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His attitude was, ‘If you don’t know my music, what the hell are you doing here?’” says Rod de’Ath. The tour was filmed by documentary maker Tony Palmer, who worked with The Beatles and Frank Zappa. Originally made for TV, it was given a full theatrical release.

We did shake hands,” says de’Ath, who would play with Gallagher until 1976. “I don’t think he did that with Gerry.” He was a confident guitarist, albeit one with a rebellious streak. One appearance at a school talent show provoked the ire of the Catholic brothers who ran the establishment. The reason: Gallagher had covered Cliff Richard’s chaste 1959 hit, Living Doll.The film presents a balanced view of the political climate in Ireland at the time, along with the fans’ total devotion to a man who had become a cultural hero as much as a musician. Always concerned with remaining “a musician, not a politician”, Gallagher went out of his way to appear neutral on all matters political. Our work rate was extraordinary,” says de’Ath. “And Rory’s standards were very high. He pushed himself. When he suffered from exhaustion during my time, the only way we could get him to cancel a show was to say that I was ill. I got a bit peeved about that.”

Taste played their final show at Belfast’s Queens University on October 24, 1970. It was a hard decision for the guitarist –“I don’t like to think about it too much, because it upsets me,” Gallagher later said of Taste’s split – though, typically, that didn’t stop him making it. He was no virtuoso singer, and his vocals were rough around the edges (“His range, when he tries hard, is virtually nil,” said one critic), but the array of sounds he squeezed out of his trusty red Strat were loaded with rawness and emotion. More than anything, he wanted to capture the visceral energy of a live show, as McAvoy found out. I was from Belfast, Gerry was from Belfast and there was co-operation from ‘The Organisation’ to make sure the concerts went OK,” says Lou Martin.

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Released in November 1971, just six months after the debut, Deuce incorporated Celtic influences amongst the tight blues workouts, notably on I’m Not Awake Yet. Elsewhere, Don’t Know Where I’m Going was an homage to one of Gallagher’s more unlikely heroes, Bob Dylan. Gigging before, during and after the recording of Deuce, the band had little time to celebrate its entry into the charts at a respectable No.39. I didn’t and went out on my own.” It was probably the best move he ever made. There were in fact two Tastes. Rory was the one common factor in both. But although Taste had always played Rory’s songs, they never somehow quite played his music.