Words by Chris Dair
I was just a kid when I met Rory. I cannot remember the venue, though I really wish I could. It was a bar in Manchester sometime in either 1973 or 1974.
A friend introduced me to the band and I ended up playing. Rory asked my name, I said Chris Dair, and he said it could not be Dair, it must be O’Dair. I remember we played Catfish Blues and it was absolutely brilliant.
I met him again at the Free Trade Hall later. After the gig we went back for drinks and Rory just played all night. I remember him playing Traintime Blues on an old steel guitar for about half an hour.
He was very down to earth, with no edge to him whatsoever. He believed passionately in what he was doing.
The way I feel about people like Rory now is very different to how it felt at the time. Then it did not seem that much out of the ordinary. It was a very special time for me as a guitarist.