IN RE:
and At the risk of being banned from the site:
[quote="nickskelson"]Yes boys, I was there, wish I hadn't been there though.
Firstly I was in a bad state of mind, coz how could Rory have replaced the great Gerry McAvoy with an unknown, ...I had seen Rory at least 10 times before this gig, and each time Jen and me had some of the best times of our lives. ... None of these friends had ever seen Rory in his prime however - I had. Rory wasn't much better than the band. He just stood there going through the motions, bumbled about, and it was so bloody sad to see the man I loved in such a state.... I am not going to publicly vilify people here (coz I don't want to get banned from the site, or sued by u no who), but I have very strong opinions about this state of affairs. At the end of the day, Rory was a grown man - he was his own man.... Rory himself was not really there. It was just some overblown bumbling guy who I didn't recognise. ... I wish we never went near Rhyl that night. I would much prefer my last memory of the great man to be at The Powerhouse Club in Birmingham 1988 - where he was still the greatest performer of hard-rocking blues ever. ...Instead the last time I saw him was in this state. A sorry old man who was a shell of the great performer he had been. ... This is a true and honest account of the last time I saw my primary musical influence. Those of you who see Rory as a "God like person" just don't know the truth. I was forced to see it with my own eyes and ears.[color=#BF00BF][/color]
Some of those statements make my blood boil, and maybe I shouldn't post this, but hey, I was never one to worry too much about offending someone else if I have something to say. I read the entire post earlier, and I want to amend my earlier post because I just can't let it go, and I still have more to say.
" how could Rory have replaced the great Gerry McAvoy with an unknown" The "great" Gerry McAvoy, by his own admission, left Rory.
Perhaps Rory was off his game that night BECAUSE HE WAS ILL. Dying, in fact. And, as far as the quality of the backing musicians, based purely on a certain book I read, whose author purported to have intimate knowledge of Rory's health issues, and was admittedly in a position to intervene to help on several occasions but had instead turned his back on the one he called his friend. Rory could have used a little help and support. In fact, purely based on the words in the book, the author in effect tossed an anchor to a drowning man, then went on his merry way.
Few who survived through the last few decades- especially the 60's and 70.s- have been lucky enough to have escaped without seeing at least one friend or relative succumb to excess of drugs (legal or otherwise) and/or alcohol. We all deal with it in the usual ways. We look the other way and hope the person will get better on their own, or pretend it's not really a problem and decide to "party on" and either invite or encourage the person to indulge and not think about it, or try to show someone that maybe there is another way to coexist in a world where drugs and alcohol are seen as a way to cope. I've done my share of alcohol and drugs, (particularly marijuana as my drug of choice back then), and was always able to walk away when enough was enough. But not everyone can, and when a friend is in trouble and you think it is alcohol and/or pills or whatever you don't make it worse. The last thing you do is say, "forget it, let's go to the pub."
Would it really have been that difficult to refrain from drinking or whatever in front of someone who is so obviously struggling? Maybe lead by example? Maybe try to change a few patterns or routines to help someone cope with their fears and stresses?
Would it not have been better to grow some cojones and try to tell the man what was in his mind while Rory was alive, when it might have made a difference instead of saying them in a book after he's gone? When Rory can no longer defend himself or offer a reply? I don't personally know anyone on this site. But I do know from firsthand knowledge that not everything in that book was accurate. However, even a broken clock is true at least twice a day, and I trust that the author's own opinions are at least true to what he believed at the time. And if there is a kernel of truth in any of it, it was that Rory needed help, that certain people who could have helped were instead what in modern day terms would be called enablers, and that the author of the book may feel guilty for what he did and did not do. I sure as hell would.
And I surely don't mean to imply that Donal wasn't trying his best to help his brother. I'm saying that he did the best he could, but he couldn't do it alone. And I think that the author of that book was one of maybe a handful of people close enough to the situation who could have helped Donal reach Rory. He could have at least tried.
I am sorry if this offends anyone, but a blind person who has seen Rory's later performances could see he was ill. Yeah, he was probably drunk, and I don't know how much of it was really his fault- his body was failing him at that point, so who can say how much was alcohol and how much was damage already done. But think about it- especially those who saw him in the early days, something more was going on there.
