10/4/2000 (Via Email)

Dave:  I just want to say I admire the hard work you have put into your
website.  I have been looking at Rory sites for a while, and I have
enjoyed your new site very much.  Unforunately I never got to see Rory
perform live, I discovered his music a year after he left us.  My biggest
flaw in life is that I was born 20 years to late!  As a guitarist, it is
disturbing to know that many other guitarists my age have never heard of
him.  People would rather do and hear cover versions of Wonderful Tonight,
Hey Joe, and Brown Eyed Girl I guess.  Instead of Early Warning, Eat My
Words, and Blister on the Moon.


 Anyway, I have a tribute article I wrote on him a few years back.  Its a
little outdated, but thought you may enjoy the fact that there is somebody
in fargo North Dakota trying to spread Rory's greatness.

All the best
Dan Simone
The Spectrum
Fargo North Dakota


Rory Gallagher: Irish rock pioneer

                by Dan Simone, Contributing Writer

Irish guitarist Rory Gallagher was one of the most highly sought after
acts of the seventies. He was a pioneer, being one of the first acts from Ireland
to enter the rock and roll mainstream. At last count in 1998, he had sold
over 30 million records worldwide.

Gallagher was the leader of Taste, a power-trio which formed in Cork,
Ireland in 1967. In 1969 he formed a new version of the band and they
began touring predominately in England and Germany. Taste was short-lived
and broke up in 1970 after the famous Isle of Wight festival. By then they
had two albums under their belt, "Taste" and "On the Boards." They were
touring Scandinavia, Canada, and the US with great success. Thankfully
their electrifying final performance was recorded and released as "Taste: Live
at the Isle of Wight".

Gallagher would spend the rest of his career as a solo artist. His shows
were packed with raw energy and intense solos. Unfortunately most of the albums
from the early part of his solo career are unavailable and very hard to
find on disk. The Taste albums are available from Europe. A few of his early solo
albums are not available anywhere. Fortunately, "Live in Europe", "Irish
Tour '74," and "Stagestruck" his three live albums from his solo career are
available in America despite being hard to find. These three albums are
very strong portraits of Rory's electrifying live shows. He was primarily a
bluesman, and often played classic acoustic slide numbers during his shows
between blistering electric guitar sets.

Gallagher's studio albums such as "Deuce", "Calling Card," and "Top
Priority" are all worth a listen, despite the fact that Rory tended to be
a lot more restrained in the studio. There are a couple bootlegs that
occasionally will surface at record shows and they sell rather quickly. Artists such as
Gallagher have limited bootlegs, and loyal fans will say that hunting them
down are well worth the effort. The American audience is limited to "The
Best of Taste" compilation and a portion of his solo albums.

Rory Gallagher toured right up to his untimely passing in 1995. Taste was
one of the essential classic rock power-trios. Their albums are filled
with lost classics. Gallagher released over 15 solo albums during a career that
ended prematurely. Its hard to believe that American radio has overlooked such a
tremendously gifted blues rock guitarist. Rory Gallagher was a true
pioneer of Irish Rock.