On the 15th anniversary of the rock legend's death, Donal Gallagher recalls the fabulous highs and the devastating lows of his famous sibling

There's a story, apparently a true one, that after Jimi Hendrix came off stage at the legendary Woodstock festival, he was asked what it was like to be the greatest guitar player in the world. "I don't know," he answered. "Ask Rory Gallagher."

Next Thursday, RTE will air a new documentary about the guitarist with contributions from The Edge, Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman and other stars. The programme marks the 15th anniversary of Gallagher's death in 1995 at the wastefully early age of 47.

It's a little-known fact that Gallagher almost joined Wyman in the Rolling Stones after the band's guitarist Mick Taylor walked out following a series of blow-ups with Keith Richards.

Rory's brother Donal, who was also his manager, explains: "It was January 1975. We'd just finished a tour and we got home to Cork. We got a phone call late at night from a man with a funny accent. He gave his name as Ian Stewart (the Stones' pianist and road manager) and asked if Rory would like to join the band.

"Rory wouldn't take the call. He thought it was a prank. So Ian rang back a second time and asked if Rory would go to Rotterdam to record the album that became Black And Blue.

"So Rory went over and played some sessions, but he was scheduled to go on a Japanese tour and it wasn't easy to pull out. He stayed for a few days and he was asked to go to Keith's hotel room for a chat about joining the band.

"Unfortunately Keith was comatose and Rory spent the night trying to revive him. Morning came and there were none of the other Stones around, so Rory just went to the airport and flew out to Japan."

[www.independent.ie]


Featuring contributions from The Edge, Slash, Bob Geldof and Bill Wyman, the documentary Rory Gallagher -- Ghost Blues marks the 15th anniversary of the guitarist's death. The hour-long programme goes out next Thursday on RTE 1 at 10.15. Ian Thuillier directs.



I am a Frenchie ,as Mick affectionately called them in the Old Grey Whistle Test in 1977 .

"Unfortunately Keith was comatose and Rory spent the night trying to revive him. Morning came and there were none of the other Stones around, so Rory just went to the airport and flew out to Japan."

Great job, Stones, just great ...

Interesting story.

Am I correct in saying that Mick Jagger picked up Rory at the airport and they jammed Miss You in Rotterdam?

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Toru A
Interesting story.

Am I correct in saying that Mick Jagger picked up Rory at the airport and they jammed Miss You in Rotterdam?

I recall an article about Gallagher in Classic Rock Mag saying that Rory's brother received a late phone call from Ian Stewart asking whether his brother might want to visit Rotterdam or not .

Rory accepted the offer and played with the Stones for two or three nights and days ,then flew off to Japan .
I can't believe that Gallagher helped them on "Miss You"...



I am a Frenchie ,as Mick affectionately called them in the Old Grey Whistle Test in 1977 .

He wouldn't have been a good companion for Keith.
Heavy user of alcohol, which killed him in 1995 despite a liver transplantation.

I read an interview with Keith that said he and Jagger had flu when Gallagher rolled up at the B&B rehearsals and they were too ill to listen to him play, he couldn't wait around until they were better and he left.

There are quite a few of different stories of Rory and the Stones.

I think it's been Stewart who said that Rory came to Rotterdam at a time when Mick and Keith weren't talking at all . .

Still would like to hear some of those recordings altough I fear it's been only some endless 12-bar blues jams. Like they always tend to do when in a bad frame of mind . .

So what did ol' Wyman say of those days?

I googled Gerry McAvoy this morning.
This story is interesting, too.

Finally Rory got on a plane to Rotterdam with his Strat and a small, tweed Fender Champ amp. The Stones had only provided one airline ticket, so Donal couldn’t accompany his brother. According to what Rory later told Donal, he was met at the airport by none other than Mick Jagger, who put him in a cab and took him to a rehearsal space the Stones had occupied. There he was met by Marshall Chess Jr., head of the stones’ record label at the time who reportedly said to Rory, “Welcome to the Rolling Stones. I knew it would be you, you’re the guy for the job.”

According to Donal, “Rory did four nights with them. The first night Keith didn’t turn up. So Mick said to Rory, ‘Can you give me a riff? I’ve got this song Start Me Up’ and Rory said, ‘Well I’m working on a song’ so they worked it up. It’s a legend that that album, [the Stones' Tattoo You] has different guitar riffs from different people. I think Rory referred to ‘Miss You’ as the other song that they worked on. On the second night, Keith came down and they got going. Keith liked Rory’s style in the sense that Rory was into Hank Snow and the country players as well as the rock and blues guitarists. So they obviously listened to the same records.”

