Gerry McAvoy

Gerry McAvoy was Rory's bass player from 1971 to 1991, the only constant factor on all 14 of Rory's solo albums which sold over 30 million copies worldwide.

No-one knew Rory better or was closer to him (except Donal, throughout this period of his life.

Gerry is highly regarded as a musician's musician and, as Rory's right-hand man for over 20 years, his career has given him the opportunity to meet and play with a veritable 'who's who' of Rock and Blues performers from Muddy Waters, John Mayall and Van Morrison to Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, the Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac, Deep Purple, Rod Stewart, ZZ Top, Queen, Rush, Eric Clapton, Sting and U2.

Gerry was also responsible for creating the 'Band of Friends' - an informal reunion of ex-Rory Gallagher band members who get together several times a year to play tribute concerts and festivals all over Europe, following Rory's tragic death in 1995 at the age of 47.

'Riding Shotgun' is the story of Gerry McAvoy's life before, with and since Rory Gallagher.

But it's also a story about a group of young musicians growing up amid the madness that was Belfast during the 'Troubles'. And how, out of that cauldron of violence and hatred, emerged a group of performers who were to take the world by storm and launch an Irish assault on popular music that continues to this day.

The story of how, amid the hype and insincerity of the music business, a softly spoken and intensely shy Corkman could become a legend: a folk hero to whom all modern Irish musicians acknowledge a debt of gratitude.

Based on over 100 hours of personal recollections and interviews with many of Rory's friends and colleagues in the UK and Ireland, and illustrated throughout with dozens of unique and previously unseen photographs from Gerry's personal collection, Riding Shotgun is a sometimes shocking and often hilarious account of what it was really like to be a musician in one of the 1970s' biggest rock bands. It's also quite possibly the nearest we will ever get to unravelling the complex character that was and remains Rory Gallagher.

Gerry's book unfortunately not available anymore...

And often at some crazy price of several hundred of Euros!

Third drummer (from 1982 to 1991) of the Rory Gallagher's Band period, Brendan O'Neil also wrote a book about his touring experience with Rory: ''Meet Mister Stick''.

February 1981, Ted Mc Kenna, drummer of Rory Gallagher's band since 1978, decides to leave the band. He wants to... ''taste something new'' and Rory accepts the news with the FairPlay that we know he is capable of.

Brendan, a long-time friend of Gerry McAvoy learns the news and decides to try his luck again! In fact, he had already done so when Ted was chosen but his jazzy style did not fit in with the style of Hard Rock music that Rory had decided to follow.

This time, after 3 nervous rehearsals he was chosen by Rory and presented to Gerry by these words: ''Meet Mister Sticks''

'Meet Mr Sticks' is an authentic memoir of Brendan O'Neill's journey from the Ardoyne area of North Belfast to keeping the beat behind one of the world's greatest rock guitarists, Rory Gallagher, at the biggest arenas around the world.

It captures the personal struggle between Brendan's measured but increasingly palpable ambition and his innate commitment to providing for his young family. It charts the hard road towards eventual success marked by waves of struggle, failure and disappointment tempered by humour, humility and a commendable frankness. Brendan was born in 1951 into a poor working class Catholic family in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Aged just 14, he formed his own band with his schoolmates, including long time collaborator, Rory's bassist, Gerry McAvoy. He risked life and limb during the notorious 'Troubles', ultimately moved to London. A few years on with an unhappy wife, two kids and about to give up and go home, he got the call to audition for Rory Gallagher. The rest is rock history.

TESTIMONIALS

"Even though I first became aware of Brendan when he joined Rory's band, it came as no surprise to find out that he's a jazzer at heart. His playing shares too much in common with Charlie Watts for him to be otherwise. Subtle, always interesting and a powerhouse when needed. I look forward to learning more about the man in Meet Mr Sticks.”

Jake Burns - Stiff Little Fingers

''Vivid writing, entertaining…would make an excellent TV drama.”

Trevor Hodgett - RnR - The Afterword

Rod de'Ath

A testimonial from Rod ;-)

"I remember a tour in the States once that went down very well, good receptions everywhere and I usually threw my split drumsticks into the crowd. And on this particular night, this happened, say 5 or 6 times. After 3 or 4 encores, we got into the dressing room and Rory was the only one who didn't seem to be content and was brooding. We tried to cheer him up and told him to listen to the crowd and how very good the concert had been. Then after 5 or 10 minutes he came towards me and asked me whether I was angry or if he had done something wrong. I denied that. He then asked me why I was throwing those sticks at him. They had apparently just missed him by one inch or so. I explained that they had broken and that I was trying to please some fan with it. Then he was relieved and we all laughed loud and long . Rory was a sensitive man."

Rod de'Ath - 1996

Lou Martin

Lou Martin,Rory Gallagher Band's Piano & Keyboards from 1973 to 1977 - August 12th, 1949/August 17th,t 2012 (age 63 years)