Dónal Gallagher Discusses His Legendary Brother!
(Press Release | Posted 2004-06-20)
Irish blues-rock legend, Rory Gallagher, could ignite an entire nation with his heartfelt songs, trademark blues riffs and workhorse ethic. So much so, that his native land issued a postage stamp with his face on it! We caught up with Rory’s younger brother, Dónal, to discuss Rory’s legend and the new Fender® Custom Shop, Rory Gallagher Stratocaster® guitar.
First off, are you a guitarist and if so – did you ever play Rory’s famed Sunburst Stratocaster guitar?
I can play a few chords, but I’m the drummer in the family. I’ve worked and strummed on it, but I never felt like plugging it in and cranking it up. I will tell you that it’s like velvet and has sleekness to it. I’ve attempted to learn guitar chords on acoustic guitars and Rory would always allow me to use all the guitars that he had. But, he’d never let me play the Strat®. Every time I pick it up now, it seems so beautiful and easy to play. It has this compactness to it. It’s hard to describe. It has a feeling all of its own.
Are you going to display it at one of the upcoming Rory Gallagher tribute festivals?
I might. It’s a very difficult thing to do. The value and the liability of it makes it difficult. I remember the day I received it back from the Fender Custom Shop. They were using it to recreate Rory’s Stratocaster for their Tribute Series. I gave them permission to use it so they could take it apart and get the exact specifications. I drove down to Los Angeles to pick it up from Mike Eldred (Custom Shop Marketing Manager) and stopped at the car park with Rory’s guitar and my luggage in the boot (trunk). I ran into a store for a moment to grab a few gifts for my family. I ran up the escalator, bought my gifts and ran back to the car. When I returned, the car was gone! That taught me a terrible lesson! I finally got one of the car park attendants to look at my ticket. He realized that I got off on the wrong level and redirected me to my car. You can believe the sheer horror of that guitar gone missing!
In Fender Frontline it reads how I delivered the guitar to California in a gig bag. I did that so I could carry it on. That way, I didn’t have to check it with all the rest of the luggage on the plane. It’s one of those things where I’m very conscious where we take the guitar. But, the fans like to see it and that’s great! It’s done its work. I don’t want to make into a “classic car.” It’s lovely to see the instrument used. But, in whose hands do you put it at this point? Perhaps for some sort of tribute album where someone contributing to the album uses it...
It might me nice if we could get the two guitars side by side for the fans to see. The Custom Shop has done such a phenomenal job with their guitars. It’s very hard to tell them apart. It’s like one of those “spot the difference” competitions you get in magazines (laughs)!
Is there any truth to the legend that his Strat was the first one in Ireland?
It certainly was the first one to be ordered on the order books. Someone might of bought one in the U.K. and brought it to Ireland. Originally, it was ordered for a band called The Royal Show Band, who at the time was the biggest band in Ireland. When the guitar arrived, it was the wrong color. The guy wanted a Hank Marvin (Fiesta Red) one, not the Buddy Holly one (3-Color Sunburst). So, he played that for three months before trading it in to Crawley’s music store. But, as far as we know – it was the first one that was a direct order from Fender to Ireland.
Was it apparent early on that Rory was going to be something special, or did that develop over time? Was he always the “best on the block?”
Very much so! He certainly was to me. Not that many kids were finding music at that time. He was so obsessed about it. Be it, getting to the radio to get a particular station or anything to do with a musical instrument. He had opinions on music when he was 4-years-old. He would already be able to identify whether a musician was any good or not. He could instinctively tell who was a legitimate musician or not. In Europe at that time, there were a lot of Elvis replicas. No one was original then, they sort of copied whatever the Americans were doing to a degree. He was able to separate the weak from the chafe and say that that guy is better than that guy.
When did he first start playing guitar?
The earliest memories of mine were when he used to try to make a guitar from a school ruler and elastic bands. It ended up looking more like a banjo. At first, my parents couldn’t tell what he wanted. Eventually, it sort of clicked that it was a guitar. My father had a friend who had a guitar. When he brought his guitar to the house, Rory’s eyes were like saucers! Then my folks bought him a guitar that looked more like a ukulele. I think it was the Elvis Presley model. He wanted the Lonnie Donegan model. He worked out chord structures and began pleading for a proper acoustic. We moved on to Cork where he got an acoustic guitar when he was about eight. He started doing church and school socials. That’s when we started playing together, with me on drums. They asked us to do a longer set and he hauled me off stage to harmonize Everly Brothers numbers – until one night I started arguing with him onstage and I got fired (laughs)!
Tell me some more memories of growing up with Rory.
The biggest thing is back to the Strat. To me, it’s like my younger brother in a way. Like a third sibling, because Rory was so devoted to the guitar. I remember the day he said he wanted a guitar like Buddy Holly’s and that it was down in Crawley’s window. Rory finagled me to take the day off school the next day to go look at it. At the time, Rory was playing a guitar worth about $20. Michael, who owned the store, had a purchase agreement with Rory. It was to take Rory 36 months to pay it off.
