The iconic guitarist who wanted to take Eric Clapton’s place in Cream: “Wouldn’t have a bar of it”
It’s not a surprise that so many supergroups formed in the 1960s.
It was an era populated by rock and roll avengers who, together, posed a lineup too good to choose between. Guitar fans in particular were spoiled for choice, with London giving way to some of the finest talent available (Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton) and the States continuing on the legacy set by blues icons with the likes of Jimi Hendrix and Carlos Santana.
But it seemed that the guitarist the entire music industry ubiquitously loved was one who failed to garner the sort of public acclaim of the aforementioned. Rory Gallagher might just be the greatest guitarist you’ve never heard of, and there’s no concrete reason as to why that is the case.
The Irishman bounced around the live scene of his native country before forming Taste in ‘66 a band who would quickly gain a reputation amongst the heady blues scene of both America and Britain.
“Rory formed Taste in 1966 with no intention of copying anyone,” said his brother Donal, tapping into the very essence of what made his guitar playing so brilliant. But as a three-piece, with Eric Kitteringham on bass, and Norman Damery on drums, the comparisons between Gallagher’s project and that of a more high-profile rivalling guitarist naturally came flooding in.
Donal continued, “He was friendly with Jack Bruce, having met him in his Hamburg days, and loved the early Yardbirds – their raw, raunchy blues – but he never aimed for Taste to be like Cream. Obviously Cream had been trailblazers in America so they paved the way for Taste. But if you listen to the Taste albums, they sound nothing like Cream.”
So when Cream eventually split in ‘69, Gallagher served as the perfect replacement. This idea of supergroups had proven to wear relatively thin after such a short period of time; the egos that battle with one another can only do so for a handful of records before spiralling out of control. The more understated profile of Gallagher was surely an antidote to that, and so the band swiftly exercised their ambitions, with the belief that they were too good to turn down.
Donal explained, “When Cream finally split [following their 1969 US farewell tour], Rory was approached by Eddie Kennedy with the suggestion he join Jack and Ginger [Baker] in a new version of Cream. Eddie was working closely with Robert Stigwood’s agency and it must have been mooted that a version of Cream could continue with Rory in Eric’s place. Rory wouldn’t have a bar of it.”
Gallagher was born to be an artist, not a superstar and knew that the world he had built with Taste could better facilitate that than any supergroup. Shortly after, the band’s self-titled debut album was cut, and Gallagher’s legacy within the pantheon of rock and roll greats was confirmed. That legacy might not have been crafted by the screaming fans of a band like Cream, but rather from the mutual respect of his industry contemporaries who knew he was truly one of the best.
