagreement and I'm not sure whether EITHER of us are doing what we should.--RadioElectric 23:21, 5 July 2006 (UTC)

Sorry, I'm kind of new to Wikipedia and am only reasllly editting a few subjects I have interest in, I don't think I could help out in a discussion that involves all the policies. You chould try to take it up with an administrator or something. HeartOfGold 18:11, 6 July 2006 (UTC)

P.S. Whoever's reverting my edits, please either stop or rewrite what you're adding. The descriptions hardly make sense. HeartOfGold 18:11, 6 July 2006 (UTC)

I agree. The link text is being changed to "hp for the late great RORY GALLAGHER"; I can only guess that "hp" is supposed to be "home page" but it's a fan page. The other "tribute" link being added is from the same site, 2 clicks off the main page, not hard to find. Has there ever been an explanation why this link is so necessary? Gimmetrow 13:54, 22 July 2006 (UTC)

I have a feeling whoever's doing it doesn't speak English myself, they haven't responded to or said anything so far, the links they add are for German sites, and the descriptions seem like broken English. I would have tried to get them blocked but they have no account and the IP address keeps changing, can something still be done about that? I'll keep reverting it for now and hopefully they'll get tired or changing it back.  HeartOfGold  ^(Searching) 18:51, 23 July 2006 (UTC)

Guitar

I gather that Fende now produce a "Gallagher Signature" guitar. It is massed produced but looks just like Rorys old instrument. I thinks a bit needs to be added to this section about this development. 90.199.197.73 (talk) 08:08, 4 September 2010 (UTC)

"It was reputedly the first in Ireland, ordered by a showband member who changed his mind about the colour and then sold to Rory for just shy of £100."

Can anyone give a source for this? The only information on rorygallagher.com states that he purchased his guitar for £100 at a certain music store. HeartOfGold 02:06, 11 July 2006 (UTC)

The source is the guitarist magazine in the references at the bottom. Sorry I couldn't get a more readily available one. --86.20.223.168 23:11, 11 July 2006 (UTC)

Gosh-Darnit! Not signed in again!--RadioElectric 23:12, 11 July 2006 (UTC)

There are references available regarding Gallagher's purchase of the Stratocaster. Muise (2002) records that the sunburst Strat came into Crowley's music shop, Cork, direct from the Fender factory in California. Jim Connolly of The Irish Showband had ordered a cherry red Stratocaster identical to Hank Marvin's model. Somehow, the sunburst was shipped from the factory, so the red Strat was re-ordered. Muise states that Connolly used the sunburst until the red Strat arrived, upon which the sunburst went on sale in Crowley's as a second hand item. If no one has any objections, I might edit the 'guitar' section of the article to incorporate this info.Irishrockscholar (talk) 19:16, 1 March 2009 (UTC)

it was standard practice back them for fender to ship instruments with a basic sunburst finish & for the dealer to finish the instrument in whatever colour was required. I have a suspicion, but need to do a bit more research, that this is the case here. that this is not only why the guitar was unwanted by jim connolly (& returned), but also possibly why the necessarily unlacquered sunburst finish disintegrated so quickly. the stuff about salty/acidic sweat, about being left in the rain, & about wear-&-tear simply doesn't hold water, if you'll pardon the pun. many other guitars, including rory's esquire & corvette, have been subject to as much or more torture without losing as much finish, & in any case there are photos of 'taste' where it can be seen that the strat is already shedding its skin rapidly. I'm going to try to find out a bit more about the dealer-refinishing thing, & whether fender missed off the top nitro-cellulose lacquer coat if they thought a guitar was going to be painted at its destination. makes sense, though, no?

duncanrmi (talk) 20:59, 5 July 2014 (UTC)

This section currently contradicts itself - the third paragraph states the middle pickup is original & the final one states all pickups were replaced. Which is true? (109.149.110.237 (talk) 07:26, 17 May 2016 (UTC))

Exhumation and reburial

added by 89.124.22.94: he was exhumed due to waterlogging of his first grave and re-buried in another part of St. Olivers Cemetery along the same row as his uncle, John Roche P.C. .

What's your source?

