Taste's Final Gig at Queen's University, Belfast
24th October 1970
pictures and story courtesy of Mr. Martin Fleming
Ulster Hall, 9th October
Queen's University, 24th October
Maybe this is the only existing photograph from the gig 24th October.
Martin did not find anyone else having camera.
I am from Belfast and have been a Taste/Rory fan since 1969. I know he gave a huge amount of pleasure to so many people from all over the world, but to us in Belfast, he was our local hero, the only person who would play Belfast year after year through the tough years on the 1970s and bring the different communities together as one. He was fantastic to see and hear anywhere, but in Belfast, it was a whole different atmosphere.
- Friday, 9th October - Ulster Hall, Belfast (This was the concert I was at.)
- Monday, 12th October - Ulster Hall, Belfast (I couldn't afford to go to this one as well - I was only 15.)
- Wednesday, 14th October - Dublin
- Friday, 16th October - Cork
- Sunday, 18th October - Newry
- Saturday, 24th October - Taste's final gig at Queen's University, Belfast
It was during that week on the Thursday that we got the news from the UK music paper Melody Maker that Taste were splitting and that the final concert was at Queen's that Saturday. It was held in the refectory of the Students Union of Queen's University and was billed as a dance. What that meant was there were probably 2000 people standing crushed in the hall.
Just before the gig I was in the packed lobby where everyone was trying to sort out tickets and get in. No one else seemed to notice, but at one point Rory accompanied by a roadie in front and behind him cut through the crowd. It must have been his only way into the hall. I remember thinking - now that took guts. If he had been recognised, the mania could have caused serious problems.
I went straight to the small stage and sat on it. I had a cheap camera with me as my photos of the gig at the Ulster Hall hadn't come out well. I used up a whole film but only some poor prints survive - the rest I gave to friends and fans at the time.
It really was an emotional night and the crowd just didn't want to let them off the stage.
all photo and text above copyright 2008 Martin Fleming
This is a center spread of Irish magazine New Spotlight published on Thursday 22 Oct 1970. These photographs were taken by professional photographer Mark Nolan at Dublin National Stadium. The date was not mentioned but should be 14 Oct, and maybe most people did not know yet at the night it was Taste's last gig in Dublin. (Magazine pic courtesy of Wim.)
[3 short articles in New Spotlight vol.4 no.21, Oct 23-Oct 30 (1970)]
[page 10]
GROUP SCENE by Pat Egan
The Taste story is at end, but while it's a great pity they had to split it is better they went while on the top of their scene. Best wishes to Rory, John and Richie. They have done us proud.
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[page 15]
TASTE FINISHED IN A BLAZE OF GLORY
TASTE, who split at the week-end, left the scene in a blaze of glory. Everywhere they went on their Irish tour there were crowded venues, with reaction that bordered at times on hysteria.
As they went into their last number, 'Blister on the Moon' at the Savoy in Cork on Friday, the audience on the ground floor jammed around the stage. They screamed for an encore but 'Same Old Story' never did get finished. Rory Gallagher was mobbed and the curtain was dropped as the stage was cleared. The crowd refused to move for more than ten minutes, keeping up a chant of 'We want more.'
In Limerick, the crowd went wild when the fire curtain was brought down during the last number. The group played on behind it and Rory was quite annoyed that the end had to be so abrupt.
The National Stadium in Dublin had been much the same.
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[page 18] (shown above)
"Farewell to the TASTE..."
THE TASTE came home in triumph for a series of sell out concerts in Belfast, Dublin, Cork and Limerick. Never has a group English or Irish been so widely acclaimed and the scenes of fan fervour everywhere they played will not be repeated for a long time to come.
Photographer Mark Nolan was in Dublin's National Stadium for this exclusive picture feature on what was sadly to be the group's last appearance in the city. But the 2,500 fans who packed into the stadium and 1,000 or more who could not get tickets and stood dejectedly outside were not aware that the Taste would be no more after the weekend.
Otherwise the wild scenes inside when the crowd refused allow Rory Gallagher leave the stage would surely have been wilder and the section of the disappointed crowd outside who tried to storm the doors would have been even more energetic in their efforts to get in.
The response of their Irish fans to the Taste's last concerts was a fitting farewell tribute to the group who pioneered a breakthrough by winning international respect for Irish musicians. Now the way is open for groups like Skid Row and Thin Lizzy to follow.
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postscript by m.m
Queen's University Students Union building (2009) |
Queen's University building (2009) |
photo copyright 2009 David Herron (Belfast)
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