On this day in 1988, Rory played the Town & Country Club in Kentish Town, London. To mark the occasion, I share three original fan testimonies of the occasion, first published in the Swiss fanzine Deuce.

Ronny De Craemer

In the early morning of Saturday 17th September, we 5 Rory Gallagher fans set out by Land Rover to Ostend to head to Dover. Destination: London NW5, Kentish Town, the Town & Country Club.

Our first concern was to secure the five tickets we had ordered by telephone from Riven Records, Camden High Street. What a great relief it was when the shopkeeper handed over those indispensable five tickets. We are still grateful to the man. He kept his promise. Thanks again.

One hour before doors would open, we were queuing up. The time couldn’t move fast enough. As we approached the deadline, tickets on the black market went up to 20 pounds. Once we got inside, we rushed immediately to the front stage to obtain a good camera position. The Town & Country Club seemed a nice and cosy place for a concert to take place.

The support act was a very good one. A man and his acoustic guitar, in all simplicity, sang three well performed and yet often underestimated songs. Unfortunately, none of us can remember his name. Sorry.

The crowd now waited impatiently for Rory and his band to appear. They kept on screaming his name, while The Doors album LA Woman resounded above their heads.

At last, 20.40 and under a tumultuous whistling, Gerry, Mark and Brendan came on stage, followed just a bit later by Rory who came on running as usual. They received an overwhelming cheer. They plugged in and we were off. ‘Kickback City’ as a starter, followed by ‘Continental Op’ and ‘Seems to Me’. The audience became elated.

It was a hard job to take a decent photograph of our idol. Then, on ‘I Wonder Who’, Rory went to the speakers at the right side of the stage, just in front of us, and simulated a phone call. Rory played the song very sharply like only he is able to do. It still remains a must.

Rory and his band seemed to be in great shape. Rory played very dynamically and really stirred the crowd up. Besides all the Defender songs except one or two, the band brought us some old crackers like ‘Double Vision’, ‘Bad Penny’, ‘Moonchild’, ‘Shadow Play’, etc. Indeed, mostly the fast and hard kind of repertory.

Several times, he saluted his fans, shaking hands. They almost got hysterical when he bent down to his knees and allowed them to touch his body and his beloved Strat with all those grabbing hands?

I’d like to mention some nice incidents which happened during his unforgettable gig. Just a couple of numbers after his traditional acoustic act, a girl from the crowd jumped up on stage, kissed Rory gently on his right cheek and wiped his sweat and face very smoothly. Rory just gave away the most sincere smile and the crowd hummed approvingly. A bit later on, Rory’s little finger let him down in one of his fabulous solos. Rory blamed his little finger for this in a very funny way, saying “Don’t you dare anymore!” The last incident which made us five really happy was when Rory commented on the two small boards on which we had painted “Belgian fans” in the Irish colours. It surprised him as well, but he came right over and greeted us. I will never forget that expression on his face ever. We talked about it the whole night afterwards.

Back to the concert, which came to an end much too soon. Rory and his band had only been playing for 1.5 hours, which is very unusual for them. Everybody realised that and we kept on calling them back on stage. 4 encores were a good result for our never-ending whistling and calling. I remember ‘Loanshark Blues’ was his last number of the evening.

Meanwhile we were all gathered at the bar toasting Rory’s everlasting success and the wonderful evening he’d given us. Happy faces everywhere, just a few complaints about buzzing ears. We met Diana Worthy afterwards back in the lounge, hoping she would bring us close to Rory. We had two spare photographs meant for Deuce. Unfortunately, there was a national press conference and reception taking place and we were not allowed in. Very disappointed, but understandable. More luck next time. We took the last underground back to Bethnal Green where the Land Rover was parked. The long way back home was full of us reviving the fantastic moments we had shared. Looking forward to Rory’s next gig!

Helen Parkinson

The Town & Country Club was packed solid, stomping, cheering and shouting for Rory. This was billed as a one-off special engagement, and special it turned out to be. The audience was full of diehard Rory fans. We were with him all the way. The main set lasted only 1.5 hours, opened with ‘The Loop’ and took in such old favourites as ‘Shin Kicker’, ‘Out on the Western Plain’ and ‘Moonchild’. There was a wonderful version of ‘I Wonder Who’, which proved to be one of the show’s highlights.

Rory was in great form, looking very confident and joking with band and audience. Mark Feltham seems to have settled in very comfortably as part of the band now, adding an extra dimension and giving Rory someone to bounce off. This was particularly evident during the acoustic set where ‘Walkin’ Blues’ was dynamite. Newer Defender tracks such as ‘Kickback City’, ‘Continental Op’, ‘Loanshark Blues’ and ‘I Ain’t No Saint’ got a rousing from the audience, as well as the welcome old faithfuls.

Everyone on stage seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves, with Mark dancing to many of the tracks. Needless to say, the audience had a great time too, with one fan even getting up on stage to mop Rory’s brow! There were three encores, the second of which included a great version of ‘Messin’ with the Kid’, which was announced by the words, “This is not academic, but I hope you like it.” We sure did. The third encore had Rory joking about how late it was and how tired he was. But even so, a rousing ‘La Bamba’ completed the encore on the set. The audience was ready for more, but it was not to be.

