One of my favourite things about running Rewriting Rory is the opportunity to speak to fans who were lucky enough to see Rory live and meet him. As someone who was still in primary school when he passed away, I love being able to experience those moments vicariously through their stories. It gives me a chance to feel a little closer to Rory and get a small taste (no pun intended!) of what it was like to witness his magic in person.

Mark Ratcliffe is one of those people with a remarkable collection of memories. Having first become a fan in 1980 as a teenager, he saw Rory perform many times and was fortunate enough to meet him on several occasions too, eventually developing a casual friendship with him. We’ve been chatting on Facebook for the past six years or so, and while I’d heard plenty of his stories over that time, we finally got around to a long-overdue proper chat via videocall last month.

We ended up shooting the breeze for over 90 minutes, with Mark recalling his experiences in incredible detail thanks to an impressive photographic memory. Over the next two blog posts, I’d like to share an edited transcript of our conversation, accompanied by some of the wonderful photos he kindly shared with me. I hope you enjoy reading it. Part two will be coming tomorrow!

Hi, Mark. It’s so great to finally see you face to face and catch up. So, let’s kick off by talking about when you first got into music.

1977, I got hooked on Status Quo. I went to see them in 1979 when I was still at school – I was 15 years old – and I’ve been listening to them ever since. I never saw anything like that at the time. It just changed my life. I’ve seen them 106 times since. I’ve had some great journeys with them, and they’re what kicked off my music interest. Then I went to see Thin Lizzy, Rush, UFO… the standard rock bands that were always playing around Leeds, Bradford at the time. That was with my best friend David. We grew up together – we’ve been friends since we were five years old – and he was part of my Rory journey and still is now.

Okay. So, when did Rory come into the picture for you?

We’d just left school and I used to go to my friend’s house on a Friday night and we’d listen to the Friday Rock Show and other music. One night he said to me, ‘I’ve got this album here. Rory Gallagher, Top Priority’. He played it for me and when ‘Wayward Child’ came on, that song basically changed my life. This was September 1980, and he said to me, ‘Rory is playing in Leeds in two weeks.’ ‘Oh yeah? Well, we’d better go then,’ I said.

And how was that gig for you?

Well, my friend had never been to a gig before. I’d been to five or six. So, his brother got us the tickets and off we went to Leeds University. We got up front and were right in front of Rory’s mic stand. I didn’t know what to expect, but again that night totally changed my life. Totally. I remember the lights went out and, all of a sudden, I got pushed. Then Gerry and Ted ran out and it seemed like an eternity until this guy with long hair and a denim jacket and checked shirt came out. This is gospel truth. He came right in front of me and pointed his guitar at me and I’m convinced that he put a spell on me. That has really stayed with me. He played at least three hours and I remember coming out of there and we looked at each other and were like, ‘What did I just see here!?’ So then after that, I went and bought all his stuff. I actually wore Stage Struck out and had to buy another copy!

So, when was the next time you saw Rory?

That was Rock on the Tyne in Newcastle, 1981. The first official gig with Brendan. They had played at Bridge House as a warm-up gig. So, we went to Newcastle. It was really warm. I was 17 by then and I didn’t have a lot of money, so we went on the train and ended up sleeping on the station afterwards. Lindisfarne and Diamond Head were playing too and the guys from Diamond Head actually stood with us watching Rory. I’ve got my programme signed by them all. I remember saying to David, ‘We have to go see Rory as many times as we physically can from now on’. And that is basically what we did.

He did the University Challenge tour in November, December ’81, so we got a ticket to go to York. Off we went to York and I had all my albums in a carrier bag and said, ‘We’ll have to see if we can meet Rory before the gig’. We got to the gig, it was about 17:00, and we got talking to another lad there who went on to become a good friend of mine. Anyway, we stood there and, all of a sudden, this white van turns up and Rory got out! And I went, ‘It’s Rory there!’ And there was Dónal, Gerry, Brendan and Peter Collins as well. Rory came over to us and said, ‘You alright, lads?’ I said, ‘Would you sign my albums?’ ‘Yeah. Yeah. No problem’. Anyway, I dropped them all over the floor! [laughs] They just started laughing, but he signed them and we talked for a good 15-20 minutes.

Then he went and did the gig and it was fantastic. Then we went to see him in Bradford University the week after and that was an absolutely crazy gig. Absolute bedlam. They were actually dragging people off the stage. Rory played for 3.5 hours and Eric Bell supported him. Rory played ‘Cradle Rock’ and I thought, ‘Wow!’ and he started playing all these different songs and it blew my brain.

