Rewriting Rory

“The Celtic Tornado”: Rory’s 1985 North American Tour Part 1 The five-year stretch between Jinx (1982) and Defender (1987) has always fascinated me. Often wrongly dismissed as a hiatus or seen as a creatively fallow period for Rory, it was, in fact, a time o…

The latest RR blog post is now live - Part 1 of a special on Rory's 1985 North American tour. I'd wanted to write about this in Rory Gallagher: The Later Years, but there simply wasn't any space left, so I'm happy to finally turn my attention to it. Enjoy!

rewritingrory.co.uk/2025/11/14/t...

Some rare footage of Rory on German magazine show Tele-Illustrierte on this day in 1987, delivering a blistering performance of Sonny Boy Williamson's Don't Start Me Talkin'. #rorygallagher #1980s #blues

Rewriting Rory turns 4 today! 🥰

Born to challenge misconceptions about Rory’s final decade, the blog celebrates his creativity, brilliance and humanity to the very end. Thank you to everyone supporting this labour of love — here’s to honoring Rory in all eras of his life!

#rorygallagher #blues

A great selection of photos of Rory on stage at the Muziekcentrum Vredenburg in Utrecht, Netherlands on this day in 1987.
Photos by Jan Slob
#rorygallagher #1980s #blues #netherlands

Muchas gracias! 😊

Just a reminder that I'm still looking for people to take part in the below study. Drop me a line if you meet the eligibility criteria and are interested 😃

#1 One Song, Many Lives: ‘I Wonder Who’ “There are certain nights that we all have, where you know that, ‘God, these hands will do anything tonight!’ You know, and you take yourself right to the edge, the limit.” Rory Gallagher, 1991 Whe…

Kicking off a new Rewriting Rory series today: 'One Song, Many Lives'. Each post traces the evolution of a Rory song through the years, with highlights from my favourite live versions — and a chance to vote for yours. First up: 'I Wonder Who'.

rewritingrory.co.uk/2025/10/30/1...

#rorygallagher

“When Jimi Hendrix was Asked. . .” A Netnographic Study of a Contemporary Legend About Rory Gallagher This paper examines the contemporary legend surrounding the quotation “Ask Rory Gallagher,” allegedly spoken by Jimi Hendrix when asked how it felt to be the world's greatest guitarist. Long debate...

My latest paper with Rock Music Studies is out today. It uses a netnographic approach combining digital archival research and social media observation to explore the sources, circulation and reception of a contemporary music legend about Rory

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Happy Birthday to the Maestro of the Harp, Mark Feltham! A virtuoso harmonica player, a rock-solid force in the Rory Gallagher band and a true musical kindred spirit and friend to Rory. Wishing you a fantastic day filled with great music, sir!
#rorygallagher #blues #harp #music

On this day 1987, Rory played at the Hummingbird in Birmingham. He was joined by Tony Mcphee of the Groundhogs for the encore. To relive this powerful performance, head on over to Rewriting Rory where you can find a bootleg video of the concert:
rewritingrory.co.uk/2024/10/19/r...
#rorygallagher

35 years ago, Rory delivered a stunning performance at Rocklife in Cologne. He powered through a 90-minute set filled with tracks from Fresh Evidence before returning for an unforgettable jam with Jack Bruce.
A chapter on this concert can be found in Rory Gallagher: The Later Years. #rorygallagher

Some great photos of Rory taken on this day at the Irish Centre in Leeds in 1987.
pics by Andrew Pollard
#rorygallagher #blues #1980s

To mark the release of Defender, Rory and his band hit the road in October 1987 for a UK tour. On this day that year, they performed at the International 2 in Manchester. You can read a wonderful first-hand account of the show by fan John Christie
rewritingrory.co.uk/2024/10/08/o...
#rorygallaher

Participants needed for my new study on parasocial attachments and the material afterlives of music keepsakes. See further details below ⬇️

#rorygallagher #blues #fender #strat #bonhams #auction #fandom

Thanks, Lucy! When you were speaking about your recent book in our last meeting, it certainly made me think of mine too and the similar challenges! Nothing like a labour of love to motivate/challenge you :D

If you haven't yet picked up a copy and would like to, the book is currently on offer on Wymer and Amazon for £12.

One Year On: Reflections on Rory Gallagher: The Later Years Today marks one year since the publication of Rory Gallagher: The Later Years. The book was truly a labour of love – an attempt to do justice to the final decade of Rory’s life and everything he co…

Today marks one year since the publication of Rory Gallagher: The Later Years! Here's a conference paper I delivered earlier this year about the writing process behind the book and the decisions made along the way. Enjoy!

rewritingrory.co.uk/2025/10/03/o...

