Since the launch of Rewriting Rory in November 2021, one of the most rewarding aspects has been the connection with you, the supporters. Your comments and kindness in sharing stories, memories, photos and memorabilia have been vital in helping the blog grow and in making Rory Gallagher: The Later Years the success it has been so far.

So, I wanted to use this new blog series to turn the spotlight back on you and offer a space to share your own personal Rory journeys over the years. I’m delighted to kick off this series by featuring Marlène Rivet and her husband Jean Michel.

My first contact with Marlène was in March 2022 when I was researching Rory’s 1994 Montreux performance and came across a comment from her on Facebook mentioning that she had attended. From the moment I reached out, she was warm, gracious and incredibly generous with the details she shared. Since then, we’ve kept in touch regularly, and it’s been a true pleasure to live vicariously through her and her husband’s memories.

What follows is an interview compiled from my many conversations with Marlène over the past few years, along with a few insights and photographs by Jean Michel. In keeping with the aims of Rewriting Rory, it is mainly focused on Rory’s final decade, although I also include some memorable anecdotes from earlier years. I hope you find it interesting.

The conversations were conducted in French and have been translated into English by me for this blog.

Tickets from some of the concerts Marlène attended

When did you become a Rory Gallagher fan?

I’ve followed Rory since the days of Taste. I saw him in concert for the first time in my hometown of Lausanne in Switzerland in January 1970. For two evenings in a row, he played with his band Taste in a small club in the basement of a Lausanne hotel called Electric Circus. Over the next few decades, I was able to attend around 20 Taste and Rory concerts in Switzerland, England, France and Germany. I was always so moved by the way Rory experienced music on stage and his choice of repertoire, whether it be his own compositions or covers.

Tell me about the Swiss Rory fan club. I believe there is a nice story of love there!

Indeed. The Swiss Rory fan club was founded by Markus Gygax (RIP) and I sometimes contributed to it by writing articles. I even visited Dónal’s office several times between 1985 and 1990 for small interviews with him and to give him various articles, bootlegs or pieces that had appeared in the fan club magazine Deuce. I still have most copies of the magazine, by the way. And yes, I actually met my husband through the fan club! He was a French member, born in Paris. So, it was thanks to Rory that we first met and eventually got married! You know, Rory even sent us a signed greeting card when we got married in 1986!

Coming from Switzerland, I guess Rory’s concerts in Montreux were particularly special to you.

Absolutely. Claude Nobs always appreciated Rory and invited him on numerous occasions to Montreux. Rory’s audience has always felt a deep connection with him, drawn to his humility, kindness and simplicity. It’s these qualities that made him such a beloved figure at Montreux, where he was always warmly received.

Montreux 1985 was actually the first Rory concert that I saw with my (future) husband! He had just arrived in Switzerland and we both went there that evening in July. Little did we know that he would stay in Switzerland and that we would end up getting married in January 1986! He had seen Rory before in Paris at the Pavillon Baltard in 1982. Here are a few photographs that he took at the concert.

Photos by Jean Michel Rivet, Pavillon Baltard, Paris, 12 March 1982

At the end of the Montreux 1985 concert, Rory and Gerry signed some bootlegs for us. Also on the bill that evening were Big Sound Authority and The Blues Band.

I’ve got to ask you then about Montreux 1994 – one of my favourite Rory concerts. You were there too, I believe?

Yes, I was. In fact, the 1994 concert in Montreux was the last Rory concert I attended. I don’t have any specific memories of this concert, but I do remember that he seemed very tired and wasn’t in the best shape. His health slightly affected his performance. However, his pleasure and desire to give all he had to his audience was still apparent. It’s rather sad that a number of people left the room before the concert finished expressing their dissatisfaction and there were even some whistles, but his real fans stayed until the end. They knew about the state of his health and were more sympathetic. Fans from across Europe and several fan clubs were there – Holland, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium…

You know, you can see me in the DVD if you look closely! Around 10 minutes into the concert, you can see me in a light sweater with my husband next to me. The real fans still at the front after all these years.