Parts of Donal’s tales seem far-fetched. The ‘Start Me Up’ riff is very much dependent on Keith Richards five-string, open-G guitar tuning, a configuration that Rory Gallagher is never known to have used. So one has to wonder where truth gives way to traditional Irish blarney in Donal’s account. Still, it is theoretically possible that Keef’s classic “Start Me Up” riff could have been derived from an earlier idea by Rory Gallagher. As to what happens next the account becomes even more muddled.

“There was no coherence in the camp” Donal recounts. “Rory kept saying to Mick, ‘Look what am I supposed to do with these Japanese dates? How long can you guys wait?’ Mick said, ‘Go and speak to Keith. ‘Mick and Keith weren’t talking to each other at the time, which was another difficulty. The last evening Rory went up to Keith in his bedroom, but Keith was comatose. Rory spent the entire night up, going back every half hour, the door to Keith’s suite being wide open. Rory had to be on the plane back to Heathrow at 10 o’clock in the morning. Everyone else had gone to bed.There was no one else around, so Rory just picked his guitar and amp up, I met him with a suitcase at Heathrow airport,and we flew to Tokyo.”

The whole story is here.against the grain

Thanks for the link,toru .

Look what am I supposed to do with these Japanese dates? How long can you guys wait
In another hand,I've read that Gallagher deluded himself by believing he could become the new Stones'guitarist .Has anyone already heard about this ?



I am a Frenchie ,as Mick affectionately called them in the Old Grey Whistle Test in 1977 .

Rory Gallagher was one of a number of considered guitarists who would have been a far better addition to the Stones than their current lead guitarist...Ry Cooder, Wayne Perkins, Harvey Mandell.


Also my personal choices: Stevie Ray Vaughn, Mark Knoppfler, and George Thorogood, all of whom, in my opinion, would have enhanced the Stones'later work once Mick Taylor left.

My top choices:

Mark Knoppfler
George Thorogood
Ry Cooder

Ry Cooder was being 'considered' as Taylor's replacement? Eh?

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Toru A
I googled Gerry McAvoy this morning.
This story is interesting, too.

Finally Rory got on a plane to Rotterdam with his Strat and a small, tweed Fender Champ amp. The Stones had only provided one airline ticket, so Donal couldn’t accompany his brother. According to what Rory later told Donal, he was met at the airport by none other than Mick Jagger, who put him in a cab and took him to a rehearsal space the Stones had occupied. There he was met by Marshall Chess Jr., head of the stones’ record label at the time who reportedly said to Rory, “Welcome to the Rolling Stones. I knew it would be you, you’re the guy for the job.”

According to Donal, “Rory did four nights with them. The first night Keith didn’t turn up. So Mick said to Rory, ‘Can you give me a riff? I’ve got this song Start Me Up’ and Rory said, ‘Well I’m working on a song’ so they worked it up. It’s a legend that that album, [the Stones' Tattoo You] has different guitar riffs from different people. I think Rory referred to ‘Miss You’ as the other song that they worked on. On the second night, Keith came down and they got going. Keith liked Rory’s style in the sense that Rory was into Hank Snow and the country players as well as the rock and blues guitarists. So they obviously listened to the same records.”

Parts of Donal’s tales seem far-fetched. The ‘Start Me Up’ riff is very much dependent on Keith Richards five-string, open-G guitar tuning, a configuration that Rory Gallagher is never known to have used. So one has to wonder where truth gives way to traditional Irish blarney in Donal’s account. Still, it is theoretically possible that Keef’s classic “Start Me Up” riff could have been derived from an earlier idea by Rory Gallagher. As to what happens next the account becomes even more muddled.

“There was no coherence in the camp” Donal recounts. “Rory kept saying to Mick, ‘Look what am I supposed to do with these Japanese dates? How long can you guys wait?’ Mick said, ‘Go and speak to Keith. ‘Mick and Keith weren’t talking to each other at the time, which was another difficulty. The last evening Rory went up to Keith in his bedroom, but Keith was comatose. Rory spent the entire night up, going back every half hour, the door to Keith’s suite being wide open. Rory had to be on the plane back to Heathrow at 10 o’clock in the morning. Everyone else had gone to bed.There was no one else around, so Rory just picked his guitar and amp up, I met him with a suitcase at Heathrow airport,and we flew to Tokyo.”

