Taste are an Irish
blues rock
Blues rock is a fusion music genre, genre and form of rock music, rock and blues music that relies on the chords/scales and instrumental improvisation of blues. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electri ...
band formed in
Cork in 1966. They were founded by songwriter and guitarist
Rory Gallagher who left the band in 1970.
History
Taste (originally "The Taste") were formed in
Cork,
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
, in August 1966 as a trio consisting of
Rory Gallagher on guitars and vocals, Eric Kitteringham on bass, and Norman Damery on drums.
In their early years Taste toured in Hamburg and Ireland before becoming regulars at Maritime Hotel, an R&B club in
Belfast
Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...
,
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
, in the summer of 1967.
In 1968 Taste began performing in the UK where the original lineup split up. The new lineup formed with
Richard McCracken on bass and
John Wilson on drums.
The new Taste moved permanently to London where they signed with the
record label
"Big Three" music labels
A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...
Polydor. In November 1968, the band, along with
Yes, opened at
Cream's farewell concerts. While with Polydor, Taste began touring the United States and Canada with the English
supergroup Blind Faith. In April 1969, Taste released the first of their two studio albums, the self-titled ''
Taste
The gustatory system or sense of taste is the sensory system that is partially responsible for the perception of taste. Taste is the perception stimulated when a substance in the mouth biochemistry, reacts chemically with taste receptor cells l ...
'', with ''
On the Boards'' following in early 1970,
the latter showing the band's
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
influences with Gallagher playing
saxophone
The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to p ...
on two tracks.
They performed at the
Isle of Wight Festival 1970, alongside
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...
and
The Who
The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...
. According to Donal Gallagher (Rory's brother who managed the band) filmmaker Murray Lerner had instructed his crew to shoot just two numbers from the new bands and to save the main film stock for Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Leonard Cohen and the other headliners, but Taste's performance prompted him to change his instructions: "Murray didn't know who Taste were but when he saw the spontaneity of the band and the audience and their interaction, he just told his guys keep filming and they just kept going and captured over an hour of the performance which was quite incredible." In the song "Sugar Mama", a photographer can be seen hurriedly bringing his camera up from a re-load to cover another camera angle.
Later in 1970 Taste toured Europe, then disbanded for numerous reasons, the details of which are still unclear, but are generally acknowledged as being related to managerial disputes, and tensions between Gallagher and the rest of the band, who wanted to be recognised as equals with him (Gallagher having been the sole songwriter in the band). They performed their last show on New Year's Eve in
Belfast
Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...
.
[
] Wilson and McCracken immediately formed '
Stud' in early 1971, with
Jim Cregan and
John Weider, while Gallagher went on to pursue
a solo career. Some years after the break-up, recordings of the original line-up emerged.
A musical homage to Taste and Gallagher was made by
Black 47 in their song "Rory", released on 1998's ''Green Suede Shoes'' album.
In 1996, Richard McCracken and John Wilson reformed the band with guitarist/vocalist Sam Davidson taking over Rory Gallagher's role as frontman, with Albert Mills replacing McCracken in 2010. The band continued in this formation until February 2017, when it was revealed that the band would tour under the name "Little Taste of Rory feat. John Wilson", and that the line-up now consisted of Wilson, Davidson, and new bassist Alan Niblock. In 2018 John Wilson retired from the band due to ill health but Sam Davidson continues to perform as "Sam Davidson's TASTE" with Albert Mills back on bass and Lyn McMullan taking over from Wilson on drums.
Personnel
Members
;Current members
*Sam Davidson – guitars, vocals
*Albert Mills – bass
*Lyn McMullan – drums
;Former members
*
Rory Gallagher – guitars, vocals, saxophone, harmonica
*Norman Damery – drums
*Eric Kitteringham – bass
*
John Wilson – drums
*
Richard McCracken – bass
*Alan Niblock – bass
Timeline
Line-ups
Discography
Studio albums
Live albums
Compilation albums
Singles
* "Blister on the Moon" / "Born on the Wrong Side of Time" –
UK, April 1968 /sup>
* "Born on the Wrong Side of Time" / "Same Old Story" – UK/ EU/ JPN, 1969
* " What's Going On" / "Railway and Gun" – EU, 1970 /sup>
* "If I Don't Sing I'll Cry" / "I'll Remember" – ESP, 1970
DVDs
*'' Message To Love'' – 1995 (Isle of Wight Festival
The Isle of Wight Festival is a British music festival which takes place annually in Newport, Isle of Wight, Newport on the Isle of Wight, England. It was originally a Counterculture of the 1960s, counterculture event held from 1968 to 1970.
Th ...
recordings of "Sinner Boy" and "Gamblin' Blues" only)
*''What's Going On: Live At The Isle Of Wight'' - 2015
Bibliography
* ''The New Musical Express Book of Rock'', 1975, Star Books,
* ''Cork Rock: From Rory Gallagher To The Sultans Of Ping'' by Mark McAvoy. Published by Mercier Press (2009)
References
External links
Has the covers of all singles, complete discography, everythingTaste live at Rodeo Club - Athens (Greek)
Irish rock music groups
Musical groups established in 1966
Musical groups disestablished in 1970
Musical groups from Cork (city)
Polydor Records artists
Verve Records artists
1966 establishments in Ireland
Irish musical trios
1960s in Irish music
1970s in Irish music
1990s in Irish music
2000s in Irish music
2010s in Irish music
2020s in Irish music
{{Rory Gallagher