Ex-Rev For Tuam Arts Festival

Date Published: 08-Aug-2008

THE music business has chewed up many talented musicians and left them by the wayside. It takes a lot of courage to return from past successes and have another crack at getting your songs out there. This is where songwriter Rory Gallagher finds himself as he launches his debut solo album God Bless the Big Bang. Formerly in The Revs, a guitar driven three-piece, Rory has had to drop his surname for now so as not confuse punters expecting an entirely different resurrection. God Bless the Big Bang gives the Donegal native to air songs that wouldn’t have worked in his old band.

“I have always been writing acoustic music but I never feltlike it would work in the Revs and the other two lads definitely agreed,” he says. “The oldest track on this album is Work to Exist which stemmed from a jam with The Revs. I can’t say I had a solo album in mind; I am always recording little ideas here and there. I have a habit of ringing my own phone to leave a message of a new melody I came up with just in case I forget it.”

This relentless work rate helped spur The Revs to earlysuccess as their hectic touring schedule scored them a hit single in 2001. Wired to the Moon went on to sell 10,000 copies and their debut album went on sell twice that in 2002. The band went on to support acts like Muse, Counting Crows and The Hives but even though their music improved their sales dwindled. Two years ago they…