The house lights switched on immediately. He had played for two hours but as always, there are so many tracks we would still like to hear. It is never long enough. It had been perhaps one of the best Rory concerts I’d ever seen. The only thing which marred the concert was a small number of people at the front who were slam dancing. The Town & Country Club has a balcony which gave us a bird’s eye view of the effect this was having on those in its vicinity, many of whom just abandoned the area. On two occasions, a fan mounted the stage not to slap Rory on the back, but to take a flying leap into the audience.

After the concert, as Rory was leaving, tired though he was, he took the time and trouble to chat to fans, have his picture taken and signed t-shirts, posters, tickets and a copy of Deuce 41. The couple with Deuce 41 had driven 200 miles to see the show and managed to get in a few questions, most notably about the Irish Tour 74 film video. Rory said they were having trouble with this because some reels were missing. In reply, it was mentioned that it was possible to get it as a bootleg. “Does anybody know where I can get a copy?” And Rory was asked what he thought of bootlegs in general. He replied jokingly, shaking his jacket lapel, “This is why I am so poor,” and shrugged his shoulders and said, “The less said the better.” A comment was made about the fact that he refuses to be commercial, to which he smiled. It seems that he’s off to Australia on a tour in November, but there is the possibility of UK tour dates in December. I came away clutching my autograph ticket thrilled to bits. I would like to say a big thank you to Rory for the gig, for his time after the show and for being uncommercial. That is a rare attitude in 1988. Long may he play.

Thomas Mitchell

The word was out. Rory was playing the T&C Club, Kentish Town, London. This was evidenced by the queue that formed from 5:30 PM onwards for non-ticket holders. And as we arrived, we could hear that familiar and unique sound coming through the air ducts and ventilators around the stage door area as the band made last minute checks. The queue for ticket holders began to build up also and stretch down the road. Then all ticket holders were hoping to get in as 200 tickets were promised to be sold on the door. As the queue grew longer and stretched around the corner, ticket touts were asking 25 to 30 pounds a ticket and getting it from desperate latecomers. The doors finally opened at 7:30 PM and the hall gradually filled to capacity.

On the stage, the familiar setup of absent drums could be discerned. The Marshalls sat quietly waiting in the semi darkness and you knew he was here and soon they would speak that special language only they and Rory knew. A solo artist was introduced and sang several bluesy folk songs accompanied by a 12-string acoustic with slide. When he finished his set, the clock was moving on towards 9:00 PM. The Marshall amps were humming now as they warmed up, red lights glowing, signalling Rory’s imminent appearance.

As the house waited expectantly, the awaited introduction came, and suddenly there he was, alive and kicking, running on stage as large as life in that usual way, to warm applause and cheers. Now the magic began as the veteran Fender spoke and brought the glow in the amps to life. Rory kicked off with ‘The Loop’, which seems to be becoming almost a signature tune as it has been in most sets lately. This was closely followed by ‘Kickback City’ after which the band members were introduced: Gerry, Brendan and Mark. Then down to business.

The order was as follows: Don’t Start Me Talkin’, I Wonder Who, Continental Op, Failsafe Day, I Ain’t No Saint, Moonchild (ended the first electric guitar set to thunderous applause).

The usual acoustic set now followed at 9:45 PM with the familiar ‘Out on the Western Plain’ and ‘Walkin’ Blues’ in which Rory hit some clean high notes on vocals. This comprised the short acoustic set. Now the second electric set began, the white Telecaster was favoured for ‘Seems to Me’, featuring Gerry and Brendan in solo spots. Then ‘Shinkicker’, ‘When My Baby She Left Me’. The main concert programme ended at 10:20 PM and the band left the stage to take a break. The expected “Rory! Rory! Rory!” chants preceded the first encore ‘Shadow Play’. Second encore ‘Messin’ with the Kid’, with, of course, audience participation on the chorus lines straight into ‘La Bamba’ sang in Spanish. Then the final curtain call with ‘Loanshark Blues’ closing an exciting concert. Vintage Rory in good voice, punching out even better as noticeably more mature and tight deliveries accompany the inevitable march of time on the Irish virtuoso, still unbowed and loyal to his musical roots.

 I was able to meet Rory at the stage door after. He was his usual affable self, signing autographs and doing his best to have a word with everyone there. I thought he looked very well, slightly slimmer. Perhaps gigging must agree with him. I asked him about the Irish Tour video, but apparently some film or tape is missing, so still some uncertainty about it. I also mentioned the recent tragic death of Roy Buchanan to Rory. He expressed his sadness about it. Roy Buchanan, as most of us will know, was brilliant technically in his playing. Best known perhaps for his slow blues instrumental solos. At only 48, a great loss to us all. Perhaps Marcus, you could do a musical obituary in a future issue in respect and appreciation for his contribution to blues music and our pleasure. After this sad digression, Rory returned to matters of the moment. I asked him if he would autograph a copy of Deuce for me, which he readily did, which is a nice memento of this gig. After congratulating him on a fine show and wishing him good health, we took our leave, thoroughly content to go home having had all our expectations satisfied.

Here’s to the next time, Rory. Like a good wine, you get better as you mature. The vintage is still good. Rich, powerful and satisfying. Oh yeah.