--Cuervo7 20:39, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

Alcoholic

Why does the article ignore his raging alcoholism? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Blue Tie (talk • contribs) (23:17, July 14, 2007)

Do you have any verifiable sources? ww2censor 03:28, 15 July 2007 (UTC)

Well, not so sure about reliable but here are some thing:

"In late 1994, on tour in Holland, he fell seriously ill. At one of his final shows, a clearly ill Rory (who was now suffering badly from his drinking habits combined with the medication he was on)" -http://www.kieran.keegan.btinternet.co.uk/Rory/rory_gallagher_biography_7.htm

" Friends and fellow musicians said that towards the end of his career Rory was drinking heavily to counteract the numbing effect the prescription drugs were having on him.... Friend Rudi Gerlach said he had tried to help Rory with his problems as he had been an alcoholic himself. I couldn't say to Rory stop drinking or stop taking pills. That wouldn't have worked. So by stopping myself I tried to show him that it could be done, that it was possible. So this is how it worked for me. And just being around him a bit more, just to show him that it could work, staying off everything. " --http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4161/is_20020414/ai_n12839691

"It is true to say that his star seemed to have faded in recent years — even in Ireland, where he remained an icon and a pioneer to those of his own generation. Business problems going back to the days of Taste and the late Eddie Kennedy had, friends admit off the record, triggered an alcohol problem for a period. Fluctuating health followed, with a large percentage of his income being swallowed up in legal affairs." -- http://pellegrinlowend.com/rgpg.html

He had liver failure due to cirrhosis. His doctor felt he was too young to have gotten it from drinking, but his friends all agreed he drank ALOT. (It takes about a decade for cirrhosis to develop with strong drinking). But he also took some drugs and the combined effects of drugs and alcohol probably did his liver in. But he was an alcoholic at the end and could not quit. Ironically, he did not believe in illegal drugs and was hard against them. --Blue Tie 17:49, 15 July 2007 (UTC)

I have seen most of these references before but they are not verifiable, in fact most are hearsay. So we might think he was an alcoholic, and feel that is correct, so maybe it need to be added in such a way an to indicate some ambiguity or lack of verification, just like some of the web-sites you quote above. Can we confirm what Rudi Gerlach said, or get a better statement from someone who knew him well. If we could do that then a definitive statements could be made. Thanks ww2censor 22:08, 15 July 2007 (UTC)

It is possible that they are not reliable sources but your hearsay reasons would not be not valid. The issue is: Was it published by an editorially reviewed publication that can be found (confirmed) by others if they do a reasonable search in libraries, etc.

There is no doubt he was an alcoholic. He died of results of cirrhosis. This does not "just happen" -- it results from a few things, but overwhelmingly alcohol is the most likely cause of it and his drinking was described by friends. The statements by Rudi do not need to be verified by a second source. There is no rule on wikipedia that says one source is insufficient. Only if that source is contradicted by a second would there be an issue. You ask about a statement by someone who knew him well. Did you actually look at the findarticle thing? It was an article by his brother who confirmed the drinking but was arguing that it was not the drinking but drugs that led to the disease. (It is entirely possible and reasonable that drugs were helpful, but it would have been the combination that were the real issue). In his brother's denial, he confirms the drinking problem. And I would think his brother knew him well.

I know that there was some sort of biography written a few years ago that went into some detail on his drinking and that biography (it might have been a magazine article)rendered a gut-wrenching account of his alcoholism -- showing it to be extreme and dysfunctional. Toward the end, he was not able to even play much of the time because of inebriation. I have not been able to find that article on the net and I do not recall where I read it. However, it was extremely sad. --Blue Tie 13:13, 16 July 2007 (UTC)

Rory did not die from cirrhosis, he died from MRSA resulting from his liver transplant. ( He needed a liver transplant because of the cirhosis which was caused by his drinking at the very least) Domnal5 (talk) 00:57, 25 October 2010 (UTC)

McAvoy and Chrisp (2005) would be able to shed a fair bit of light on this issue. Bassist Gerry McAvoy would have known Rory Gallagher very well from many years on the road, and gives a sympathetic and clear account of his perception of Rory Gallagher's deteriorating condition. I got the McAvoy book, which is called 'Riding Shotgun: Twenty Years on the Road with Rory Gallagher and Nine Below Zero' through Amazon. Irishrockscholar (talk) 19:23, 1 March 2009 (UTC)

Acording to the National Institutes of Medicine (USA) acute liver injury for barbituates rarly if ever occures.http://Livertox.nih.gov/barbituates.htm — Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.2.187.34 (talk) 19:02, 11 February 2014 (UTC)

I don't think it would have much of an impact on the discussion either way but just FYI to anyone reading, I tried that link (it would at least be good news to my liver ;) and got a page not found error. On a more serious note, what barbituates do on their own isn't relevant here, the allegation (which is backed up by every book and documentary about Rory I've seen) is that the damage to his liver was from drinking AND drugs together and at least according to every doctor I've ever talked to that is indeed a danger. MadScientistX11 (talk) 20:04, 11 February 2014 (UTC)

With respect, to say he died from complications resulting from a liver transplant and not cirrhosis is the same as saying Joan of Arc died of passive smoking. The man drank himself to death. He was a rock musician. No shame there. Mike Galvin (talk) 13:17, 14 August 2018 (UTC)

