Martin Hutchinson and his band were the support band for Rory's ill-fated tour of the Netherlands in 1995, which turned out to be Rory's final stage appearances.


Martin Hutchinson:  Biography 

Martin Hutchinson, the Irish blues rootsrock guitarist, was born in Athy, Co. Kildare, Ireland; an area more associated with traditional and folk roots than rhythm & blues. Following in the footsteps of giants such as Rory Gallagher and Van Morrison, Hutchinson quickly established himself as a guitar player of note on the European mainland. Having recorded with the excellent R&B group "Homesick & the Backstabbers", he took to the solo trail in the mid '90s to release two fine CD's called "Losing Ground" and the recent "Now Tell me", which incidentally includes a tribute to his hero Rory Gallagher. 

Martin sums up his musical philosophy as follows; "blues doesn't always have to be low down and dirty. It can be like honey too, so that you can almost taste the subtlety." 

Some recent reviews of Martin's current CD "Now tell me". 
Hot Press (IRL): "Last years "Now tell me" certainly establishes Hutchinson as a key player. "Now tell me" is a cool handed take on the blues with a distinctly Irish feel. It promises a mighty fine live performance and there is no doubting his pedigree either." 

Oor (NL): "Now tell me" is an exceptionally rich sounding blend of melodic rock and flowing blues from which an Irish mist rises. A CD of such originality and strength deserves widespread attention." 

Rock 'n' Reel (U.K.): "He can certainly play a mean guitar. His slide work is admirable, forming a rich background for his slightly sweet vocals." 


The Martin Hutchinson Interview: 

Q: Can you remember the first time you saw Rory play? 
A: I first heard Rory live in the early '70s in the National Stadium in Dublin. It was 
always around Christmas and the New Year and that always gave an extra-added buzz. Also it was, in a strange way, as if someone we knew was coming home for Christmas. "Rory's home", lets go and see him sort of thing. Not that many international acts were venturing into Ireland at that time, so we had worked up a wicked appetite for some good honest music,
which of course Mr. Gallagher always supplied. Rory was definitely delivering every time, and it became an annual affair to go and see him. 

Q: You also play a Fender. Is this through Rory influence? 
A: Yeah, sure, and I also found out that a Strat had a lot of sounds in one guitar, which was very important considering I didn't have a lot of money and had to buy my first one together with a friend. 

Q: Tell us something about your guitar. 
A:  I have what has now become an old Strat but it's not pre CBS. There are thick frets on it. I've moved the volume knob down to the tone knob, which was underneath it. I got fed up hitting my hand against it. The pickups are hand wired by Ted Oberg. Ted had some really old pick up wire and generously shared it with me. 

Q: I can imagine, as a big Rory fan, that it must have been exciting news when you heard you were opening for Rory's Dutch tour. What thoughts went through your mind? 
A: Nervous! Delighted!  I'd opened for quite a number of acts but this one was special for me. 

Q: Which venues did you play on that tour? 
A: Paradiso Amsterdam, Nighttown Rotterdam, Hanehof in Geleen, Harmony in Leeuwaarden, and a University or College in Enschede. Rory never made it to Tivoli in Utrecht .We played a full show that night and it was a great gig. Talk about one mans misfortune being another mans good luck! 

Q: Was it obvious to you that Rory was very sick in this period? 
A: Yes. 

Q: What was the audience's reaction to seeing Rory like this? 
A: Well it was obvious there was something wrong with him. His attention seemed to slip off somewhere else and then he'd come back again only to discover he was a few minutes further on in his gig. The gig would be going well and then all of a sudden something would happen and it would go off on a tangent. The audience were seeing a great artist in a bad period and
most of them only hoped he'd get out of whatever he was in. Very often someone would say to me "tell Rory to get better" or "he wasn't in great form tonight but we'll come back again when he's better.' It surprised me how loyal they were and many of them actually had plectrums, autographs, or had met him at this concert or that concert, and talked very fondly about their encounters with him. 

Q: Was it sad for you to see your hero like this? 
A: Yes it was sad and very tragic. It was even more sad and tragic when I heard he had passed away. There was a lot of music left in him and who knows what would still have come out of him. 

