Pat Stacey: Rory Gallagher documentary a superb and poignant re-telling of the story of a musical genius

Rory Gallagher: Calling Card, RTÉ 1 tonight, 6.30pm​

Rory Gallagher photographed for his Top Priority album cover on 11th June 1979. (Photo by Brian Cooke/Redferns)

Pat Stacey

It’s one of music’s great unanswerable questions: what if Rory Gallagher had joined The Rolling Stones after guitarist Mick Taylor quit?

As is well-known, Gallagher spent three days in Rotterdam in 1975, jamming with the band by way of an informal audition. It ultimately came to nothing. Tempting as it is to speculate about what Gallagher might have added to the Stones’ music, the truth is it was never a realistic proposition.