Guitar Picture

The picture of Rory's guitar I think is in fact a picture of a copy of it. I could spend a while explaining why, but to get to the point; why isn't there a picture of the origional? - Lewis —Preceding unsigned comment added by 172.200.206.6 (talk) 17:00, 4 November 2007 (UTC)

I had a look at the picture, and I think this is in fact Rory's original guitar. The Fender company have issued a limited edition of Gallagher's Stratocaster, which can be viewed here: http://www.thomann.de/ie/fender_rory_gallagher_relic_strat.htm There are several points of difference on the body, most noticeably the scratches covering the wood on the lower body of the guitar. These seem to come from genuine and prolonged wear, and don't appear on the Fender reproduction. There are also cracks in the scratchplate of the original, and rust and wear on the bridge and tremolo which, from what I can see, are the result of significant wear, and are not as visible on the reproduction. Also, the 'eagle's head' remnant of the original sunburst paint job (on upper left hand side of the guitar body) are a different shape on the reissue. There is an excellent online article on this, available through the roryon website, written by a guy who made his own reproduction. He gives a lot of details. Based on all the above, I think we have an original Rory strat pictured in the article. It's unfortunate, I suppose, that the full guitar is not visible, as it might give a few more clues - headstock paintjob, for instance. Does anyone else have an opinion on this? Irishrockscholar (talk) 19:49, 1 March 2009 (UTC)

If you blow up the picture, you can clearly see the serial number on the metal plate on the back of the body - 64351. This checks out as Gallagher's original, as far as I can tell!I'll do this one on acoustic! Thanks a million! (talk) 10:17, 4 March 2009 (UTC)

that's the original. there were, however, 47 replicas made in the first run, by the custom shop, in the late 90s. the ones that thomann et al are shipping now are a much simpler copy, with a great deal of the detailing reduced to superficial markings; my guitarist has one of the first 47 (one for each year of rory's life, in case it seems like a strange number), & we have stood it side-by-side with the original at one of donal's exhibitions in 2001. there's a picture of this comparison on the rory gallagher facebook page. anyway, the rusting & gouging on the 47 original replicas is identical to the original. see my remarks above about the sunburst finish, but the way the paint looks on both the original & these replicas, you wouldn't think there was any lacquer on top of it.

duncanrmi (talk) 21:05, 5 July 2014 (UTC)

Sources

None of the sources quoted are valid sources. All are secondary sources, and some are from commercial media which display bias. There are also a large number of claims made in this article that have no verification whatsoever. This "article" should be viewed as a work of fiction until appropriate references can be established. As with all music industry wikipedia pages, it borders on a fansite, has a lot of unnecessary hyperbole, and has a number of links to other commercial media -- essentially spam. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.156.234.40 (talk) 22:15, 11 May 2008 (UTC)

Evidently this page is protected by a cabal that doesn't like the fact that the there's no proven facts in the article. Which, admittedly, doesn't distinguish it from many other wikiality pages.

The references here quoted are not valid sources. This is not a valid encyclopedic entry. It's anecdotal fan-spam. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.149.136.214 (talk) 23:25, 15 May 2008 (UTC)

All were checked and all meet WP:RS. Wikiality is a Stephen Colbert comedy gag. Perhaps you would be more helpful over at Unencyclopedia. Lots of Colbert fans over there. Anger22 (Talk 2 22) 23:35, 15 May 2008 (UTC)

Management

Can anybody help with information regarding Eddie Kennedy, the manager of Taste? I am specifically looking for details of his professional background: I would like to know if and how he was involved in the Belfast scene before Taste, how he came to manage them, and where he ended up afterwards.Irishrockscholar (talk) 19:40, 16 March 2009 (UTC)

A bit of a late reply, but "Gallagher, Marriott, Derringer and Trower: Their Lives and Music" 2007 by Dan Muise ISBN 0634029568 has a little information on him (in fact I should probably go out and buy it by now...). It mentions Kennedy was previously involved in the showbands, that he had a partnership with Marvyn Solomons (managing Club Rado?), whose family was involved with Decca and Major-Minor records, and that he had also managed Cheese, Wilson and McCracken's band prior to joining Taste. Apparently he died in 1985. Imalone (talk) 13:09, 12 July 2016 (UTC)

Cross-Border, Cross-Community appeal

Growing up near Belfast in the 1970s, I gained the impression that he was viewed as "one of our own" by a broad swath of the community, regardless of religion or national allegiance. But I don't have any sources to cite on this. Is anyone aware of source material that would confirm (or refute) that he was one cultural phenomenon that united us, when there was so much dividing us? Jimgawn (talk) 16:58, 19 June 2009 (UTC)

The Hendrix quote

this quote is utter bullshit:

How does it feel to be the greatest guitarist in the world? I don't know, go ask Rory Gallagher.

