Brothers in Arms
Although Rory was without doubt the focus of every live show, every album, every interview he participated in, and was pretty much an undisputed king of the blues, some of that was down, as he would say himself, to the talent he found to support his guitar playing, the boys who played in his band. Some of these were only with him for an album or two, but by and large once Rory found someone who fitted, clicked and "got" his music, he did his best to have them stick with him. Other artistes play or played with various lineups behind them, but Rory is pretty much known for at least one mainstay of his band. Here I'll be looking at the men who went into battle with him, standing shoulder to shoulder with the guitar god on stage, and helping create the sound that was uniquely his.
Gerry McAvoy
Position: Bass player
Joined: 1970
Left: 1991
First album played on: "Rory Gallagher", 1970
Final album played on: "Fresh evidence", 1990
Born: 1951
If anyone could be said to be Rory's lieutenant, his right hand man, then Gerry was that man. The dependable, steady heartbeat of so much of Rory's music, it's almost impossible to think of the man from Ballyshannon going onstage without his trusted deputy, to tweak the analogy slightly. Gerry's bass work will be familiar to anyone who's heard any of Rory's albums, and his presence onstage, strong and steady, reliable and reassuring, a constant and unchanging facet of Rory's live performances. He hooked up with Rory in 1970, just after the breakup of Taste, as the young Rory was looking to put together another power trio, and the two just seemed made for each other, musically. Gerry was so in tune with what Rory was playing that the two of them shared what Rory called "musical ESP". Brought up on the same blues influences as his bandleader, Gerry also opted for Fender as his guitar of choice, and played in his first band with Brendan O'Neill, who would later join him in the band with Rory.
Coming from Rory's neck of the woods (although Rory's family moved out of Northern Ireland when he was eight years old) Gerry had the same sort of experience of "The Troubles" and like Rory he was anxious to return to his homeland whenever they could, even if it worried him a little more than it seemed to trouble Rory, who really didn't give it a thought, even when bombs went off
during (but not at) a gig! A story is told by Rory of one night when eleven bombs went off in Belfast, near where he was playing a gig, just before midnight. Assuming this to be a case of "twelve bombs at twelve", and knowing the IRA to be heavy into certain types of symbolism, Rory checked via "contacts" in the city and was assured "Don't worry: the next bomb won't go off where you are!"
Gerry left Rory in 1991, after what would be the last album the bluesman would ever record, 1990's "Fresh evidence", and went to join Nine Below Zero. When Rory died he organised tribute concerts to honour his fallen friend and bandleader, and has done much to keep Rory's memory alive. Gerry had two solo albums, the last of which was only released in 2010, though they seem to have been unremarked by the world, making the title of the last one either prophetic or philosophical: "Can't win 'em all!" He has also written his biography, detaiing his time with Rory both in the studio and on the road. In 2011 he left NBZ and hooked up again with drummer Ted McKenna, with whom he had recorded two of Rory's best (in my opinion) albums, "Top priority" and "Photo finish", as well as the live album "Stagestruck", and guitarist Marcel Scherpenzeel, whom he descibes on their website as "the closest guitarist to Rory you will ever hear" to form Band of Friends, playing the music of the departed legend and keeping his legacy alive.