The whole story is here.against the grain

This whole story is fascinating, but I'm wondering if Donal has some of his facts mixed up. The try-outs for MT's replacement were during the Black and Blue sessions, not the Some Girls sessions (which of course is where Start Me Up started up).

It wouldn't surprise me a bit if Gallagher jammed with the Stones when they were trying out guitarists then; they also had Jeff Beck & Steve Marriott come in, plus Harvey Mandel and the other guitarists who played on Black And Blue.

I love Rory Gallagher's music, but I have a hard time imagining how he would've sounded with the Stones. I'm glad he stayed as a solo artist, because he was a great singer as well as an incredible guitarist. RIP Rory, you were one of the best.

Mark Knofler would never ever have fit into Stones - his style and personality is way too different

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mtaylor
Mark Knofler would never ever have fit into Stones - his style and personality is way too different

I thought the same thing. And SRV would've only been 10 years old when they were looking for a replacement for Mick T.(edit- oops, he would've been 20 - my bad, so nevermind)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010-06-08 22:46 by Keefan.

Obviously Im a huge Rory fan- Live in Europe is one of the best live LPs ever-but I dont think he was the right type of ensemble player for The Stones. Keiths first choice, the late great Steve Marriott, would have been very interesting but I suspect that was intended as a poke in the eye to Jagger, since Steve could sing circles around him. No way Jagger would ever let the Mighty Midget in his band.......Marriott apparently kept a copy of the audition tapes from Rotterdam and played them in his hotel room at ultra high volume for a couple of the guys from the then up and coming Cheap Trick....

Buddy Guy would have been a fantastic guitarplayer - but the style too different, he would have outplayed Keith, Keith would have become upset with Buddy's solo and then he is a frontman / showman himself like Clapton and that would have suited Mick.

I guess Ronnie was OK for Stones while Keith was able to cover up for both of them, but with Keith's age and decline of playing it is not good enough anymore.

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Keefan
This whole story is fascinating, but I'm wondering if Donal has some of his facts mixed up. The try-outs for MT's replacement were during the Black and Blue sessions, not the Some Girls sessions (which of course is where Start Me Up started up).

No, its quite plausible that he's correct - "Start Me Up" was first tried out in early 1975. There's a version of 'Never Stop' (the reggae version) on bootlegs which comes from the Munich sessions (March-April '75) so its quite possible it was also attempted during the Rotterdam sessions in January-February.

The oft-repeated and attention-grabbing 'he almost joined the Rolling Stones' hype doesn't quite hold up to much scrutiny, though, when you actually read the stories behind them.

For a long time the story of Rory Gallagher almost being a member of The Rolling Stones did the rounds. At the end of 1974, Mick Taylor left the band and Keith and Mick had to look for a replacement. "In January 1975, I got a phone call from The Stones management wondering if Rory might be interested, because Mick saw a lot in Rory. That was the case and of course it also made my mouth water. The auditions took place in The Hague, in The Netherlands. Rory went there on his own, and to this day I regret that. He was put up in a hotel, jammed a bit with the band, but no decision was forthcoming. Even then The Rolling Stones were an unassailable mega act and could have everything they wanted and keep everybody waiting. Rory on the other hand had a tour of Japan in his agenda and those dates kept getting closer. The Stones’ management knew that, but probably thought that Rory would cancel it. However they didn't count on Rory’s stubbornness, as well as his loyalty to his fans. He kept waiting to the end, but finally packed his bags and left a note at the reception: "If you still want me then I will hear from you" and he left for Japan. If I had been there I would have tied him to his chair if I had to. I wonder sometimes: what would have become of him if he had become a member. Would he be alive still? There was never any word from The Stones. They were probably offended to death by his perceived impertinence."

[www.roryon.com]



I am a Frenchie ,as Mick affectionately called them in the Old Grey Whistle Test in 1977 .

"I wonder sometimes: what would have become of him if he had become a member. Would he be alive still?"
In Keith's company, Rory's detoriation would probably have been even faster - maybe it would be relevant to ask: Would Keith have been alive with Rory as a drinking friend?