I mean even when you follow the link there stands:

1: not rory gallagher but phil keaggy is mentioned in the actual quote from the site.

2: there's no proof that Jimi actually ever said that, not even about keaggy and for sure not about gallagher. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.196.221.87 (talk) 17:04, 4 July 2009 (UTC)

Whether true or not, the quote cannot be verified by any reliable source at this time, so it cannot be added. ww2censor (talk) 17:13, 4 July 2009 (UTC)

The quote is a popular 'urban legend'. Supposedly Jimi was asked the question and he responded with something along the lines of "I don't know about that, but I'm the best guitarist on this chair". --NotoriousTF (talk) 18:22, 6 December 2009 (UTC)

Neither urban legend nor supposed, the "in this chair" quote was said by Hendrix to Dick Cavett upon the former's first of two appearances on the latter's show. Cavett prompts Jimi by saying something along the lines of, "Many people consider you the greatest guitarist alive", to which the ever celebrity-shy master replies, "How about the greatest guitarist sitting right here in this chair." This particular incidence, however, has 'nothing' to do with Rory Gallagher or Hendrix's recognition of his guitar virtuosity.74.192.195.94 (talk) 01:26, 26 August 2011 (UTC)

The link is solid; I've checked it myself. Some clever little fellow just messed with the link; I'll square it away shortly. I'd remind you guys that the litmus for inclusion is verifiability not truth. If enough people repeat a rumor, and someone reliable restates it, its in. If enough people counter that its bullshit, we still keep in the quote, but account for the dissent as to its veracity. But - and this is important - before we can challenge the veracity of the quote within the article, we need to evaluate whether the dissenting voices amount to anything more than forum posts and whatnot. Giving the voice of dissent more weight than it deserves is just as bad as forcing a quote in that doesn't.

I'd opt for a change that notes how "there is a legend that Jimi Hendrix said this, that and the other thing, or whatever." I don; think the quote should be removed, as it pertains rather explicitly to Gallagher's legendary prowess, for which more than a few citations exist. - Jack Sebastian (talk) 10:13, 26 August 2011 (UTC)

Here's the BBC chiming in on the Hendrix quote, the Clapton quote, and the Mick Taylor replacement story. http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-26967058 Mark Froelich (talk) 06:53, 11 April 2014 (UTC)

It's a BBC NI article which may well have just copied this off the wikipedia page. The Phil Keaggy wikipedia page has much more information on this Phil_Keaggy#Rumored_comments_by_Jimi_Hendrix_and_others, including a link to snopes's 2007 investigation of that variant of the legend.. It's hard to prove he never said it about Rory, but the number of variants with different guitarists is suspicious, as is the fact the number of times I've seen it debated, but never a primary source cited. This is about the closest I've come, ("Sam Bernett's book "Rock 'n roll circus" published in France") if anyone wants to try to find a copy. Imalone (talk) 00:06, 18 June 2015 (UTC)

I finally got hold of "Rock and Roll Circus". My French being quite basic I haven't read the whole thing. It's Sam Bernett's account (published in 2010) of running the Rock and Roll Circus club, and is sort of a gossip history, with its big reveal being his account on Jim Morrison's death, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Jim_Morrison#Morrison.27s_death:_The_fantastical_claims_of_Sam_Bernett for a debate on its credibility. So I'm not sure how far we can rely on this. There's a chapter on Rory (two pages, 169-170), but the mention of the Hendrix story is on page 149, in a section that focuses more on Eddie Kennedy. "Je connaissais Eddie Kennedy, le manager de Rory Gallagher, depuis longtemps. Nous nous étions croisés à Belfast, à Londres et aussi à Paris. [...] Un jour, Eddie était arrivé le matin à Paris pour préparer une tournée de Rory Gallagher en solo. La première depuis la séparation du groupe Taste. Nous parlâmes du festival de l'île de Wight et de la prestation scénique exceptionnelle de Rory Gallagher avec Taste. L'affiche du festival ne l'était pas moins: Jimi Hendrix, Free, les Who, Miles Davis. À propos de Jimi Hendrix, Eddie Kennedy me raconta que pendant le festival, un journaliste avait demandé à Hendrix ce qu'il ressentait depuis qu'il était devenu le meilleur guitariste vivant de tous les temps. Jimi avait répondu: « Je ne sais pas. Posez la question à Rory Gallagher. »" So, is it true, is it just Eddie Kennedy talking up his star (if so the legend was already current shortly after Isle of Wight), or is it Sam Bernett recycling an old story to fill out his chapter? Oddly in both sections he claims to bond with Eddie or Rory over Lonnie Donegan's music. The timing is also odd, I'm not clear that Eddie Kennedy was still Rory's manager at this point, "Gallagher, Marriott, Derringer & Trower" makes it seem like Eddie was dropped when Taste broke up and the new band formed without him https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=JI4LHXgz7YEC&pg=PA9&lpg=PA9&dq#v=onepage&q&f=false around page 18. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Imalone (talk • contribs) 00:27, 9 July 2016 (UTC)

