Top Priority is Rory Gallagher’s tenth album. This was released on 16th September 1979 and recorded at Dierks Studios, Cologne, Germany. Like the previous album Photo-Finish, Top Priority is a return to hard rock. The acoustic and folk influences that were seen on albums such as Calling Card are replaced by more straight ahead powerful blues rock like fan favourites such as ‘Bad Penny’, ‘Philby’ and album opener ‘Follow Me’. This 2012 remaster used the original vinyl artwork and 1/4″ tapes so that they look and sound exactly as Rory intended.

Johnny Marr “The man who changed my musical life was Rory Gallagher, I picked up a guitar because of him.”

Slash “Rory didn’t sound like anybody else…He had a very individual, independent kind of tone and approach and everything. He’s always been a big hero to me.”

Brian May “So these couple of kids come up, who’s me and my mate, and say ‘How do you get your sound Mr. Gallagher?’ and he sits and tells us. So I owe Rory Gallagher my sound.“

Ritchie Blackmore “Rory was probably the most natural player I’ve ever seen. In all the gigs we did together I don’t think I ever heard him play the same thing twice… He was the ultimate performer.”

Ed Sheeran “’A Million Miles Away’ was the first song I learned on guitar. The story goes that when Jimi Hendrix was asked how it felt to be the greatest guitarist in the world, he answered, “I don’t know. Go ask Rory Gallagher.”