Ireland In 50 Albums, No 8: Tattoo, by Rory Gallagher
Rory Gallagher in the studio in London in July 1973, working on Tattoo. (Picture: Michael Putland/Getty Images)
Rory Gallagher was in a sweet spot in his career in 1973, the year he recorded his album Tattoo. It seemed everything was building towards it, the good and the bad. His band Taste had disbanded at the start of the decade, which freed him to set up the Rory Gallagher Band.
He was recording with his heroes, one year with Muddy Waters (1972), the next with Jerry Lee Lewis (1973). Melody Maker magazine voted him Guitarist of the Year in 1972, ahead of peers like Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Jerry Garcia.
