My first real exposure to Rory Gallagher, after hearing Trapeze and the odd songs from his earlier solo records, was during my school days. His music really got me with the release of the seminal ‘Tattoo’.

At comprehensive school in Essex at the time, my mate and I went in Kelly’s Records on the High Street in Brentwood. That's where we spent the money in our first wage packets from our Saturday jobs in the local CO-OP. This particular Saturday was the day of my first serious record purchase.

We headed into the listening booths, those days a bit like padded telephone boxes. The guy behind the counter put on Tattoo for my mate Steve. For me it was Journey To The Centre of the Earth by Rick Wakeman.

Needless to say, my mate bought Tattoo, its mean sharp cover and packing with enough energy to blow the speakers apart in the listening booth.

I went down the prog route for many years to follow. But with the release of 'Irish Tour’ in 1974, I was firmly in the blues rock fold too and I rocked along with Rory for many, but sadly not enough, years to come.

Now you can  can experience the moment yourselves as Sony Music in association with Capo Records and Legacy are re-issuing  the first six  Rory Gallagher albums “Rory Gallagher” (1971), “Deuce” (1971), “Live! In Europe” (1972), “Blueprint” (1973), “Tattoo” (1973) and “Irish Tour ’74” (1974).  These six albums are to celebrate 40 years since the birth of Rory’s solo career.

Each of the six milestone albums were released during Rory's most prolific years (1971-74), when he recorded and produced them in the short space of three years.  The albums are re-released in digipack form, with newly restored original cover art. The audio has been re-mastered from the original ¼” inch tapes, and album includes exclusive sleeve notes personally written by Rory’s brother and former tour manager “Donal Gallagher”, journalist “Roy Hollingworth”, and rock photographer “Mick Rock”.

Rock n’ Roll really is a time machine!