I remember first coming across the name “John Wainwright” shortly after I started following the official Rory page on Facebook almost a decade ago. On 20 November, photos he had taken at the Palace Theatre in Manchester in 1988 were shared. Just over a week later, more photos appeared from the Liverpool Royal Court Theatre and, soon after, the Victoria Hall in Hanley. I recall thinking how incredible it was to see these firsthand glimpses of concerts from that period, especially since such photos rarely made it onto the official page at the time. There was one shot in particular that stood out to me: a low-angle frame of Rory with his eyes closed and hair tossed back, caught in a moment of pure intensity as he pummels out a riff under the glow of a single, sharp spotlight (posted below). It became my computer wallpaper for quite some time.

It would be several years before our paths actually crossed. After setting up Rewriting Rory in 2021, we had some conversations back and forth, and John generously shared scans from the Deuce fanzine with me. Since then, we’ve continued to exchange Rory bits and pieces from time to time, and he’s become a regular and insightful commenter on the RR Facebook page.

While I was working on the Meeting with the G-Fans series a few months ago, it suddenly occurred to me: why hadn’t I ever asked him to tell his Rory story? So here it is. I hope you enjoy it!

When did you first discover Rory’s music, and what was it about his style that initially caught your attention?

I first heard/discovered Rory via a local radio heavy rock programme. The DJ played ‘Big Guns’ and it immediately grabbed my attention being a 12-year-old fan of guitar bands such as Status Quo, AC/DC, Thin Lizzy etc. I immediately began to scour the racks of my local secondhand record shops for any Rory records I could find, the first one of which happened to be the live album Stage Struck. That album sealed the deal for me. I was on board! It was (and still is) a rip-‘roaring’ introduction to what Rory and the boys were doing around that time, but quite different to some of the earlier albums, as I was to discover. Similar to how Paul Deegan recently described his introduction to Rory’s music, I too found myself purchasing a secondhand copy of the ’73 release Blueprint next, which was significantly more mellow in its tone and MUCH bluesier! I wasn’t at all put off by this. In fact, quite the opposite! As such, I then began my search for anything I could get my hands on, either Rory- or Taste-related.

In terms of what initially caught my attention about his style? Looking back, I would have to say that it had a lot to do with the powerful nature of the three piece, as Rory’s band was at the time of hearing ‘Big Guns’. I instantly fell in love with Rory’s voice and his guitar playing (of course!) and would later fall in love with many aspects of his singing, playing, writing and performing. But at the ripe old age of 12, I was simply blown away by the power and performance of a great Rory track. Thank God I was listening to the radio that night!

When was the first time you saw Rory in concert? What memories stand out from that experience?

08/10/87 International 2, Manchester, UK – my first experience of seeing Rory, Gerry, Mark and Brendan live was at a small(ish) club in Manchester in 1987. I had recently turned 18 and cannot tell you just how unbelievably excited I was for this gig. I had been going to a variety of rock gigs since the age of 12 (Status Quo, ZZ Top, AC/DC, Motorhead etc), but THIS one was the one I was most excited for.

Since discovering Rory’s music in 1982, I had been busy building up my collection of all his back catalogue and was blown away by the recently released Defender album. As were my mates, who accompanied me to the show that night and were with me when I met my hero for the first time.

My memory is not great, but as I recall, it was mid-afternoon and we were just exiting Manchester Piccadilly rail station and walking towards the city centre when a car pulled up outside a large hotel about 100 meters away from us and who should step out of the car than Mr Rory Gallagher himself! My mate shouted at the top of his voice, “Rooooorrrrrry!!” At which Rory looked our way as we charged towards him and desperately tried to find a pen and paper in order to get his autograph. Sadly, the scrap of paper bearing his signature has long since been lost. However, I do remember him asking me if I wanted a particular song playing that night to which I confidently replied ‘Seems To Me’, which was (at the time) my favourite from the latest album (on the extra 7-inch single).

The actual gig was incredible! I remember being on cloud nine for the whole gig, particularly when he dedicated ‘Seems To Me’ to me and my friends. If I’m honest, the one lasting memory I have of EVERY time I experienced Rory live was the fact that I was smiling the WHOLE time. What’s more, I remember looking around at other members of the crowd and seeing others with the same stupid grins on their faces. Thinking about it now, that is one of the things that I always noticed about Rory when playing live was the fact that he always looked to be enjoying ‘his own performance’, which I think resonated with the audience.

One of my mates had the good sense to take a small (crappy) camera and took some snaps, some of which are included below:

You went on to see Rory many times over the years. Which concerts left the most lasting impressions?

