Books of Rory Gallagher

[Jay Jay]

Does anyone know the current view the Gallagher family have ?

Now I'm shocked I bought the book some months ago, I enjoyed reading it because I didn't know anything about Rory and it seemed very interesting, and now reading these strong lines from Donal, I feel disappointed. How can I know now what it's true and what it's not true on the book.

Donal has spoken to me at length just 4 days ago. His feelings about Gerry have not changed one bit since his anger about the RS book ..
Rather than Gerry apologizing for his mistakes in the book and the going on about his wages from Rory..
Gerry is still after more money now 16 years on.
Donal telling me also Gerry got paid even many weeks when Rory was not doing any gigs because of his poor health. They were never obliged to pay Gerry anything at all really as he never had a contract but..

It seems to me.. Rory and Donal just paid Gerry and Brendan out of the goodness and kindness of their hearts, for long periods of time.

[asdesas]

Folkdeejay thanks for your post, it really gets me thinkin'.

There are so many things that could have been different if Rory had had different management--but then again maybe not. Donal was Rory's manager and brother, not his owner. Rory was the last of the independents, he did it his way. It's no one's "fault" but Rory's that he didn't have huge success in the USA or hits on the radio--he didn't want them. Who knows if we would even be here sharing our passion for Rory years after his death if he had achieved conventional success. Rory's success, to me anyway, is a true victory--a shame it comes after his passing, but maybe Rory's success will be more lasting, deeper and more significant than if he'd been a Top 40 star.

My hat's always been off to Donal, and now Daniel too. For Donal, it could not have been easy being Rory's manager as well as his brother. You're so right, Folkdeejay--brother/manager is WAY close, and it must have been tense at times to say the least. But I don't think any manager could have done better with Rory. Bottom line is , Rory would have said ---- the contract and gone off and done it his way if another manager had tried to steer him towards a kind of success Rory disapproved of. Of course Donal and family are exploiting Rory's legacy--if they don't who will? An international consortium of fans, meeting yearly in Geneva? I hope Donal and family make tons of money, as far as I'm concerned they deserve it for working to keep Rory in front of a growing public. Daniel's handling of NFSF is exemplary IMO, a really great job putting that package together. The one thing I haven't liked over the years is some of the remixes for CD releases. My ears are "tuned" to the old records, that's my gold standard for Rory's sound. But hard decisions have to be made and someone has to make them. I was talking about this a couple weeks ago with a friend who is a Hendrix scholar. Better to keep the legacy in the hands of Rory's family than risk an Alan Douglas situation like the Hendrix catalog faced. Also, to me at least, Donal has always been part of the "Rory package" so to speak, part of the legend.

I may have digressed due to excess Guinness.

Anyway, it's all moot, I don't think Rory would have had another manager.

Also, I've never heard a folk deejay spin a mix, and I'm wondering what your top picks would be!

Regards,
Richard

[mike6262]

This is a great topic. I think every musicians life is filled with "what ifs". Rory's career certainly would have been different with a differnt manager, but no way to know if it would have been better or worse. I think Donal has handled Rory's legacy fantastically, in fact I was going to start a new topic, about what a great job I think he has done. Many many artists passed on gigs that in hindsight turned out to be historical, there are endless tales of the artists who passed on Woodstock, Monterey Pop, etc.
I don't know how many albums Rory has sold to date, but it is in the multi-millions, and Donal deserves a lot of credit for that. I am sure a guy like Peter Grant could have had a lot of success with an artist like Rory, but I am sure we would have a much different Rory Gallagher also.
I have been a musician for 30+ years, I have never had a proper manager, but the last person I would have as a manger is a family member, but it worked for Rory....at least I think it did.
Of course these cd re-issues are in part a money grab, but who cares, I don't have to buy them. But they are also in part a way to generate new fans by putting product in the stores, and I like having the option of buying the product or not. I think Donal has given us some great product, the DVD releases alone are reason enough to tip my hat to him and his staff.

[asdesas]

But they are also in part a way to generate new fans by putting product in the stores, and I like having the option of buying the product or not. I think Donal has given us some great product, the DVD releases alone are reason enough to tip my hat to him and his staff.

Right on, Mike. You can't expect new fans to sprout out of nowhere and line up outside the vinyl collectors' stores, especially considering they don't know what a record player is. I'd rather that new generations hear mixes that grate on my ears than to just sit in front of Youtube and wonder. Here's hoping for more DVDs etc.

Regards,
Richard

[folkdeejay]

But they are also in part a way to generate new fans by putting product in the stores, and I like having the option of buying the product or not. I think Donal has given us some great product, the DVD releases alone are reason enough to tip my hat to him and his staff.

Right on, Mike. You can't expect new fans to sprout out of nowhere and line up outside the vinyl collectors' stores, especially considering they don't know what a record player is. I'd rather that new generations hear mixes that grate on my ears than to just sit in front of Youtube and wonder. Here's hoping for more DVDs etc.

