Gerry McAvoy
Gerry McAvoy (actually John Gerrard McAvoy ; born December 19, 1951 in Belfast ) is a Northern Irish bass guitarist . From 1971 to 1991 he was the musical companion of the Irish guitar virtuoso Rory Gallagher . After the separation of the two blues and rock musicians due to Gallagher's alcohol and drug abuse , McAvoy joined the blues formation Nine Below Zero .
Collaboration with Rory Gallagher
Gerry McAvoy began his musical career as a member of the regionally known Belfast band Deep Joy . The group played several times in the opening act of then highly popular artists such as Fleetwood Mac , Jethro Tull , Taste and John Mayall .
In 1971 Gallagher invited the young bass player to collaborate after his band "Taste" had split up. The debut album " Rory Gallagher " was recorded with drummer Wilgar Campbell . McAvoy accompanied Gallagher on his live performances for the next 20 years and worked on all 14 albums that were produced until Gallagher's death. McAvoy later described the commercially very successful, but also lonely Gallagher as a band leader who treated his band members as employees and only had a very limited share in the economic profits of the Rory Gallagher band .
McAvoy was seen by many fans as the ideal companion for Gallagher because of his solid, well-crafted style of play and unobtrusive manner. In 1990 “Fresh Evidence” appeared as the last joint publication. In total, the albums of the "Rory Gallagher Band" were sold over 30 million times worldwide.
The following year, 1991, the two musicians parted ways. Gallagher was already severely affected by his illness, which he succumbed to four years later after a liver transplant and subsequent infection with MRSA .
Nine Below Zero
McAvoy and Gallagher's drummer Brendan O'Neill switched to Nine Below Zero , a British blues formation originally founded in 1977 , due to increasing tension . There they both met the harp player Marc Feltham, who was a permanent member of Rory Gallagher's band from 1987 to 1995. Thus, three musicians from Gallagher's backline play in this quartet today.
In the years after Gallagher's death, on the initiative of McAvoy, the 'Band of Friends' group was formed, in which former members of Gallagher repeatedly come together in his memory. Gerry McAvoy and Brendan O'Neill played several times with the Dutch blues guitarist Julian Sas , who was heavily influenced by Gallagher's music, at festivals in memory of Rory Gallagher.
In 2005 Gerry McAvoy published his autobiography under the original title Riding Shotgun . In 2007 a German translation of the work was published under the title On the road - My life with Rory Gallagher and Nine Below Zero . In some passages, McAvoy takes a critical look at rock and blues legend Rory Gallagher and other artists (John Mayall, Ian Anderson ), but always expresses his deep loyalty and friendship to Gallagher. Gallagher's brother, former manager and estate administrator Donal tried, ultimately unsuccessfully, to prevent the publication of the 300-page volume.
literature
- Gerry McAvoy, Pete Chrisp: Riding Shotgun . Maidstone, 2005. ISBN 0-9550-3200-8
- German: Gerry McAvoy, Pete Chrisp: On the road - My life with Rory Gallagher and Nine Below Zero . Königswinter, 2007. ISBN 3-89880-569-7
Web links
- Literature by and about Gerry McAvoy in the catalog of the German National Library
- Video interviews with Gerry McAvoy (English, 2010)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | McAvoy, Gerry |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Northern Irish musician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 19, 1951 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Belfast |