The Story Of Taste Mk1

Left to Right: Eric Kitteringham, Rory Gallagher & Norman Damery
Photo: Courtesy of Strange Music Ltd. 

In 1966, Rory Gallagher, then aged 18, was fresh out of the recently disbanded showband, The Impact. He had joined the group a few years prior, aged only 14, when it was known as The Fontana. The experience of being in a showband had provided Rory with something of an ‘apprenticeship’ as a musician. He had not long come back from Hamburg with a pared down line-up of The Impact, featuring himself on guitar, Johnny Campbell on drums and Oliver Tobin on bass. The club owners tended to prefer a larger line-up – they got around this by sending a photo of the group, featuring a friend standing with keyboards. Once they arrived, the smaller group was explained by the ‘fourth band member’ having fallen ill with appendicitis on the way over and that the band would fulfil their booking while he ‘recovered.’ Of course, the fourth member never did arrive – and as the saying goes, the band played on.

This trio split up when they returned home to Cork. Rory was now ready to break out of the dictates of the showband model that dominated the music scene and play music his way. He asked his younger brother, Dónal, to go with him to see a local beat group, The Axills, who were playing in a newly opened club in the basement of St Luke’s Church, Summerhill. Rory soon became friends with the group and was invited to replace their soon to be departing guitarist Peter Sanquest– Rory had even jammed with them. But his response was a firm no. Rory then posed the question to Axills drummer Norman Damery and bassist Eric Kitteringham, would they be interested in forming a new group with him? They answered a firm yes, and Taste Mk 1 was born, also known as The Taste. The name was inspired by the advert on a pub coaster for Beamish, a local brew.

The new band soon got practicing. Peter Brennan, Eric Kitteringham’s cousin, recalled to Rory biographer Marcus Connaughton helping them move a lot of equipment up to a large bedroom at the Kitteringham family home before being ‘banished’ – the friends went off to play football, while the band got down to business. They practiced at the Kitteringham home regularly. Rory was the youngest of the group and the only one who didn’t have a day job. Norman worked at the Norwich Union and Eric at Guys Printing Work.

The Taste worked to hone their sound. Remembering the time, Eric is quoted in Dan Muise’s Gallagher, Marriott, Derringer and Trower: Their Lives & Music, saying that at first, they played mostly covers, with Eric singing a few songs, but soon Rory took over most of the vocals and they soon played his own songs: “It felt right from the beginning.” They also rehearsed at the Retired Army Officer’s Club in MacCurtain Street. Dónal had got a job at a local club, The Cavern, and soon told the owner about Rory and his band. It wasn’t long before The Taste were playing there, soon becoming very popular with the Cork audiences. The Taste also played at the Shandon Boat Club. Their setlist included covers such as the Elmore James classic, ‘Dust My Broom’ and The Who’s ‘My Generation.’ In 1967, The Taste competed in the Cork heat of RTE radio’s ‘Spot The Talent’. Some judges were bemused at the presence of a blues band, but judge B.P. Fallon threatened to quit altogether if The Taste didn’t win. So, they won! Peter Sanquest’s brother, Kevin, was their first manager.

The three-piece format was very unusual for the time. As already mentioned, it wasn’t really the done thing in Hamburg. In Ireland, there were strict rules courtesy of the Musician’s Union. The Union was beneficial from the view that it set the basic fees bands were paid, but it also had strict rules about how many members should be in a band. The Taste, comprising only of three, was a strict no-no and could limit the venues a group could play. At their earlier shows, they got around this by adding some temporary members from friends – and Dónal – who would run on stage when the warning came that someone from the Union was en route. In the end, it came to a head when The Taste received their first booking at The Arcadia, a popular dancehall in Cork and the Union threatened to cancel it because of the band only having three musicians. It caused an uproar. The Taste were invited to ‘audition’ for the Union. Rory refused, the Music Union backed down and The Arcadia show went ahead.

Photo: Courtesy of Strange Music Ltd.

The Taste worked hard building up their momentum – at first they played any venue for low fees and would often sleep in their van and go without eating. Dónal began working with them as a roadie, though as he had yet to obtain his driving licence, Norman also drove the group around, which was quite a hard task on top of drumming. They also found themselves playing in Hamburg too. There were memorable moments, such as the time, after a gig in Dublin in 1967, when the van got broken into and Rory’s famous prized Stratocaster and a borrowed Telecaster were stolen. Rory was downcast, making regular calls to the Gardaí (Irish police), to see if his guitars had been found. Eventually, the theft was shown on TV’s ‘Garda Patrol’, where a gag was made about a certain young guitarist’s neighbours probably being glad the Stratocaster was gone. In an interview, Dónal recalled shouting at the TV, that they didn’t know how good the guitarist was! After the TV mention, the Stratocaster was found with bashed paintwork and missing strings under a hedge and Rory was happily reunited.


