It's wonderful that vinyl has made such a great comeback... and with it the return of sleevenotes.
I'm particularly pleased with the 3,000-word booklet accompanying the new triple LP from Rory Gallagher – not so much because I wrote it... but because I was asked to write it. And that was genuinely one of the outstanding honours of my long career in journalism.
The blues-rock guitar genius Gallagher died prematurely in 1995, and I am glad to say that I lost count of the number of times I saw him play live. Thankfully, one of those occasions was his appearance at London's Town and Country in 1990.
It was my Evening Standard review of that night that led to my being involved in the production of the beautifully packaged new album All Around Man – Rory Gallagher Live In London.
Rory's nephew Daniel – whose father, Donal, was Rory's manager – saw a cutting of that review, tracked me down and asked if I would write an essay to accompany the release of the live recording.
I said yes immediately – even before I'd heard the tracks. Rory's performances were anyway still fresh in my mind – and a bonus was that I had also met and interviewed him around that time.
The rest is now part of blues history... and I'm beyond delighted to be a part of it too.
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