Early on, Rory tutored me to nod in agreement to anything he said. Rory said, “I think I’ll take it. Tell me what the terms are to extend them.” He negotiated an extension of the terms based on my Mom’s approval. Rory stared at me and said, “She (Mom) does approve of this, doesn’t she?” So, I had to nod in agreement (laughs)! For about two weeks, the guitar stayed under my bed in the bedroom, because Rory felt that if she came up to the bedroom – she’d never look under my bed. She might check under his bed. But, mine – certainly not! Eventually, one night, she came in and heard Rory practicing. The whole story came out that night (laughs)!
How did he get her to let him keep it?
He convinced her that, on a Strat, he could be a proper lead guitarist AND still be able to play rhythm guitar. He told her that his band would fire the other guitarist and he’d get paid double to pay it off in time (laughs)!
While it’s well known that Rory was a big Buddy Holly and Hank Marvin fan, when did he start listening to the blues?
I think at first he used to listen to Lonnie Donegan, who was the banjo player for Chris Barber. Chris Barber was a sadly forgotten trombonist who ran a brilliant jazz band. He used to have #1’s at the time, which were all sort of blues-based. He was responsible for founding London’s Marquee Club and 100 Club and the National Jazz & Blues Festival. He was aware of the blues and would start financing Muddy Waters and a lot of the blues stars into Europe. That was one way that Rory was introduced to the blues.
Another was… we lived in Northern Ireland at the time, which also had an American naval base. They had their own local U.S. Forces network radio station for the American servicemen. T It would play the blues and the BBC would play one hour of Chris Barber every week.
Rory picked up the love for the blues more through jazz than anything else. He listened to a radio station called “The Voice of America.” They would have a jazz hour every evening. He would religiously tune in to that during the early ‘50s. He was probably about six years old.
Why do you suppose Rory stuck to the same guitar for so long?
It did everything he wanted it to do. He had a lot of Telecasters that he used for slide and quite a huge collection of rare guitars, which I intend on putting on display next year. But, I think it goes back to the old statement that he told my mother that he could play both rhythm and lead on it (laughs)! He could cover all bases with it. His Strat is like evolution… The top of its species. You can’t improve upon it. It’s an incredible piece of engineering.
How do you remember the recovery of his Stratocaster after it had been stolen in the mid-‘60s?
Oh, that was a week of mourning! I remember the incident happening in Dublin. Just the sheer horror of it! What made it doubly bad is that a friend of Rory’s in York lent Rory his Telecaster® for an upcoming gig in Dublin. To play in Dublin was the next big step for Rory at the time, so he borrowed this Tele so he could play slide. Sadly, they stole the Tele® as well. That whole week felt like someone we knew had been kidnapped. It was that profound! Rory was so depressed. And, as family, you’d take on the depression as well.
In Ireland at the time, there was a television show called “Gardia Patrol.” They featured Rory’s stolen guitar. And, since there was only one television channel in Ireland – everyone watched and the item became hot property. The next thing that happened was the cops found that it had been abandoned. We were very grateful. But, at the same time, when they aired the recovery on “Gardia Patrol,” the cop said, “The thief was probably doing the neighbors a favor!” The corny comment made Rory cringe. I remember screaming at the television, “If you only knew how good this guitar player is…!” But, Gardia Patrol was instrumental in getting it back to him.
Tell me a little bit about what new music of Rory’s is available.
We’re currently enjoying a #1 DVD in Germany consisting of Rory’s performances on “Rockpalast” and are working on releasing it in the United States. It’s probably the best programming for bands in Europe. They had everything from the Grateful Dead, The Who, ZZ Top and Little Feat. We put together a very good DVD that includes 222 minutes of his performances on the program. Also, we released an acoustic album in March 2003.
It was Rory’s wish to do an acoustic folk album. He never saw its release, so we decided to put that one out. It’s a very successful album called “Wheels Within Wheels.” We’re currently working on a Rory documentary and have had some great contributions from Johnny Marr, Slash, Peter Green, Gary Moore and quite a few players who approached us. It’s a very concise history of Rory’s life. We’re preparing it for later this year or next year.
Next year, Rory’s hometown of Cork has the distinction of being the European capital of culture. So, there’s quite a lot of money going into the city to showcase its culture – the arts in particular. I’m looking to put on an exhibition of Rory’s materials and guitars, as well as memorabilia from 50 years of rock and roll – including the celebration of the Strat’s 50th anniversary and the poorly forgotten Telecaster’s birthday (laughs)! I’m also working on a Rory anthology for that.
What do you consider Rory’s best studio album?
I tend to gravitate to “Defender” and “Fresh Evidence.” I know the amount of work and passion he put into his latter albums and I felt that he had fully matured as a musician.
What years do you think were the most exciting for Rory?
It all depends on when you first hear Rory. We all have our own favorite time periods. I would say Rory was hitting a peak during the Irish Tour DVD period. You can see from Tony Palmer’s film in ’74. It certainly captured Rory’s essence. Equally, the band he had in 1993-94 was great. They were young and exciting as well!
For more information regarding Rory Gallagher, click here.
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