As popular as they were in Cork, Rory wanted to push the momentum. He had already been told that they could do quite well in Belfast, which had a strong bluesy music scene, so the group headed North by 1967. After their first show, they had nowhere to sleep so were invited to the home of local musician, Billy McCoy, whose mother served them an Ulster Fry for breakfast. Eventually, they came to secure a residency at Club Rado, owned by Eddie Kennedy. Previously it had been known as the Maritime, and was famous for Van Morrison and The Them. The Taste soon became popular in Belfast, and Rory something of a hero to younger budding musicians. While there, he was introduced to a very young Gary Moore, who was aged about 13/14 and already playing in his own group. Also in the audiences for Taste were a young Gerry McAvoy and Brendan O’Neill, both of whom later joined Rory in his solo career as bassist and drummer. Gerry recalls going to buy a bass, and meeting Rory in the music shop. Gerry thought he would get away with saying hi, before going on his way, but Rory, then aged about 19, invited the 16-year-old Gerry to join him and they had a long chat.

Eddie Kennedy became the manager of Taste. He would book them as support for groups coming from the UK to play Northern Ireland, including Cream and Peter Green era Fleetwood Mac. Kennedy was in partnership with Mervyn Solomons. Solomons’ brother Phil managed Major-Minor Records, which also had a studio in Belfast. Taste were brought into record a few demos, which also included Rory’s song ‘Blister On The Moon.’ To sort out the sound in the dull studio, Dónal was dispatched to bring in some street paving. The session was later released against Rory’s knowledge and wishes, leading to some legal wranglings later. Though legalities aside, the sessions do offer a chance to hear what Taste Mk 1 sounded like.

Another key step for Taste was to obtain shows in London. They had already supported early Fleetwood Mac and Cream on Irish shows, and were offered slots playing in England as a result. The group were given the opportunity to play at The Marquee in London, a venue high on Rory’s sights. He used to see a number of bands there on nights off when his previous group, The Impact, were playing in England. The end result was that The Taste secured a residency at The Marquee and became popular with audiences. At this point, Eric and Norman had to make a decision about their day jobs and going full-time with Taste and moving to London. Rory had issued an ultimatum. It was a precarious decision to leave a well-paid job for the uncertainties of a music career. But they decided to go with the group. Life in London was hard. Dónal remembered at one point people believing they were among the many young Irish men who had come to work as labourers and laughing at the thought of an Irish blues band. There wasn’t a lot of money, and the band, sharing a small basement flat, often found it tough to feed themselves – a strong memory was a friend who worked delivering fruit and veg, keeping some mushrooms aside, which they would then fry for their dinner. That said, even back in the days of The Impact, Rory would say things were going great, while another member of the group told Dónal that he was actually going hungry. It’s safe to say that Rory was dedicated to make his career.

Norman had also left a job in which he was about to be promoted to a managerial position and was to be sent to London for the appropriate training. He had left this in favour of Taste. The decision was to prove monumental. One night, in March 1968, the group came off-stage after a show and were shocked by the news of the Tuskar Rock air crash. An Aer Lingus flight had left Cork Airport enroute to London. It crashed into the sea off Tuskar Rock, with the loss of all 61 passengers and crew members. Upon hearing the news, a shocked Norman turned to Rory and informed him that he’d just saved his life. That was the flight Norman would have been on to London for his managerial training had Rory not given the ultimatum of the day job or the band. The story appeared after Dónal’s tribute to Norman on the official Rory Gallagher website following Norman’s death in January 2023.

Sadly, the time of the Taste Mk 1 line-up were coming to an end. Polydor had seen Taste play in the Marquee studios. Eddie Kennedy had then gone to Rory, informing him that Polydor were interested in signing, but only if a new bassist and drummer were brought in. It’s not clear if this was the case with Polydor, or something Kennedy had come up with. Rory was in a bind. Eric and Norman were more than capable, and it was with them that Rory had put in the work. In the end, both were let go. Eric noted in Dan Muise’s book that both he and Norman were getting fed up with music, thanks to shenanigans with Kennedy that famously later haunted Taste Mk 2, but are too gloriously complex, and indeed bitter to go into here. Both were replaced by John Wilson on drums and Richard ‘Charlie’ McCracken on bass. John Wilson creditably has made mention of the effort Eric and Norman put into helping build Taste – both deserve a lot of recognition in light of the success Taste achieved.

Sadly Eric passed away in May 2013 after a short illness, whilst Norman died suddenly in January 2023. This piece is dedicated to the memory of both.



Thanks to Daniel Gallagher for provision of photos.



Some sources – RIP Norman Damery -rorygallagher.com

Gallagher, Marriott, Derringer and Trower, Dan Muise, Hal Leonard, 2002

Rory Gallagher: A Life, Marcus Connaughton, The Collins Press, 2012

Riding Shotgun: 35 Years On The Road With Rory Gallagher & Nine Below Zero, Gerry McAvoy, SPG Triumph, 2005