There is an interview with Rory from 1976, and the interviewer asks him a really off-the-wall question (see clip at 6:18). It catches him off guard, and his eyes betray his feelings.
http://youtu.be/171igFdk3pE And in a later interview, beginning at 1:55 in this clip, you can clearly see the pain there.
http://youtu.be/HfAc8QbafAkWhatever was troubling him was there for a while, and over time I think it got to a point where he sought help from his doctors. I believe their advice is what set him on the path that killed him. Maybe someone could have intervened but what's done is done. And God has His reasons.
"He just stood there going through the motions, bumbled about, and it was so bloody sad to see the man I loved in such a state ... Rory himself was not really there. It was just some overblown bumbling guy who I didn't recognise. ... I wish we never went near Rhyl that night. I would much prefer my last memory of the great man to be at The Powerhouse Club in Birmingham 1988 - where he was still the greatest performer of hard-rocking blues ever. ...Instead the last time I saw him was in this state. A sorry old man who was a shell of the great performer he had been. ... This is a true and honest account of the last time I saw my primary musical influence. Those of you who see Rory as a "God like person" just don't know the truth. I was forced to see it with my own eyes and ears."I'm sorry, but that is just a crock of horse shit. Take a look at the clip from 1994- He was ill, he needed help. But he was very much alive. He wasn't the 22-year-old on the stage at the Isle of Wight anymore- he was a mature man who maybe couldn't carry on like he could when he was a kid, but can any of us? He wasn't old. He was 2 years younger than actor Johnny Depp is now (and I think if they make a movie about Rory, Johnny Depp would be a good choice to play him, but that's just my opinion). And he certainly hadn't lost his gift for music- again, just watch the clip.
I think Rory was troubled by many things- Consider this- He was a child prodigy really. He began playing guitar as a child and by the time he was a teenager he was in a working band. He was a rock star at an age when most kids are trying to decide what they're going to do after high school. He was an international star touring Europe at an age where kids here aren't even old enough to legally drink. He was barely an adult and he had the world at his feet- a talent for the guitar- for music- that no one could touch, and he was absolutely gorgeous besides. He had a stage presence that was indescribable. Anyone who ever saw him in his prime will know what I mean. If you were privileged enough to be in the presence of his screaming guitar, and feel the electricity in the air at one of his performances- it was almost like he had a psychic connection with his audience- better than any drug I ever had. He was joyful in his playing and he radiated it out to everyone around him.
People who saw him in his prime should have been able to understand and appreciate him even in his last days. He wasn't a "God like person," he was a mere mortal who was trying to carry on with the thing he loved most- his music, his art. I would much rather have seen him play on his worst day than to see a dozen or more tribute bands on their best day.
No wonder he was troubled. He had the record companies to contend with, and he was also in competition with the young man he once was- and with fair-weather fans like the ones on this thread, I can see why he was ill-at-ease. Some fans apparently came to his shows expecting him to crank it out like he did in '72, to walk on water metaphorically speaking.
I really don't mean to offend, but what the hell? Is there no sense of compassion or understanding for the man as he was? Could you really not see the younger man still within the mature one? Yeah, I saw him when he was young and hot. Where I live I didn't see him in his last years, not till the internet became so accessible. And I can certainly understand the tears for the suffering that Rory endured toward the end. But I cannot understand the cold, indifferent, condescending depiction of another human being
(the man I loved ... my primary musical influence) who so obviously needed help and a little understanding, as
"A sorry old man who was a shell of the great performer he had been".
Is it only me that sees the irony here?
"None of these friends had ever seen Rory in his prime however - I had" Newer fans, those not "enlightened" enough to have seen Rory in his prime, were able to see the artist who was still there. Newer fans. So does that mean the older fans, the ones who saw him in his prime, were too shallow, too self-absorbed to see beyond their own memories? No one stays perpetually young, and to expect that of a loved and respected artist is a disservice and an insult to the man he was. I don't agree. And I can't understand how someone can call him their primary influence yet slam him for not living up to their preconceived expectations like some kind of wind up doll.
So if some fans were put out because his performances were not up to par, maybe they need to step back and see the bigger picture.