References

Links for use in the article

I found this link placed in the Reference section:

• [RoryON!! http://www.roryon.com An extensive collection of articles about Rory] Since people appear anxious to just dump links but not insert the information into the article, they can place them here. --Leahtwosaints (talk) 07:17, 4 December 2009 (UTC)
• Interview with Rory Gallagher about his fear of flying, and about the Rolling Stones rumours. --Leahtwosaints (talk) 19:39, 5 December 2009 (UTC)
• Page with links to reliable references and reviews of his albums and songs
• Reviews of albums and Rory Gallagher
• About Blues.com reviews of Rory &albums
• Rory Gallagher news site
• Clips regarding the death and review of Gallagher's death

• Irish Independent article from last month – presents like an interview with Donal, but possibly just scraped from stuff already online. Anyway, it's a published account in a national newspaper. Didn't want to add stuff in without flagging it on the talk page, know lots of uncited stuff has gone up previously. What do you think - reliable enough source? Dave (talk) 17:36, 4 July 2010 (UTC)

Clean Up

I think the Rory Gallagher page needs a major overhaul. I don't have the time at the moment, but should be able to work on it over the Christmas period. The quotes section should be removed completely and just worked into the main article, maybe in the Legacy section. The section on his Instruments could also do with a bit of tinkering. I wonder could we find more info on the other instruments he used? --NotoriousTF (talk) 18:27, 6 December 2009 (UTC)

Thanks- I only noticed my request to you today.. thought I'd see it on my talk page instead. From what I could tell, after checking the page history when I first decided to check the article, with the possible exception of the instruments and guitars section, nobody really had done any substantial research since somewhere around 2005 without references in most cases! --Leahtwosaints (talk) 04:20, 18 January 2010 (UTC)

PLEASE NOTE Re: References

This article has long subsisted on urban myths and unreferenced information. Please do not be offended if you add anything here that has no references. There are now three of us editors with experience that are watching (and hopefully, contributing to) this article. If you change the text, please add the reference. Unreferenced additions or changes are very likely to be removed.--Leahtwosaints (talk) 04:20, 18 January 2010 (UTC)

Guitar section references

Please put guitar section references here-- and then use them, please. Here are a few: Gallagher's Stratocaster, how it became stolen, etc. [1] And here, about the Rory Gallagher official Tribute Stratocaster: [2] Rory: How He Lived, Loved, and Died with the Blues: [3]

PLEASE USE THESE GREAT REFERENCES FOR THIS ARTICLE! Thank You! --Leahtwosaints (talk) 21:46, 13 April 2010 (UTC)

Rory Gallagher's website has been updated; there's a great piece there about his Fender Stratocaster, that his brother retired upon his death. They are now making duplicates of it for sale. --Leahtwosaints (talk) 15:44, 21 May 2010 (UTC)

Removed section

I've removed the folowing section, as it contains no citations, despite having been tagged for over 5 months:

Other instruments

(image not used) Gallagher owned a number of other instruments, including:

• Coral Sitar: Purchased for $1500 in New Jersey by Donal Gallagher. Used for playing the song "Philby" live.
• Danelectro Silvertone: This guitar was bought for $15 from a pawnshop. It was often used in Gallagher's live set to play "Cradle Rock" and "A Million Miles Away".
• Fender Esquire: This guitar dating to 1959 was heavily modified. It started off as a stock Esquire in cream and ended up as a black Telecaster. At one point in between, Gallagher put a Strat pickup in the middle position and added a 5-way selector.
• Gibson Les Paul Junior:
• Fender Telecaster (1967): This was very similar to the Esquire after the Esquire had undergone all of its modifications. It can be seen in action on Gallagher's Live at Rockpalast DVD in the song "Bullfrog Blues".
• Fender Musicmaster: Dating to the 1960s, this guitar can be seen handed to Gallagher as a quick replacement after a sudden electrical failure of the Strat at Rockpalast
• Gretsch Corvette (1963): Bought in a pawn shop in Los Angeles for $50 by Donal Gallagher. It soon became one of Rory Gallagher's favourite guitars.
• Acoustic Guitars: Gallagher's preferred acoustic guitar was a Martin D-35. In his later years, he used an Electro-Acoustic Takamine (a prototype model given to him by Takamine while he was touring Japan) that was much easier to amplify in a live context.
• Martin Mandolin: This was used most famously in Gallagher's joint effort with Lonnie Donegan, "Goin' To My Hometown".
• National Resonator (1932): Gallagher used this to play blues standards and acoustic sets and often used a heavy steel slide with it.
• Other Instruments: Gallagher also played the saxophone, showcased on the song "On The Boards" by Taste, and harmonica, which can be heard on the songs "I'm Not Surprised", "I Could've Had Religion" and "Banker's Blues".