Q: Tell us about the Rotterdam show? 
A: Rory broke down during the Rotterdam show. When he arrived for the gig he was very upset about something. 
  
Q: Tell us about the Amsterdam show? 
A: In Paradiso, I talked with Rory just before he went on stage. He saw me with a wah-wah pedal and after the concert he wanted to talk about it and show me some tricks that some blues guy used. I can't remember whom though. Anyway he started off and it sounded great but half way through he disconnected again. He was in a bad state when I saw him later. 

Q: Tell us about the Utrecht show? 
A: Well as I said Rory never made it to Tivoli in Utrecht, but let me say this, there were fantastic moments during those concerts. In Geleen for example he played an out of this world version of  "I Could've had Religion" and in Paradiso "Continental Op" was really strutting it out, and there were lots of other moments like these too during the tour. 
  
Q: Do you think it would have been better for Rory not to have done that tour? 
A:  I don't know if it was for better or worse that Rory did that tour. Who can say? He lived for the music but as he said himself he probably toured more than was good for him. 
  

Q: Tell us some funny story about yourself  which may have happened on the tour? 
A: A story on that tour was started by Tom O Driscoll, Rorys' main road man since God knows when, and it happened in Leeuwarden. There had been ice on the roads and we were given the wrong venue address so we arrived at the venue very late. People were already coming in while we were finishing the sound check. Anyway I didn't bother to go to the dressing room to change because we were under pressure time wise. So I started to change clothes at the side of the stage (behind a curtain as it wasn't part of the show!)  and just when I had my trousers down Tom said,  "Martin, you've got to rearrange your 'backline' now and quickly." I started cursing and began fumbling with my trousers trying to get them back on when suddenly he burst out laughing.  "Only joking" he said "got you... and with your trousers down too!" 

Q: Did you get a chance to talk to him privately at all?  If so, what did you talk about? 
A:   A few brief encounters, like that one in Paradiso. 

Q: In hindsight, is there something you wished you had of said to him? 
A: I first met Rory, years ago, at a JJ Cale concert in Dublin. It was about 1976. After the concert we were all talking with JJ and getting things signed, etc., etc., when one of my friends noticed Rory. I immediately headed over to him and started talking. The first thing he asked was did I have any idea what way JJ had his guitar wired. I said I didn't and immediately began to quiz him about his set up, which he was more than happy to talk about. He told me, among other things, about an old Rangemaster treble booster, which I later found and used. He was with other people who wanted to go somewhere and they kept asking him to hurry up. Eventually he said he had to go to the toilet but I could wait a minute if I liked and we'd talk some more. I did wait but I didn't really expect him to come back, but he did and we carried on talking. I couldn't believe it because he seemed as interested in me, a complete stranger, as I was in him. That encounter I'll always remember. I never got to ask him, but I was curious if he remembered it himself. I mean he can't have been at too many JJ Cale concerts in Dublin, so that might have helped him remember the young lad tormenting him at the time. 

Q: Did you feel that the Rory's band members  were not very happy about the situation? 
A: I don't think the other band members were happy with the situation. I mean it can't be easy seeing that there is something seriously wrong with Rory, but you'll have to ask them that question to really find out what they felt about the situation. 

Q: Do you think people would be able to hear Rory's influence in your playing/music? Do you think it's obvious or is it more subtle/sub-conscious? 
A: Should be, yeah. Whether his influence in my music is obvious or subtle people can decide for themselves. I try to do my own thing, and as Rory himself said, nobody's going to thank you if you don't try to get your own thing going. Rory played roots music before the term was invented, was an independent musician before anyone knew what this meant, and as the man
said, played blues while Stevie was still learning how to walk. That's a lot of good things to be influenced by. 

Q: Have you ever recorded a Rory song? 
A: Not yet. 
  


Q: Would you, and if so, why? 
A: I would like to, there are plenty of good songs to choose from, but I'd like to give them some twist or something that would be unexpected and still do them justice. I have a couple of personal favourites that I experiment with from time to time and one of them is turning out interesting for me. Would Rory like it? Would his fans like it? I don't know, but I'm getting a great deal of pleasure from experimenting with it. 
  
© Barry Mc Cabe (BMC) 2000