Marlène and Jean Michel in the front row at Montreux 1994

When you saw Rory at Montreux 1994, did you think that it would be for the last time?

No, absolutely not. His health had already been bad for a long time, so we didn’t think any different.

Speaking of Rory’s poor health, I believe you were also at the ill-fated Town & Country Club concert in 1992.

Yes, in October 1992, we went to the concert in London, but it had to be stopped well before the end because Rory was really not well at all. He had drunk a glass of alcohol with his medication before the concert and it made his performance catastrophic. Dónal had to go on stage to stop the concert. Certain members of the audience were really angry and booed the band, but his most loyal fans were understanding. But it was really hard to see him like that. It was the first time I ever saw Rory in this state and it really hurt my heart. I also felt for his brother who had to deal with all that. But the career of such a great musician as Rory cannot be measured by this single event. Prior to the concert, we had been invited by Dónal to come backstage after, but we didn’t dare after what happened…

Marlène’s Town & Country Club Ticket

I know you met Rory several times over the years. Do you have any particular memories to share about this?

Yes, that’s right. I met him 6-7 times after concerts in Lausanne, Montreux, in Germany and in German-speaking Switzerland. I remember after a concert in Zurich or Basel, we were backstage with Markus Gygax and Rory had injured his finger during the concert. He was very embarrassed and came to us to show us the cut on his finger and to apologise for it with a little bow of his head. It touched us a lot. He was always very, very polite to his fans.

I have photos with Rory and Gerry, taken after his concert in St Wendel in July 1984. He’s holding a book in his hand, but unfortunately, I can’t remember what it was. He looks very young for 37 years old. He always had a baby face and a real kindness in his eyes.

Marlène with Rory and Gerry at St Wendel, 7 July 1984

Did you keep in touch with Dónal after Rory passed away?

Yes, we have a lot of documents, press articles, concert tickets, posters and bootlegs that we have kept since the 80s, so we were able to show them to Dónal at his office in London. The last time we visited Dónal’s office was 11 September 2001, the sad date of the terrorist attacks in New York. We watched the news together on the office TV and then we went with Dónal and Tom O’Driscoll to a large local pub, where Gerry McAvoy and Mark Feltham joined us. After that, I didn’t see Dónal again until 2017 in Ballyshannon.

Rory has meant so much to me ever since his time with Taste, and he will always hold a special place in my heart. The annual festival in Ballyshannon, where thousands of people gather in his hometown, is a testament to the lasting impact of his popularity and the deep connection so many have with him.

To lighten the mood a little, let’s end with a rapid-fire round! I’ll give you 10 Rory ‘This or That’ questions, and you and your husband must respond with your gut instinct. Ready? Let’s go!

Live in Europe or Irish Tour ’74?

Marlène : Irish Tour ’74       
Jean Michel: Irish Tour ‘74

Electric Rory or acoustic Rory?

Marlène : Electric     
Jean Michel: Electric

Rory’s band with or without keyboards?

Marlène : With          
Jean Michel: With    

Early or late 70s Rory?

Marlène : Early 70s  
Jean Michel: Late 70s        

Rory’s Strat or Tele?

Marlène : Strat          
Jean Michel: Strat

Rory’s slide guitar or fingerpicking?

Marlène : Fingerpicking      
Jean Michel: Slide guitar

Rory’s jeans and check shirt or leather jacket?

Marlène : Jeans and check shirt    
Jean Michel: Jeans and check shirt

I Wonder Who or I Could’ve Had Religion?

Marlène : I Wonder Who     
Jean Michel: I Could’ve Had Religion

Rory in Taste or Rory as a solo artist?

Marlène : Taste         
Jean Michel: Solo

Rory at a festival or in a club?

Marlène : Club          
Jean Michel: Club   

6 out of 10 in agreement. Not bad! 😃

Thank you so much, Marlène and Jean Michel!