Gerry McAvoy played, recorded and toured with Rory Gallagher for 20 years, from 1971 to 1991, also playing on every solo album that the legendary guitarist released over the course of critically and commercially successful career. The pair recorded ten albums together during a prolific decade during the seventies, including two live albums, Live in Europe and Irish Tour ’74.
The Belfast-born McAvoy had previously been in the band Deep Joy, who had supported Gallagher’s first outfit, Taste, on several occasions. Another member of Deep Joy, Brendan O’Neill, went on to play as part of Gallagher’s live band and is also part of Gerry McEvoy’s current Band of Friends, along with Paul Rose and Jim Kirkpatrick.
McAvoy was the mainstay of Gallagher’s live band for two decades as it went through several changes, but working most effectively and more often with McAvoy on bass, Gallagher and a variety of drummers. He then played with Nine Below Zero for more than a decade before forming Band of Friends in 2012. 2005 saw the publication of his biography, Riding Shotgun: 35 Years on the Road with Rory Gallagher and Nine Below Zero.
With special guests The Pat McManus Band.
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