This info cannot be re-added to the article without significant citation and reason as to why this might be notable. Is there an underground market for Gallagher guitars? - Jack Sebastian (talk) 13:35, 7 June 2010 (UTC)

No. Gallagher's brother Liam Gallagher, who was (and still is!) his business manager, retired his guitars and the Coral Sitar. Check in Commons-- there are some photos of at least five hanging in one museum show, and his long-time Fender Stratocaster that I referenced towards the beginning of the text has not only it's own display along with his Vox amp., but as you see here in this article, some tributes to it exist still in parts of Ireland. --Leahtwosaints (talk) 07:09, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

Image removal

What is the problem with the copyright of File:RORY GALLAGHER.jpg that caused you to remove it? ww2censor (talk) 15:59, 18 June 2010 (UTC)

Apparently, the photographer of that photo is having problems with copyright violations- and one of the photos used in this current lawsuit was this photo before he signed it over to Creative Commons. The legal issues were prior to his involvement with the Wikipedia, but he asked very nicely if we could remove the photo from the Rory Gallagher article until this is over, if only to keep any confusion down for now. He did offer to allow us to pick another of his excellent photos to use in the Wikipedia. MY question, is what happened to the photo of Gallagher playing in Canada that I placed here well over a year ago? --Leahtwosaints (talk) 07:04, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

Where did you get the information about a lawsuit against Rik Walton? His image is hosted on the commons, not here, and appears to be properly licenced and was checked by the FlickreviewR bot as being valid at the time of upload even though the Flickr image now has a restricted licence. Did he actually ask you to remove the image from the article and what evidence was provided, if any? The image is still being used in the French and Russian wikis. If there is evidence that the image is being questioned I think it would be important to have it reviewed on the commons. I'll be happy to help with that, as the commons image could be deleted and restored if and when the copyright is resolved. ww2censor (talk) 19:00, 2 July 2010 (UTC)

Rik Walton is a friend excellent photographer and I was the editor that uploaded the photo with his permission: he changed the photo license to CC-BY-SA image. (The Creative Commons requirement is that we give him attribution as photographer, and provide links to his original photostreams from Flickr (and his professional website, if desired). A couple months later, Rik Walton finds that someone had been using the image about nine months before I requested use for the Wikipedia. Because he is involved in a lawsuit for the copyright violation, he asked that for the present time that we not show that image, since it would be confusing. In turn, he offered a choice of one of his (excellent) photos from his pro-website. I removed, and will continue to remove instances of use of the photo until the legal issues are resolved, and I found some other great pics of Gallagher you can find not just on the article, but the Rory Gallagher discography page. Scroll down on that one! There's a great photo of him performing with Gerry McAvoy, and another below that one of Gallagher playing with a "who's who" in music back then, too --just waiting for more text, as there are some other excellent photos that would apply to more comprehensive coverage. I did tell one of the Admins. (both in en.Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons about the current non-use of that photo, and he agreed with my actions. Thanks for asking about it; sometimes I'm slow to use the watchlist, so please drop the note also on my talk page, too! --Leahtwosaints (talk) 22:39, 16 October 2010 (UTC)

Supposed quotation from Brian May

"Brian May, lead guitarist of Queen related how, when he was a child, he and a friend went up to Gallagher and asked, 'How do you get your sound Mr. Gallagher?' and he sits and tells us. So I owe Rory Gallagher my sound." [23]" This does not make much sense as I think Brian May was slightly older than Rory Gallagher. The reference [23] says: ""So these couple of kids come up, who's me and my mate, and say 'How do you get your sound Mr. Gallagher?' and he sits and tells us. So I owe Rory Gallagher my sound." —Brian May, guitarist (Queen)" Even assuming that this quotation is authentic (and as a source it does not look very convincing or original to me), the phrase "a couple of kids" does not necessarily mean children. It could just as easily mean teenagers or early 20s, and that is how I would take it in this context (and I am, like Brian May, a Londoner and about the same age as him, so may well speak a similar version of English).
But knowing little about either Rory G or Brian May I do not want to edit this page. As posted above, it looks like a clean-up is due. RAK (talk) 00:36, 25 September 2010 (UTC)