My first show was 08/10/87 International 2, Manchester, UK. I then on to see Rory:

– 12/10/87 Rock City, Nottingham, UK     
– 16/10/87 Hammersmith Odeon, London, UK   
– 20/11/88 Palace Theatre, Manchester, UK       
– 05/12/88 Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool, UK  
– 07/12/88 Victoria Hall, Hanley, UK        
– 20/12/90 International 2, Manchester, UK

The last show was 29/10/92 Town And Country, London

I made it my mission to try and see Rory as much as I could afford to during 1987/1988. I was a student during this period so cash was sparse and I didn’t have my own car so public transport was the only way to get around the country. But I’m SO glad I made the effort to attend these gigs.

Lasting impressions? Well, obviously the first (club) gig was incredible! I have searched high and low for a bootleg recording of this show over the years, but as yet it alludes me. 

The Rock City show in Nottingham was an equally fantastic (and long!) show and I remember the atmosphere being really ‘charged’ (surprising for a Monday night). Rory and the band played a storming version of ‘Seems To Me’, which I remember being particularly happy about. 

The Hammersmith show was notable for a weekend stay in the capital with my parents (who also attended the gig) and it being the weekend of the big storm that hit the UK, bringing down trees and causing major embarrassment for weather forecaster Michael Fish who had failed to predict it! The show itself was very different to the two that had preceded it, as they had both been in clubs and this one was Hammersmith Odeon – a seated venue upstairs and downstairs at the time. I seem to remember being seated for most of the show, but towards the end, I recall myself and many others stood and made our way as close to the stage as possible. I remember my parents commenting on the volume. Ha! I also remember the moving cloud backdrop during Out on the Western Plain, which was very cool/fitting, I thought.

My memories of the Manchester Palace Theatre gig are very blurry, although I did take some snaps, which help. Similar to the Hammersmith gig, this was a seated venue, so by its nature a lot more subdued than a club gig. Again, like Hammersmith, fans made their way forward towards the end of the gig, as you can clearly see from one of the photos. I’ve never seen a recording of this one in trading circles either.

The Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool – If I HAD to choose a favourite time seeing Rory live, this was probably it. I remember it being a bitterly cold Monday evening and after struggling to find the venue, we asked a couple of passing Scousers for directions. They took great delight in calling the venue, “The swimming baths.” Why? Because it was “the biggest dive in Liverpool.” HA! As it turned out, they were exactly right!

As we entered the rundown old theatre, I distinctly remember our feet sticking to the carpet! It was pretty grim, but we had tickets downstairs where it was all standing (which I preferred). I was studying photography at the time so decided to take along my 35mm camera and took some black-and-white shots, which came out quite well, surprisingly! I include some here:

Once again, this particular show has never surfaced as a bootleg recording, which is a real shame, as I clearly recall it being an excellent show. The band were on fire and for 3 hours plus (if my memory serves).

After the gig, we bumped into Gerry and Brendan signing autographs for some other fans. We said hello and I took a snap of a ’shivering’ Gerry. They told us they were heading to a bar and that Rory had gone back to the hotel. We thanked them, wished them a good night and rushed off to catch the last train home.

Here are some photos from that evening:

Two days later came the Victoria Hall, Hanley show, which was memorable for two different reasons! I had been to gigs at this venue on many occasions. Seeing Iron Maiden, Big Country and The Georgia Satellites there, to name but a few. It was/is a small theatre which, back then, was all standing downstairs and used to get very packed, very hot and very sweaty! On this occasion, that was most definitely NOT the case! Rory and the band had only sold a few hundred tickets (if that!) to this particular gig. My only theory being that the Manchester and Liverpool gigs were fairly recent. So…

By the standards of previous gigs, this one was severely lacking in atmosphere and, by Rory’s standards, very short in length. So, although the band did a good job, it was a little disappointing. My mood was improved immeasurably though when I managed to get backstage to meet and chat with Rory. As EVERYONE always says, he was very quietly spoken and extremely humble as my friend and I told him how many gigs we’d been too and how fantastic he had been, whilst also praising the latest album Defender. A journalist from METAL HAMMER magazine was waiting to interview Rory so we didn’t outstay our welcome. I did manage to grab a snap with my hero though, so I was overjoyed! I have included that snap, plus some others taken during the show here:

20/12/90 International 2, Manchester, UK – I have little to no memories of this gig, unfortunately, but my diary entry for that night gives a small clue 🙂 “‘It was superb and he played ‘Tobacco Road’, which I’d never heard him play before. Superb! 2hrs 10 mins’.

You were also at the ill-fated Town & Country Club gig in 1992. What was the experience like for you?

