After the break-up of Taste, Gallagher toured under his own name, hiring former Deep Joy bass player Gerry McAvoy to play on Gallagher's self-titled debut album, Rory Gallagher. It was the beginning of a twenty-year musical relationship between Gallagher and McAvoy; the other band member was drummer Wilgar Campbell.
The 1970s were Gallagher's most prolific period. He produced ten albums in that decade, including two live albums, Live in Europe and Irish Tour '74. November 1971 saw the release of the album Deuce. In the same year he was voted Melody Maker's International Top Guitarist of the Year, ahead of Eric Clapton.
However, despite a number of his albums from this period reaching the UK Albums Chart, Gallagher did not attain major star status and with battered Strat he was very much the people's guitarist.' Even so, he sold an impressive over thirty million albums worldwide. Jorgen took this in 1972 in London and has confirmed to me that every time he met Rory, he was a lovely guy and very much a gentle soul.