I was the one who added that, as well as the bit about Hendrix's offhand homage, so I'll respond. You are right, Rkidley; I presumed he meant as a child, so that was a bit of unintentional synthesis on my part. However, the source is pretty stable, despite the alterations by an anon which changed the entire meaning of the reference. It is also reinforced by other, similar references by May about RG:

• "Brian May has since told me that not only was Rory his main inspiration and favourite guitarist, it was from Rory that he got the idea to use Vox AC 30s and the Range Master Treble Boost."¹
• "Brian May, of the band Queen, has admitted in interviews that as a young man, he was inspired to use a similar amplifier and treble booster setup after meeting Gallagher and asking him how he got his sound."^[4]

These would seem to support the quoted statements by May. Of course, May could be lying - he hadn't admitted such prior to Gallagher's death, and claiming that h was inspired by the now-dead guy could only draw attention to himself - but it isn't our job to determine truthiness. We just cite the sources we are presented, and any that counter those statements. - Jack Sebastian (talk) 19:00, 25 September 2010 (UTC)

I heard May tell this story in a radio programme about Gallagher a few years ago - I took the period to be late 60s. I remember it as it was this very tale, and the way May told it, that inspired me to go and find the Taste albums. I don't know May but there's no reason to think the story isn't true. Bretonbanquet (talk) 19:12, 25 September 2010 (UTC)

It seems the difference is the stage in their careers. Rory played at the Marquee club 1968-1970 http://www.shadowplays.com/archive/marquee.php so May's account https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xG4mnm0bBQ?t=2m14s would have him being about 21 and Rory 20 at the time. At that point Rory had been playing professionally for a few years as a teenager, and was leading a successful band, Brian was a year older, but still a student, "I was a kid and he was a star" https://www.youtube.com/2xG4mnm0bBQ?t=4m50s so while he was a little older, this was someone he looked up to. Imalone (talk) 23:17, 8 July 2016 (UTC)

This is available on YouTube. May describes the encounter in detail and says just that. Mike Galvin (talk) 22:17, 14 August 2018 (UTC)

Unsourced tributes

I have 'ported over the uncited contents of the tributes subsection; they cannot return to the article without being reliably sourced:

• Comic book artist Timothy Truman is also a fan; with Grimjack #4: Legacy having a cover and story line utilizing Gallagher's image.
• There is a Rory Gallagher Exhibition located in Ballyshannon, Ireland, which contains a detailed history of his life and many items of memorabilia.

• There are a number of Gallagher tribute bands, many of whom perform at the annual Rory Gallagher International Tribute Festival in Ballyshannon.

• A theatre in Ballyshannon has been renamed as the Rory Gallagher Theatre.
• The French town of Bédoin in Vaucluse at the base of Mont Ventoux has a street named after Gallagher in the old town, "Impasse Rory Gallagher"
• Irish musician John Spillane released a tribute song "A Song For Rory Gallagher" on his album Hey Dreamer
• French musician Dan Ar Braz released a tribute song "Gwerz Rory" on his album La Mémoire des Volets Blancs.
• English rock band The Wave Pictures recorded a song about Gallagher entitled "Live in Europe" on their 2004 album The Airplanes at Brescia.
• The Cork Institute of Technology has renamed the Theatre at its Bishopstown campus "The Rory Gallagher Theatre" Rory regularly performed at student functions.

- Jack Sebastian (talk) 19:30, 25 September 2010 (UTC)

"Although the Strat was left abandoned in a ditch, in the rain, for days after being stolen, this is not believed to have caused any of the effect" - mmmm

If anyone would care to look at some very old You Tube clips with Rory in Taste You will see that the strat was well on its way BEFORE he had seemingly worn the paint off . Remembering that '61 strats had nitro-cellulose varnish - Rain water will lift that easily - Also the strat was second hand to start with !! so any cracks or chips in the varnish would let the rain underneath to cause further damage . I believe that the strat was not in the best condition as Rory paid 100 punt for it at a time when the Fender Strat went for about 270 punt New !! I remember seeing a Strat in Matchetts in Belfast for £278 in 1968/69 I was on £7 a week in 1970 !!) As you will see from the old videos there wasn't much left to be worn off in any case - But hey it's a great story !!

