Controversial blog post about controversial Rory Gallagher statue in Belfast creates controversy

By Steve Newton

Man, I sure know how to get folks riled up.

Two days ago I posted a blog here about the unveiling of a statue outside of Belfast’s Ulster Hall that was meant to depict Irish guitar legend Rory Gallagher performing at that venue back in 1972. The bronze monument was based on a photo from Melody Maker magazine and depicted Gallagher standing with his arms raised widely apart while a Telecaster guitar hung at his hips.

The first time I saw it I was both shocked and insulted, and I’ll tell you why in a second.

I’m a huge Rory fan. I’ve always felt he was shockingly underrated and underappreciated by the majority of music fans. For years I’ve been lobbying through my website for him to finally be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, along with the likes of Johnny Winter and Link Wray.

Now, I realize–and have been reminded many times by his most ardent fans–that Rory wouldn’t give a rat’s ass about being in the RRHOF. But the sheer, unmistakeable brilliance of his guitar playing kept me slagging the Rock Hall in hopes that his long overdue induction might turn many more music lovers onto his mindboggling talent.

So it was this long-held feeling of mine that Rory has never gotten the universal acclaim he deserved that caused me to respond so negatively to the new statue. It wasn’t just the fact that he wasn’t pictured with his famous battered Strat, or that he appeared to have breasts.

What drove me nuts was that I couldn’t recognize his face. And from a rock journalist’s perspective, a musician of Rory Gallagher’s calibre needs to be recognized. That’s the whole point!

Incensed, I banged out an unfortunate headline for my blog post that referred to those behind the statue as “idiots”. That was dumb of me, and I’ve since changed the headline.

Mind you, the vast majority of comments on my Facebook posts tended to support my issues with the sculpture:

“It reminds me of that hideous Lucille Ball statue they ended up taking down a few years ago,” wrote American guitarist Tom Guerra on the Facebook group Rory Gallagher Fans Worldwide. “Terrible.”

“It’s a disgrace,” lamented Joe Hodgson, who’s an amazing Irish guitarist himself, heavily influenced by Gallagher’s body of work.

“How could they get that so wrong???,” queried L.A.-based rock ‘n’ roller Richard Duguay.

And then there were those who didn’t take too kindly to my slagging of the statue:

“Holy shit you’re a miserable c***,” wrote someone who didn’t bother to leave a name.

Anyway, I’ve decided now that it’s best if I don’t even look at the new statue of Rory Gallagher any more. From now on when I want a reminder of what he really looked like on stage I’ll just check out this concert shot that Sir Bob Geldof took of him and then signed for me.

Hey, if there’s any talented sculptors out there looking for a project, a life-sized bronze likeness of this image would be most welcome in my mancave. Just hold the boobies, please.

I never got to interview Rory, to my infinite regret, but to hear the full audio of my 2018 interview with his forever bassist Gerry McAvoy subscribe to my Patreon page, where you can eavesdrop on over 500 of my uncut, one-on-one conversations with the legends of rock since 1982.