‘Nobody can play like Rory’
Imagine being 19 years old and getting a phone call from Rory Gallagher wondering if you’d like to have a bit of a jam.
In 1971, fledgling bassist Gerry McAvoy received such a call, marking the beginning of a 20 year long partnership with one of the greatest guitar gods to ever walk the earth.
McAvoy, a native of Belfast, played, recorded, and toured with Gallagher up until 1991, performing on every solo album the legendary guitarist released throughout his career.
On 16 September, Gerry and his Band of Friends will return to Cork, the city Rory loved so dearly, to perform at the Cork Opera House. It will be his first time taking to the iconic stage since he played there with Rory in 1987 for a special show recorded for TV.
Now living in France, McAvoy says he’s excited to be coming back to Cork, a place he holds many a fond memory shared with his old friend.
“In the past, I've always loved coming to Cork, I fell in love with the city,” says McAvoy.
“I would go back there on vacation with Rory sometimes when we weren't working, we'd go down to Crosshaven or we'd go down to Skibbereen. I love West Cork, I go there a lot, to a little place called Baltimore, I have some friends there, so we more or less go there every summer.
“As far as playing in Cork, we played there last year in a smaller venue, which was great. I went out for a walk around the city and a lot of my old haunts were gone, places where I used to have a pint with Rory.”
After his time playing with Gallagher, McAvoy spent the next two decades or so with British rock band Nine Below Zero before forming his current group Band of Friends in 2012.
“I look back with fondness on what I've done in the past, especially playing with Rory over those 20 years, it was great to play with somebody like him. I mean, nobody can play like Rory, it's as simple as that,” says McAvoy.
“At the same time, I always look forward to experimenting and doing different things.
“With The Band of Friends at the moment, that's the set up, but for the future, I've got ideas of just playing with different people because obviously in my twilight years I'd like to play with as many people as I possibly can because that's half the fun, playing with different musicians.
“Still in my heart I'm a slave to the blues; I mean, that's what got me started, listening to people like Muddy Waters and Sonny Boy Williamson and so on.
“It's still a valid art form. If you look around, I mean, some of the massive stage acts, they're all in their 70s. You're talking about The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen – these guys are filling out 35-40,000 seater stadiums, they're still doing it. So, I think there's still room out there for our kind of music."
In 2005, McAvoy’s biography ‘Riding Shotgun: 35 Years on the Road with Rory Gallagher and Nine Below Zero’ was published. Asked what he learned during his time with Gallagher that stood to him most throughout his career, McAvoy says: “I learned from Rory how to react on stage and how to play on stage, I mean, I was 19 when I joined Rory, I was still a kid.
“You're travelling the world and meeting different bands with certain egos - the main thing I learned from Rory was humility which Rory had a lot of, and I learned not to overstep my mark. I was very lucky.”
Support next Saturday night comes from The Pat McManus Band (PMB), headed up by former Mama’s Boys and Celtus guitarist, violinist, and singer songwriter Pat McManus. The PMB line-up is completed by former More Power To Your Elbow drummer Paul Faloon and rhythmic and solid pop rock bass player and studio engineer Plunkett McComb. Irish guitar legend Pat McManus grew up in a family steeped in Irish traditional music. He formed the Mama’s Boys with his two brothers John and Tommy who went on to perform at Reading Festival as an unsigned band and worked with Thin Lizzy, Bon Jovi, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Rush, Sting, Gary Moore, and Scorpions.