Regards,
Richard

Richard - these are pretty much my feelings too. New rory fans ( and ideally new material for us oldies) are always a good thing.

Like you I think the repeated listening to LP has burned those mixes into my brain - the JINX remix in particular isn't good, imo.

In fact , I would like to see the original LP mixes available asap - in CD form - ideally alongside the re-issued versions in a NFSF style format - although that would perhaps be costly.

However, a title by title re-issue of a "legacy" edition for all the solo studio stuff ( ie both mixes, plus relevant outakes, images, text etc) would then be the definitive items for Donal to work on before retirement - and maybe as the start of a wider, non-Rory career for Daniel.

[Moonchild_87]

Does anyone know the current view the Gallagher family have ?

Now I'm shocked I bought the book some months ago, I enjoyed reading it because I didn't know anything about Rory and it seemed very interesting, and now reading these strong lines from Donal, I feel disappointed. How can I know now what it's true and what it's not true on the book.

Donal has spoken to me at length just 4 days ago. His feelings about Gerry have not changed one bit since his anger about the RS book ..
Rather than Gerry apologizing for his mistakes in the book and the going on about his wages from Rory..
Gerry is still after more money now 16 years on.
Donal telling me also Gerry got paid even many weeks when Rory was not doing any gigs because of his poor health. They were never obliged to pay Gerry anything at all really as he never had a contract but..

It seems to me.. Rory and Donal just paid Gerry and Brendan out of the goodness and kindness of their hearts, for long periods of time.

Thanks for making it clear to me, Jay Jay. You're very kind for sharing Donal's thoughts with us.
It's really sad that things are like this.

[Jay Jay]

Donal has spoken to me at length just 4 days ago. His feelings about Gerry have not changed one bit since his anger about the RS book ..
Rather than Gerry apologizing for his mistakes in the book and the going on about his wages from Rory..
Gerry is still after more money now 16 years on.
Donal telling me also Gerry got paid even many weeks when Rory was not doing any gigs because of his poor health. They were never obliged to pay Gerry anything at all really as he never had a contract but..

It seems to me.. Rory and Donal just paid Gerry and Brendan out of the goodness and kindness of their hearts, for long periods of time.


Thanks for making it clear to me, Jay Jay. You're very kind for sharing Donal's thoughts with us.
It's really sad that things are like this.

No problem for us Moonchild_87 but for Donal & Gerry it is a different matter, as you say sadly.
Here is a picture of when Donal was telling me the above.



PS. If you've seen the UTV programme "Requiem for Rory".. The similar generosity as above to Gerry was shown again there ..
A guy from the Irish band "Moving Hearts" says that Donal & Rory (whom must have organized the event) after the festival or something was cancelled a day or so early, when it should have gone on for longer. They still paid the bands money for gigs they never performed also

[Moonchild_87]

Donal has spoken to me at length just 4 days ago. His feelings about Gerry have not changed one bit since his anger about the RS book ..
Rather than Gerry apologizing for his mistakes in the book and the going on about his wages from Rory..
Gerry is still after more money now 16 years on.
Donal telling me also Gerry got paid even many weeks when Rory was not doing any gigs because of his poor health. They were never obliged to pay Gerry anything at all really as he never had a contract but..

It seems to me.. Rory and Donal just paid Gerry and Brendan out of the goodness and kindness of their hearts, for long periods of time.


Thanks for making it clear to me, Jay Jay. You're very kind for sharing Donal's thoughts with us.
It's really sad that things are like this.

No problem for us Moonchild_87 but for Donal & Gerry it is a different matter, as you say sadly.
Here is a picture of when Donal was telling me the above.



PS. If you've seen the UTV programme "Requiem for Rory".. The similar generosity as above to Gerry was shown again there ..
A guy from the Irish band "Moving Hearts" says that Donal & Rory (whom must have organized the event) after the festival or something was cancelled a day or so early, when it should have gone on for longer. They still paid the bands for gigs they never performed also

Hey! Nice picture!
Haven't seen the programme, but I'll do it.
It would be fantastic if someday Donal decided to write a book about Rory. Think I read something about it on this forum. That would be very interesting.
Thanks Jay Jay!

[maapji]

Does anybody recommend Gerry's book although Donal doesn't approve of it? It seems that it is an entertaining read after all.

[deuce]

I for one found it very entertaining, there are lots of funny stories in it. Some knowledgeable members here mentioned historical inaccuracies though.
What I absolutely didn´t like about the book was that constant talk about money. I don´t know what the intentions were but it reflected poorly on all involved, which I found absolutely unnecessary and sad. That really left a bad taste in my mouth.
Whatever you decide, beware of the German version of the book, the worst translation I´ve ever got my hands on.