| Artist: | Rory Gallagher |
| Studio: | 11 |
| Live: | 6 |
| Compilation: | 13 |
| Singles: | 5 |
| Video: | 11 |
| 1Option: | 2 |
| 1Option Name: | Box sets |
The discography of Rory Gallagher, an Irish guitarist and singer-songwriter, consists of 11 studio albums, 6 live albums, 13 compilations, and 5 singles. Gallagher was a solo artist for much of his career and collaborated with artists such as Muddy Waters and Jerry Lee Lewis. Before his career as a solo artist, Gallagher was the guitarist, vocalist, and saxophonist for the Irish rock trio Taste.
Having completed a musical apprenticeship in the Irish showbands, and influenced by the increasing popularity of beat groups during the early 1960s, Gallagher formed Taste, a blues rock and R&B power trio, in 1966.[1] Initially, the band was composed of Gallagher and two Cork musicians, Norman Damery and Eric Kitteringham, however, by 1968, they were replaced with two musicians from Belfast, featuring Gallagher on guitar and vocals, drummer John Wilson, and bassist Richard McCracken.[1] Performing extensively in the United Kingdom, the group played regularly at the Marquee Club, supporting both Cream at their Royal Albert Hall farewell concert, and the blues supergroup Blind Faith on a tour of North America. Managed by Eddie Kennedy, the trio released the albums Taste and On The Boards, and two live recordings, Live Taste and Live at the Isle of Wight.[1] The latter appeared long after the band's break-up, which occurred shortly after their appearance at the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival.[2]
After the break-up of Taste, Gallagher toured under his own name, hiring former Deep Joy bass player Gerry McAvoy to play on his eponymous debut album, Rory Gallagher.[3] It was the beginning of a twenty-year musical relationship between Gallagher and McAvoy; the other band member was drummer Wilgar Campbell.[1] The 1970s were Gallagher's most prolific period. He produced ten albums in that decade, including two live albums, Live in Europe and Irish Tour '74. November 1971 saw the release of his album, Deuce.[3] Around the same time, he was voted Melody Makers International Top Musician of the Year, ahead of Eric Clapton.[4] However, despite a number of his albums from this period reaching the UK Albums Chart, Gallagher did not attain major star status.[1]
Gallagher is documented in the 1974 film Irish Tour '74, directed by Tony Palmer. During the heightened periods of political unrest in Ireland, as other artists were warned not to tour, Gallagher was resolute about touring Ireland at least once a year during his career, winning him the dedication of thousands of fans, and in the process, becoming a role model for other aspiring young Irish musicians. The line-up for the Irish Tour which included Rod de'Ath on drums and Lou Martin on keyboards, performed together between 1973 and 1976. Releases from that period include Blueprint, Tattoo, Irish Tour '74, Against the Grain and Calling Card.[3] This Gallagher band performed several TV and radio shows across Europe, including Beat-Club in Bremen, Germany and the Old Grey Whistle Test.[5] Gallagher recorded two Peel Sessions, both in February 1973 and containing the same tracks, but only the first was broadcast.[6] Along with Little Feat and Roger McGuinn, Gallagher performed the first Rockpalast live concert at the Grugahalle, Essen, Germany in 1977.[7]
In 1978 Gallagher trimmed his band down to just bass, guitar and drums, and the act became a power trio as Taste had been. This line-up produced Photo-Finish, Top Priority, Jinx, Defender, and Fresh Evidence. During this period Gallagher was often obsessive over details and plagued by self-doubt yet he retained a loyal fan base.[1]
Gallagher collaborated with Jerry Lee Lewis[8] and Muddy Waters[9] on their respective London Sessions in the mid-1970s. He played on Lonnie Donegan's final album.[3] He was David Coverdale's second choice (after Jeff Beck) to replace Ritchie Blackmore in Deep Purple although Gallagher chose to remain a solo artist. When former members of the Yardbirds (Chris Dreja, Paul Samwell-Smith, and Jim McCarty) reunited to create the band Box of Frogs Gallagher was invited to record with them on their first album.
Gallagher's career was cut short due to his untimely death on 14 June 1995. He died from complications after a liver transplant. Several posthumous albums have emerged since his death. Two of the most notable are Wheels Within Wheels, a compilation of acoustic folk and blues music released in 2003 and Notes From San Francisco, an album of unreleased studio tracks and a San Francisco 1979 concert released in 2011.
