Rory Gallagher was Dave Fanning's guest on Wednesday's edition of "The Rock Show" (RTE Radio 2) and, as always, he came across as a purist on the good sense of the word. They talked about his love of Mississippi blues, the respect for cover versions and why he has no time for modern studio production and the current fads of heavy metal.

About the only thing they didn't discuss was Gallagher's guitar work itself - the show let the music do the talking, including a live acoustic set in the studio, and some back numbers from his prolific career.

Above all,  Fanning quizzed him about his low profile in recent years and whether it was time for a reassessment of his work. And listening to the music, it's interesting how direct and fresh his style still is....from the gentle touches to the delicately controlled feedback ( he was playing 'grunge guitar' long before the music papers coined the term.)

Gallagher is as down to earth as ever and won't succumb to making twee singles and MTV videos ...it seems that unlike many of his contemporaries ( who now come across as wrinkled, out-of-touch has-beens) the 40 year old guitarist will grow old as gracefully as the B.B. Kings and Lowell Fulsons.

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 a quick piece from the same publication
Rory Gallagher blistered his way through a series of Olympia gigs in Dublin last week in the wake of a fine return to form with his "Defender" album. He takes his no-nonsense show to Galway on Friday and hometown, Cork, on Sunday. His show in Limerick tomorrow has been canceled following the death of the local promoter, Mr. Brendan Murray.

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This article come from the Irish Times, February 23, 1988
Thanks to John Wainwright for passing it along
Thanks to Evi Ivan for the great watercolor painting she named "Bad Penny"
reformatted by roryfan
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