RORY GALLAGHER - MARQUEE, JULY 26th & 27th 1983

In 1983 the legendary Wardour Street live venue The Marquee was celebrating its' 25th Anniversary at that site. From 1968 it had seen the good and the great tread the boards on their way up the slippery ladder of rock'n' roll fame. Although not a long term Marquee veteran compared to some, I'd seen my fair share of fantastic gigs there.

With the rise of the NWOBHM I remember countless very loud and very errr 'atmospheric' nights when the alleged 400 or so capacity was certainly not adhered to, for the likes of Angel Witch (christ knows how many times!!), Sledgehammer, Samson, Diamond Head, Vardis, Limelight, Girl (again, how many times??), and many more lost in the mists of time and newcastle brown.... 

Larger bands deciding to get back to their roots included UFO, Gillan, Motorhead etc while US rockers would start here to gain a foothold and reputation in the UK, building a loud and loyal following on the way. I Remember Y & T playing to nigh on 1,000 squeezed in on two fantastic nights in the june of 1982, and the ever wonderful Twisted Sister slamming through 7 shows from that august through to the following march. Anvil too were top stuff, at a time when bands would do a warm-up before their Reading Festival appearance. 

Magnum seemed to play every week, ever ready replacements for last minute cancellations. IQ got their grounding there, opening then constantly headlining, including if I remember their own Live Aid on the same night as Wembley and JFK. I even got to tread the boards myself with Elected in the march of 86 I think... Marillion too, with the added 'bonus' of a usually very drunk Derek Dick (aka Fish) holding court like some lumbering squire into the night with Nigel, whichever DJ was manning the decks and sometimes Jack Barry completing the cast or reprobates. Good times. 

The ritual of Shades Records, then the Ship via the stage door of the club to see Lol Dyer saw me through a lot of 80's gigs.....  Later on we even got Robert Plant doing a special show, sadly restricted to 100 or so actual fans while the record company liggers stayed in the back bar trying to look cool and important. 

But I digress. Always loved Rory. Not only a great player, full of fire and invention, but also a lovely humble guy. I'd seen him before a few times by then, Reading, The Rainbow, Hammersmith.... you know the places, probably know the gigs. But this was different. His star may have been beginning to wane commercially, but live he was still a genius to me. 

Outside was chaos, the £5 tickets a hot item for both shows. Once inside, the sweating black walls and sticky floor seemed the perfect setting. And Rory did not disappoint. With long term sidekick Gerry McAvoy on bass and Brendan O'Neill on drums he powered through a fabulous set featuring both old and new material.

From the opener Bad Penny through to Philby we got great rockers like Follow Me, Brute Force & Ignorance and Shinkicker before a brief but wonderful acoustic rest bite of Leadbelly's Out On The Western Plain and a poignant Ride On Red, Ride On. Tattoo'ed Lady nodded at his earlier career before heading for home with Wayward Child and The Devil Made Me Do It.

Some of my recollections are a bit vague, but I do remember a cover of My Baby She Left Me which morphed into a brilliant version of Knock On Wood during encore time. I do recall there being a change of set for the second night - yes I went to both - but I do have to say they were both fantastic shows. Rory, as usual, gave everything, wringing every note possible (and some impossible) from that battered sweat stained Strat. 

Sometimes you don't realise how lucky you are to have seen something, to have been part of something like this, until suddenly they're not around any more. Rory Gallagher was a gentleman and a legend, one of the finest guitarists I've ever seen. 

You can keep your Steve Vai's and your Yngwie Malmsteens, Rory was the real deal. Actually this reminds me of July 85, Yngwie was playing the Marquee. We queued, and at the front a couple of large American gentlemen were vey excited and very loud in their Bruce Springsteen silky Tour Jackets. They got in first, got to the front and chanted 'bruce, bruce, bruce' constantly. 

Only when Yngwie unleashed his Swedish widdlefest did they realise this was NOT a secret Bruce gig in between his Wembley Born In The USA shows..... heh heh. If Yngwie had any sense of humour he would have murdered Born To Run.....