Excruciating. Upsetting. Sickening. Three words I never thought I would mention when discussing my hero, but they are the first that come to mind when recalling that awful night.

To put it into some context, since the last time I saw Rory and the band live (in 1990), I had started a degree in graphic design at Preston in Lancashire. There was little or no internet at that time, so although still being a huge Rory fan, I had lost track of his touring somewhat. So, when I saw (by chance) an advert for the Town & Country Club gig in a music newspaper, I knew I had to get myself on a train to London! I was sharing a house with another ‘guitar mad’ lad at the time, who was really into ’twiddly’ guitarists such as Eddie Van Halen and Joe Satriani. I introduced him to Rory and he was (rightly) impressed. So much so that I convinced him into joining me on an outing to the big smoke to see a ‘proper’ guitarist! So that’s what we did!

Upon arrival at the gig (a large theatre), we could see that the place was PACKED!!! So much so that we finally managed to find a spot halfway up the stairs leading to the first balcony, which did, however, provide a great view of the stage. I was SO excited. It had been too long since I’d had my Rory ‘live fix’. I’d also built the excitement for my friend, telling him just how gobsmacking Rory was live and how he was going to have his mind blown. Little did I know it was going to be for all the wrong reasons.

I remember clearly the lights going down and immediately thinking, “Where’s Gerry and Brendan and who the hell are those new guys?” No sooner than I questioned this, Rory hit the stage running (as he tended to do), but straight away, I had a sickening feeling that all was far from well. As most of us know, there is a recording of that fateful evening and although I HAVE listened to it just ONCE (many years ago), I cannot bring myself to listen to it again, as it’s just TOO awful and upsetting. As such, I can only echo a few things that Paul Deegan mentioned recently in a post.

After Rory hit the stage, I seem to recall him hitting a lot of ‘bum notes’ (unheard of!) and also hitting lots of bar/power chords (not sure if that’s the correct terminology). Everything seemed to be wrong! I knew what my hero sounded like and THIS most definitely was NOT it! My friend was looking at me as if to say, “What on earth have you brought me to?” I had no words. I simply couldn’t believe my eyes or my ears!

I remember thinking – like most people there – that he was drunk. But this was Rory. My hero. I had hundreds of bootlegs from shows all over the world for three decades. He’s never done this before. He wouldn’t do this. Surely??? I was concerned and I was embarrassed for him AND the new band members, who were struggling on and trying desperately to keep things together. But it was pointless. Rory was ‘all over the place’. As a huge fan, it was excruciating and heartbreaking to watch. I was praying for someone (Dónal) to put an end to it as soon as possible. To my dismay, it dragged on and on.

I didn’t think it could get any worse, but unfortunately it did. As much as you could feel the good will of his loyal fans urging him on – to try and get back on track – the situation was beyond repair. As such, you could hear the boos start to ring out. Can you imagine??!! Rory Gallagher getting booed? My heart was bleeding. To make matters worse (if that was possible), Rory started addressing/arguing with some ‘fans’(?!) near the front. From what I remember, he said something like “If you want to go see The Thompson Twins, go see The Thompson Twins. This is Rory Gallagher music.” I just wanted it to end. 

Thankfully/eventually it did, as I believe Dónal finally brought things to a close. The last thing I remember was a PA announcement telling any disgruntled punters who wanted their ticket money reimbursing to see staff at the front of house. This was the last time I got to see Rory – my hero – before his untimely death.

When Paul Deegan mentioned about being angry, sad and confused by what he’d just witnessed, I completely understand. I just couldn’t believe that Rory had got rip-roaring drunk just before a gig. I wanted answers. So, I wrote to Dónal at Rory’s management company and to my utmost surprise, he replied. Here’s a copy of his letter to me:

What do you think set Rory apart from other blues and rock guitarists of his era?

I have two answers to this question.

Firstly – performance. As well as being an incredible guitarist, writer and singer, Rory knew how to put on a show, particularly during his younger years when he was tearing around the stage. But even as he calmed down with age, you found yourself glued to his every move. I personally LOVED how he used to reach in his pocket mid-solo to slip on the little glass (tablet) bottle before easing into a stunning slide solo.

Secondly, and most importantly, was the fact that he NEVER played the same show, let alone the same solo, twice. I have been an avid collector of Rory boots for over 40 years now and am always astonished that he managed to do this night after night, year after year. I don’t really like the idea of comparing one guitarist against another, but the fact that Rory stepped up to the plate night after night delivering not only a different solo but a unique blistering performance over and over again makes him the best in my book.

Can you remember where you were when you heard the sad news of Rory’s passing? Were you able to attend his funeral or requiem mass?