So, now we’re getting into the Jinx period.

Yeah, May 1982, Jinx tour. It was my 18^th birthday on 20^th May, which was two days before it started. My mum and dad paid for me to go to six out of nine gigs on that tour and we just slept on railway stations. So, off we went to Leeds to see him, then Newcastle and that’s where the friendship started properly. Before the gig, we waited outside and they rolled up in this white van and Rory instantly recognised us from York! As the years progressed, I got to know that that’s the sort of person he was. He never forgot people. Anyway, he said to us, ‘Alright, lads?’ and I said, ‘Yeah, we really enjoyed last night.’ ‘Oh, you were there?’ I had the programme from 1980 with me. They’d been selling off Stage Struck programmes for 10p, so I bought 10 of them and had them all over my wall, so he signed the middle page for me. I’d brought along Gerry’s solo album Basics, so I asked Gerry to sign it and Rory jokes, ‘Look, someone’s bought your album’ [laughs]. Brendan signed it for me too. I’d recorded a Muddy Waters thing off the telly, 45 minutes on an old cassette. So, I said to Rory, ‘I’ve brought you a present. Here’s a cassette of a Muddy Waters concert. He was so pleased. He said, ‘I’ve not heard it’ and thanked me. He asked us if we were looking forward to tonight and we said yes. Then my mate David says, ‘You didn’t play anything off Calling Card last night’ and Rory explains about his new album Jinx, ‘Bourbon’, ‘Big Guns’ etc. Anyway, he signs my ticket and then off he goes. We’re happy as Larry because we got to speak to them.

So, we go to the gig in City Hall and we were about six or seven rows from the front and it was fantastic. Then, all of a sudden, Gerry started playing the opening to ‘Calling Card’ and I know that he played that because of what we asked. I know that for a fact because I went to six of those nine gigs and I’ve got recordings of every gig apart from Bristol and he never played it again. When I look back now, whoever could you actually speak to, a rock star or a musician, and ask, ‘Can you play me this?’ But that was Rory. That gig was just amazing.

He didn’t play Monday or Tuesday, but then he was in Birmingham on the Wednesday night, which happened to be the same night that Aston Villa won the European Cup, 26 May 1982. Anyway, we went to the gig, got back to Crewe and then missed the train to Leeds, so we ended up sleeping on Crewe station. Then we saw him in Manchester the next night – another brilliant gig – and we went to the stage door after. Dónal came out and said, ‘Rory wants to see you’, so we got taken back and Rory said, ‘I’m really glad you’re enjoying the tour. Thank you for the tape you gave me’ and Gerry was laughing his head off in the background and I didn’t know why. Then Rory says, ‘The tape was fantastic, but what was on the other side was absolutely amazing. I’ve never laughed so much in my life’. Then it suddenly dawned on me what was on the reverse: it was a Laurel and Hardy episode. Gerry said to me later, ‘I’ve never seen Rory laugh so much’. Apparently, they had it on in the van and never stopped looking at it. Rory always reminded me of it whenever I met him in the following years. ‘I’ve still got that tape. I’m never letting that go’, he said. I realise now looking back that I was ever so lucky. I never went out of my way… it just evolved naturally. I know Rory had friends all over the world and a lot closer people than myself, but he knew my name and I always caught up whenever I went to see him.

Then two nights at the London Dominion. My friend David brought his camera and must have taken 200 photos. They’re absolutely fantastic photos. There’s a picture of me stood out somewhere in London next to the poster, looking about three years old [laughs]. So, that tour is just my favourite tour ever. People might say, ‘Oh, it was better in ’78 or it was better in ’74, but I’m blessed with the years that I did. Then he played Rockpalast in the summer. I remember getting a video recording of it two or three years later, long before DVDs and streaming, and I watched it and thought, ‘I’ve been talking to this guy and he’s become a bit of a friend’. I couldn’t believe it.

So, then later in 1982, Rory goes off to America for three months playing with Rush. Rush is another band I really like. I’ve had some good conversations with Gerry about Geddy Lee. I know Rory wasn’t really happy with the tour, but it did keep his name going in 1982. And Alex Lifeson is a bit like Brian May – he’ll always champion Rory.

Photos by David Morrison

And onto 1983.