#rorygallagher #blues #1980s #1990s

Meeting with the G-Fans #3: Michael Hopkinson Back in May, I received a lovely email from a reader, Michael Hopkinson, who had just finished Rory Gallagher: The Later Years. He wrote to share how much he’d enjoyed the book, and also included h…

The third installment in the Meeting with the G-Fans series is now live! This time, I spoke to Michael Hopkinson who first discovered Rory in 1973 on The Old Grey Whistle Test. I hope you enjoy it!

rewritingrory.co.uk/2025/09/28/m...

#rorygallagher #blues #1970s #fanstories

On this day in 1988, Rory played Heppenheim Open Air Festival in Germany. To mark the anniversary, here are a few fan testimonies I posted last year from those who were there. Enjoy!
rewritingrory.co.uk/2024/09/11/o...
#rorygallagher #1980s #blues

Hardboiled Blues: Rethinking the Music of Rory Gallagher - Edinburgh University Press Blog Dr Lauren Alex O’Hagan explores the overlooked literary depth of Rory Gallagher’s lyrics, arguing for their place in a unique hardboiled blues tradition.

Little blog piece for Edinburgh University Press about Rory's incredible songwriting as a companion piece to my recent Crime Fiction Studies piece on the wonderful Kickback City boxset 😃❤️

euppublishingblog.com/2025/09/05/r...

#rorygallagher

@rorygallagher.com

Nordic Nights: Rory in Scandinavia and Finland When I moved to the little town of Örebro in Sweden back in 2019, I had to get my priorities straight. First stop: the tax office (Skatteverket) to get my national insurance number. Next: Öbo – the…

For a while, I’ve been wanting to write a post about Rory’s many concerts across Scandinavia & Finland. Over the past few months, I’ve really enjoyed researching & speaking to fans who were there. I’m excited to share the full piece today.

rewritingrory.co.uk/2025/09/05/n...

#rorygallagher

Some fantastic photos of Rory on stage at the Tegelen Blues Festival in 1993. This was the third time that Rory performed at the iconic Dutch festival. Also on the bill were C. Chenier and the Red Hot Louisiana Band, Duke Robillard & Band, Earl King and the Butanes and Monti Amundson. #rorygallagher

On this day in 1992, Rory received a civic reception at Cork City Hall from Lord Mayor Micheál Martin in recognition of his musical achievements. During the event, he was presented with a commemorative piece of Tipperary Crystal. #rorygallagher #1990s #blues

Hardboiled Blues: Exploring Ian Rankin's ‘Novel’ Approach to the Music of Rory Gallagher | Crime Fiction Studies In 2013, the estate of the late blues musician Rory Gallagher released Kickback City. Described as a ‘unique immersive album’ inspired by Gallagher's passion for crime noir, it sought to draw attentio...

Last year, I did a talk on National Crime Reading Month about the Kickback City boxset. Well, the findings have since been written up & were published today in the academic journal Crime Fiction Studies. Here's the link if you fancy a read! 😊 #rorygallagher

www.euppublishing.com/doi/full/10....

On this day in 1994, Rory performed at the SDR3 Festival in Stuttgart, held to mark the final day of the station’s annual “Hit Parade”. The event brought together broadcasters from across Europe, including Germany, Sweden, Italy, the Netherlands & Bosnia-Herzegovina.

#rorygallagher #blues #1990s

Celebrating 33 years since Rory’s headlining appearance at the Temple Bar Blues Festival - one of my favourite ever Rory performances and voted by you in 2023 as the highlight of his final decade.

#rorygallagher #blues #1990s

Remembering Rory's dear mother, Monica, who sadly passed away on this day in 2005. "He adored his mother, a constant confidante to a man who rarely confided in those around him. No matter what part of the world he was in, he always made it his business to telephone her every day.”

#rorygallagher

On this day in 1992, Rory gave a remarkable masterclass to a group of young guitarists at the Guinness Hopstore in Dublin. During the event, he was also honoured with the Fender/Arbiter Hall of Fame Award, presented by the Lord Mayor of Dublin.

#rorygallagher #blues #1990s

On this day in 1992, the new Rory Gallagher Band with bassist David Levy & drummer Richard Newman made their debut at the Marina Hotel in Rhyl. Head to the link below for some exclusive photographs & memories of this concert:

rewritingrory.co.uk/2025/08/11/r...

#rorygallagher #blues #1990s

Aww really? Yes, it's one of mine too. Rory is on fire there. Hard to believe just how ill he was.