I remember clearly where I was. I had just returned home after a hard day at work to be greeted by my ex-wife as I walked into the kitchen. She had a worried look on her face as she said to me, “Have you heard about Rory?” I hadn’t, but could tell from her face that whatever it was it was serious. She then broke the terrible news, which, whilst obviously being beyond awful, was also a HUGE shock! I had no idea that Rory had even been unwell or in hospital. I discovered more from the newspaper articles I gathered. I have attached snaps of a couple I have here:

I wasn’t able to attend the funeral but did take the day off work to attend the requiem mass at the London Oratory. My memory is a little fuzzy about the day. If I remember correctly though, Lou Martin played an organ improvisation of ‘A Million Miles Away’. I did take some snaps outside, which I also share here. You can see Rory’s mother Monica chatting with Bob Geldof, plus Micky Moody and Bernie Marsden (both ex-Whitesnake). Van Morrison was also in attendance, but I appear to have lost/misplaced that photo.

Looking back, what are your lasting impressions of Rory? How did he impact you personally and/or professionally?

I would have to say that my lasting impressions of Rory are of a phenomenal guitarist and unmatched live performer. As a fan, I obviously adore his recorded output, but over the years, I have become obsessive about collecting and sharing live recordings. On stage is where Rory’s star shone brightest (in my opinion) and I live in hope that recordings of the shows I attended may surface, plus the elusive Roxy 1991 – where Slash guested on Bullfrog Blues – that simply MUST be out there somewhere!

Personally, he has been a part of my life since I first heard ‘Big Guns’ blasting out of my radio back in 1982 to the present day where I look forward to any new recordings, books, blogs or bootlegs. It makes me happy to see how Rory’s reputation has grown and is growing thanks to YouTube. Just a shame he never got to see this for himself.

How do you feel Rory has been remembered (or forgotten) in the wider music world? Is that how you’d like him to be remembered?

I think it’s clear to see that people/musicians who ‘know what they’re talking about’ always talk about Rory with reverence. He was respected as a fine guitarist and performer, as you’d expect. I think the most amazing and fantastic thing is that his reputation would appear to be growing even stronger as young people discover his music via YouTube or Spotify recommendations. Again, for me, his live recordings, whether officially released or bootlegs, are his ‘calling card’ and to see and read other people’s reactions to his playing and his performance online speak volumes as to Rory’s effect on people new to his powers. Rory never played a half-hearted show in his life and there are thousands of recorded performances out there that can attest to this. Personally, this is how I like to think he will be remembered and shared. 

What’s the most treasured Rory item you own and why?

I have two. The first being the photo I have of Rory and I outside the dressing room after his performance at the Victoria Hall, Hanley 1988. The second being the commemorative CD and memorial mass booklet that was handed out at the London Oratory after the service. Here are some photographs:

Quick Fire Round

1. ‘Bullfrog Blues’ or ‘Messin’ with the Kid’?

‘Messin’ with the Kid’. I never tire of ‘that’ intro.

2. Jam with Frankie Miller or Jack Bruce?

Jack Bruce. As much as the solos, I love watching Rory play some funky rhythm.

3. Rory at Montreux 1975, 1977, 1979, 1985 or 1994?

1977. It was the first Rory live VHS I received in a trade and I played it to death! One of my favourite versions of ‘Tattoo’d Lady’ too! 

4. Should Rory have released singles, yes or no?

Rory was his own man. He chose not to be a ’singles’ artist and I think it was the correct decision for him.

5. Martin or National?

Both.

6. Wilgar Campbell or Brendan O’Neill?

Ooh tough one!! If I had to pick my favourite Rory drummer it would be Ted, but in this case, I’d pick Brendan. I loved his ‘swing’ style playing in songs such as ‘When My Baby She Left Me’ particularly. Rory certainly put Brendan through his paces over the years for sure, but I do think that whilst they were together, Rory brought the best out of Brendan – and ALL of his drummers for that matter! 

7. ‘Too Much Alcohol’ acoustic or electric?

Love both, but if I HAD to choose, it would be acoustic.

8. Defender or Fresh Evidence?

That’s unfair! Both recordings are superb in my view, although different in flavour/tone. If I had a gun to my head, I’d HAVE to choose Defender, if only for ‘Seems To Me’ and ‘Road To Hell’. Personally, I don’t think Rory made a ‘bad’ album, but to put out recordings of SUCH quality at this later stage of his career HAS to be admired.

9. ‘Barley and Grape Rag’ with or without Ronnie Drew?

Without. Definitely!

10. And finally, should Rory have joined the Stones, yes or no?

Big fat no! Love The Stones, but Rory could NEVER and ‘would’ never have shared the spotlight with Mick! LOL