| Year | Album | Chart position | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK[10] | ||||
| 1969 | London Invasion
| |||
| 1969 | Taste
| |||
| 1970 | On the Boards
| 18 | ||
| 1971 | Live Taste (live album)
| 14 | ||
| 1972 | Live at the Isle of Wight (live album)
| 41 | ||
| Taste First (recorded in 1967; released in 1974 as In the Beginning and again in 1976 as Take It Easy Baby)
| ||||
| 1994 | The Best of Taste (compilation album)
| |||
| Year | Album | Peak chart positions | BPI Certification[11] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [12] | US [13] | ||||
| 1971 | Rory Gallagher
| 32 | — | Gold | |
Deuce
| 39 | — | Gold | ||
| 1972 | Live in Europe (live)
| 9 | Gold | ||
| 1973 | Blueprint
| 12 | 147 | Gold | |
Tattoo
| 32 | 186 | Gold | ||
| 1974 | Irish Tour '74 (live)
| 36 | Gold | ||
| 1975 | Against the Grain
| align="center" | - | 121 | Gold |
| 1976 | Calling Card
| 32 | 163 | Silver | |
| 1978 | Photo-Finish
| align="center" | - | 116 | Silver |
| 1979 | Top Priority
| 56 | 140 | Silver | |
| 1980 | Stage Struck (live)
| 40 | Silver | ||
| 1982 | Jinx
| 68 | — | Silver | |
| 1987 | Defender
| align="center" | - | — | Silver |
| 1990 | Fresh Evidence
| align="center" | - | — | Silver |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released. | |||||
| Year | Album | colspan-"3" | Chart position |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK | |||
| 2003 | Meeting with the G-Man (live)
| — | |
| 2006 | Live at Montreux (live)
| — | |
| 2011 | Notes From San Francisco (studio & live) | 44 | |
| 2023 | All Around Man: Live in London (live)
| — |
| Year | Album | Chart position | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK[15] | ||||
| 1974 | The Story So Far | |||
| 1975 | Sinner... And Saint also released as Rory Gallagher (compilation of tracks taken from Rory Gallagher and Deuce) | |||
| 1975 | Rory Gallagher (Flashback series) | |||
| 1976 | Rory Gallagher Live (Flashback series) | |||
| 1976 | Take It Easy Baby (Taste demo sessions) | |||
| 1992 | Edged in Blue (BPI: 60,000) | |||
| 1995 | A Blue Day for the Blues
| |||
| Last of the Independents | ||||
| 1999 | BBC Sessions (one live disc and one studio disc)
| |||
| 2003 | Wheels Within Wheels (acoustic)
| |||
| 2005 | Big Guns: The Very Best of Rory Gallagher
| 31 | ||
| 2008 | The Essential | |||
| 2009 | Crest of a Wave: The Best of Rory Gallagher
| |||
| 2010 | The Beat Club Sessions
| |||
| 2012 | The Rory Gallagher Collection (re-release of The Essential Rory Gallagher)
| |||
| 2019 | Blues
| 17 | ||
| 2020 | Check Shirt Wizard: Live in '77 (Brand new triple live album)
| 26 | ||
| Year | Album | |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | The G-Man Bootleg Series Vol.1
| |
| 2001 | Let's Go to Work (4 disc set, featuring Live in Europe, Irish Tour '74, Stage Struck and Meeting with the G-Man)
| |
| 2008 | Original Album Classics (5 disc set, featuring Deuce, Calling Card, Top Priority, Jinx and Fresh Evidence)
| |
| 2015 | I'll Remember (Taste) (4 disc set)
|
notes;
| 1995 | Message to Love Recording of "Sinner Boy" and "Gamblin' Blues"; with Taste |
| 2000 | Irish Tour '74 |
| 2003 | The Old Grey Whistle Test: Vol. 1 Album track: "Hands Off"; 1973 |
| 2004 | At Rockpalast German release |
| 2005 | The Complete Rockpalast Collection 3 disc, German release |
| Songs & Stories: New York Remembers Rory Gallagher Biography | |
| 2006 | Live at Cork Opera House UK release |
| Live in Cork US release | |
| Live at Montreux 2 disc set | |
| 2007 | Live at Rockpalast (5 Concerts 1976 – 1990) 3 disc, US release |
| Shadow Play (5 Concerts 1976 – 1990) 3 disc, UK release | |
| 2010 | Ghost Blues Biography of Gallagher with concert footage and interviews with The Edge, Slash,... |
| Year | Album | Artist |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Bring It Back Home | Mike Vernon |
| 1972 | The London Muddy Waters Sessions | |
| 1973 | The Session | |
| 1974 | Drat That Fratle Rat | |
| London Revisited | ||
| 1977 | Gaodhal's Vision | Joe O'Donnell (electric fiddle player) |
| Live | Albert King | |
| 1978 | Tarot Suite | |
| Puttin' On The Style | ||
| 1983 | Jammin` With Albert | Albert Collins & The Icebreakers |
| 1984 | Box of Frogs | |
| 1989 | The Scattering | The Fureys and Davey Arthur |
| Out of the Air | Davy Spillane Band | |
| Words and Music | Phil Coulter | |
| 1990 | Shadow Hunter | |
| Politician (at Montreux) | Jack Bruce and Rory Gallagher | |
| 1991 | Flags & Emblems | |
| 1992 | 30 Years A-Greying | |
| 1993 | The Outstanding | Chris Barber and Band |
| 2007 | Kindred Spirits | Eamonn McCormack |