As for the alcohol - It is very difficult to tell the unhappy truth about some one who was well loved when he was alive . Being Irish myself I know only too well how you get cleaned and polished up after you have died. It is just a kindness to the relatives who would have known you only too well !! ( No need to say it straight ) Poor auld Rory he did not have a clue and no-one could tell him !! What a great shame !! He probably thought that as alcohol was licensed it would be safer that un-licensed drugs. Looking at the whole story he might have survived with the occasional spliff and a lot less drink !! Just look around at the musicians who have survived . When I look at Keith Richards I just think - HOW and he was well into heroin !! My brother in law (Dr) tells me that today we can see young men in their late 20s with drink/health related problems that only existed in men in their 50s forty years ago . This is why the Medical profession want the price put up because 30 or more years ago the relative price of drink was a lot higher than today. However when I was in my teens I discovered that the men who drank tended to have a greater knowledge of how dangerous alcohol really was. My father used to refer to fine whiskey ( malt ) as "Dangerous Stuff" - because it tasted so nice you could easily drink a whole bottle and kill yourself !! a Sobering Thought !!Domnal5 (talk) 00:49, 25 October 2010 (UTC)

bloodtype- acidic sweat

Rory Gallagher Official Website refers to this. Click on the 1961 Fender Strat, 2nd from the left and the details will appear. Sweat reference to blood type is at the bottom. http://www.rorygallagher.com/#/archives/guitars

The youtube citation regarding acid sweat stripping the guitar's finish makes no reference to bloodtype causing acidic sweat. I find extremely dubious the claim that the stratocaster's finish was stripped due to acidic sweat, and that acidity strong enough to do this was caused by a blood type. Why were no other of his instruments similarly affected? RichardJ Christie (talk) 21:44, 3 February 2011 (UTC)
YOUTUBE CITATION REGARDING ACIDIC SWEAT IS AT 1:16.

In the 2010 biopic Ghost Blues, Rory's brother Donal Gallagher claims that his rare blood type made Rory's sweat alkaline (not acidic) and this was responsible for stripping the nitrocellulose finish from the Strat. I don't know how true this could be medically, but clearly it must have been something Rory and his circle held anecdotally true. The Strat, being his main instrument since his early years, would have been more affected than other instruments.

Or else it was just badly finished by Fender! I guess Leo had his off days!Unjay (talk) 02:54, 1 May 2011 (UTC)

Discography

The discography on the article page needs some attention. The Discography page is screaming, "Help me! Help meeee....". With the exception of a few compilation and post-death tribute kinds of things, it's extremely unlikely that more will be added, but the discography page is incomplete. Please, if that is something you can do, will you attend to it? I put some work into this article when it was little more than a stub, recruiting others who are better editors than I am, and truly, it has the possibility of becoming a stellar article if only people will take the time. Thanks. --Leahtwosaints (talk) 04:11, 5 November 2012 (UTC)

Death

I removed the opening sentences of this section because they were just irrelevant. The section could do with something appropriate to introduce it, but I can't really add anything myself here as I have nothing but anecdotal evidence about his alcohol use. 176.249.26.217 (talk) 16:36, 4 June 2013 (UTC)

The info about his trust in doctors and fear of flying is relevant I think. The story his friends and brother all tell is that he grew increasingly phobic about flying (which he had to do because of touring) and he turned to a doctor who prescribed barbituates which ended up being a main cause of the decay of his liver. I think he was proscribed one of those drugs that people no longe use because it was found to be so harmful. But I'm not reverting the change, I agree the text that was there wasn't well sourced. I have a bio of Rory and I'll take a shot at updating the text with appropriate references. Mdebellis (talk) 19:47, 4 June 2013 (UTC)

The existing reference was actually quite good, it covers all the relevant facts of his death. I think a lot of his fans (including me) believe that he received terrible care from his doctors but there is no documented evidence of that that I know of so staying neutral. I updated the death section with text that I think is very well supported by the reference. Mdebellis (talk) 20:19, 4 June 2013 (UTC)

What goes in a Discography section?

I've noticed there have been a couple of re-revisions on this page in the Discography section. One user removed a reference to a live Rory album and in the edit summary said "no live albums here". Then someone reverted that change and now its been re-reverted. I thought perhaps we might reach some consensus here. IMO the person who reverted (wanted the live album to stay) was correct. I'm not aware of any policy that only studio albums should go on the summary discography for an artist. To me it should just be a list of the most important albums which can include live albums. Indeed I think for some bands like The Allman Brothers, Grateful Dead, and Gallagher you could argue there live albums were some of the most important ones that helped define them. Mdebellis (talk) 16:01, 11 June 2013 (UTC)

Relevane of guitar lists

I reverted a change where someone took out the text at the end of the legacy section about Gallagher's ranking in two world's greatest guitar lists. I agree that those lists are kind of pointless and don't put much stock in them myself but for an encyclopedia I think the information is relevant, not for every list that exists on the Internet but for the best known ones like Rolling Stone it seems like something a user would like to know and the text seems to have good references to back it up Mdebellis (talk) 16:26, 3 July 2013 (UTC)