Yeah, and I went to probably my favourite Rory gig ever that year at the Marquee Club. I thought Bradford was crazy, but the Marquee was even more crazy. It was 26 and 27 July 1983 and it was absolutely baking in London. We got to the two nights and the Marquee had a really low stage and really low ceiling. It was basically my idea of heaven. I remember we were up front and I got two or three pints of lager in plastic pots and put them at the back of Rory’s monitors. Anyway, he came on and it was just absolutely crazy. I remember he saw us and smiled and then he played ‘Moonchild’. Then he came over, shook my hand and gave me his plectrum. Noddy Holder from Slade was there that night too. Fantastic night. We had to get a train back to Leeds at midnight and I remember the three of us running up Waldorf St singing ‘Philby’ at the top of our voices. ‘Yeah, yeah yeah!’ I’ll quote Rory, ‘That was my Sergeant Pepper night’. My ultimate. I’ve got recordings of it as well and they bring memories back. The quality isn’t great, but I can listen and think, ‘Just at that second now, he’s giving me his plectrum’.

Then 1984, we went to see him in London again at Guitarists’ Night, Dominion Theatre. We’d seen an ad: ‘Rory Gallagher, Richard Thompson, David Lindley, Juan Martín’. So, we got there and there was no amplifiers or drums. We just assumed he had his band with him. ‘Oh, now this is somewhat different’. The other guys all did a set, then Rory came on and he played about 1.5 hours. He got his Strat out and played ‘Mississippi Sheiks’ with no band, then Juan Martín came on and they did ‘Flight to Paradise’. That was a great night.

And then 1985 was a barren year. I don’t think he did anything in this country that year. Then in summer ’86, I remember buying a local newspaper and seeing ‘Rory Gallagher, Irish Centre, Leeds’, the first person to play there. I thought, ‘Blimey, it’s on my doorstep’. It’s literally two miles from where I live. By now, Mark had joined the band. Another fantastic gig, but I didn’t meet him then for some reason.

And now we come to 1987, the year of Defender.

Yeah, Defender came out in July and the tour was announced. By that time, my friend David was living in Manchester, so we went to see Rory at International. He played for 3.5 hours that night! I didn’t meet him that night, but he spotted us from the stage. Those photos John Wainwright shared, I’m in one of them on the left side. Then we saw Rory in Leeds Irish Centre again. I saw Dónal before the gig. He actually tapped us on the shoulder and said, ‘Come backstage after for a drink with us’. So, we did and that was the first time I got my photograph taken with Rory. We must have been there about an hour just talking away about life, not just music. He gave me his neckerchief then too. By now, he knew our names and he said, ‘Whenever you come to see us, come backstage after’. Then, I went to see him in Sheffield next night at City Hall. He was on fantastic form. I know people go, ‘Well, he wasn’t what he was in ‘87’, but I get the feeling that many of them just see he’s put on a bit of weight and they weren’t actually there.

That’s exactly right. They see pictures of Rory make all kinds of assumptions without even listening or watching the stuff. It makes me so angry.

Exactly. And he wasn’t the person that he’s often portrayed to be. Okay, he had his problems, but he still had a sense of humour. He still had this wicked way about him. If he trusted you, he’d speak to you. In fact, a lot of my own values are based on Rory.

So, when did you next see Rory?

Some time around October 1988, I’m reading the local paper and I see this advert about a new music shop opening in Leeds, which is opposite the Irish Centre, funnily enough. ‘Grand opening by Rory Gallagher’. Well, my jaw dropped. ‘Right, I’ll be there’. So, it was on 5 November. I went down and it was really sad. Only five people turned up. I know this sounds really selfish, but from my point of view, it was absolutely great. I was the only person that he knew, so he said to me, ‘Wait until everybody’s gone and we’ll catch up’. So, we went into the shop and I had another photo with him. And he said to me, ‘Shall we have a night out in Leeds tonight, me and you?’ I said, ‘Yeah, definitely’. But he wasn’t well at all. He had flu. He had come up on the train. And of course, little brother pipes in, ‘Sorry, you’re not well. You’ve got flu. You need to get back to London’. I thought, ‘I’m not going to get in the middle of an argument here’. So, Rory said, ‘I’m really sorry, Mark’. ‘No, that’s fine. Don’t worry about it’. So, we agreed to catch up on his tour, which was starting three or four weeks later, and he said, ‘You don’t have to pay. I’ll put your name down’.

So, flash forward to the tour, we went to Leeds and I said my name at the door and they let us in. After the gig, I hung about and Dónal invited us backstage for a drink and I must have spent an hour with Rory. That was the time when Gerry had long hair and Rory whispers to me, ‘What do you think of Gerry’s hair? Tell him he looks like Adam Ant and see what he says’. He pushed me into saying it [laughs] and Rory was in stitches. It was all done in jest. But sadly, that was the last time I ever spoke to him. Because ’89 was a quiet year.

Part 2 will be posted tomorrow. Stay tuned!