Programme Information

Marcus Connaughton chats to
Dino McGartland

Click on a date to listen to the show.

Programme 1: Sunday July 24th.
The Northern Connection.
Presented by Dino McGartland from Omagh, editor of the "Stagestruck" fanzine and major fan and Gallagher authority. Dino traces the Ballyshannon and Derry years and the familys' time in the Northwest. Rory moved to Belfast and played the famous  Maritime Club in early years when Taste were on the scene.Dino goes on the trail with Gerry McAvoy ;Brendan O'Neill; John Wilson; Lou Martin  and Charlie McCracken all former Gallagher sidemen plus Eric Bell of Thin Lizzy . Rory played  Belfast to acclaim at the height of the bombings and civil unrest in the seventies and won the hearts and minds of his Irish fans.

Programme 2: Sunday 31st July.
Going to My Home Town.
Presented by Marcus Connaughton profiling Gallaghers home city in the early fifties portraying the social and music scene of the time with considerable use of Archive and exclusive early recordings of Rory and some of his musical contemporaries. Interviews with family and relatives discussing his early musical exploits , the purchase of the legendary Fender Stratocaster in Crowleys in 1963 ; Banjo/Mandolinand Guitar Magazine. In the seventies and eighties we awaited his seasonal Christmas tours with great anticipation.

Programme 3: Sunday 7th August
Earl Hooker - Tampa Red.
Where and how did a teenager in the Ireland of the fifties discover the Blues, no pop radio; no music press; no TV.the journey to Radio Luxembourg; Armed Forces Network; Humphrey Lyttleton and Alexis Korner . Under the bedclothes with a torch and a bulky Bush transistor.

Programme 4: Sunday 14th August
Taste Years - Cork - Belfast - and beyond.
The early sixties in Ireland saw music develop from Showbands
to Beat Groups to Rock and Roll - interviews with Ken Stewart;
Larry Gogan; founder members of Taste -Eric Kitteringham and
Norman Damery; Johnny Campbell - longtime friend through the
Axills and  Impact,  Impresario Pate Egan and his weekly Spotlight column. Presented by Marcus Connaughton.

Programme 5: Sunday 21st August
The Glory Years - Muddy Waters et al.
Following the break up of Taste Rory pursues a solo career with various sidemen a constant in his band lineups. Gallagher records with his hero- Muddy Waters alongside Georgie Fame and Stevie Winwood who recall the recording. He features in the Top Five Guitarists in the World in the company of Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page and regularly dominates the front page of Melody Maker; Sounds and Record Mirror.

Programme 6: Sunday 28th August
The Legacy - the Tributes and the Bootlegs.
In the final programme in the series we move from Gallagher's
literary hero Dashiell Hammet and  his interest in B Movies through to the considerable range of bootleg recordings that exist. Since his passing tribute bands such as Brute Force and Ignorance; The Loop; Aftertaste; Stagestruck; The Mississippi Sheiks and Sinnerboy  have entertaintained fans throughout the world.