| Gerry McAvoy | |
|---|---|
McAvoy at the Aglientu Summer Festival on 18 August 2009 Photo: Michele Carr |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | John Gerrard McAvoy |
| Born | 19 December 1951 Belfast, County Antrim Northern Ireland |
| Genres | Blues rock, Rhythm and blues, Rock and Roll, Blue eyed soul |
| Occupations | Musician, songwriter |
| Instruments | Bass guitar |
| Years active | 1967–present |
| Labels | Atlantic, Buddah, Polydor, Chrysalis, Castle Records, Capo Records, Zed Records |
| Associated acts | Pride, Deep Joy, Rory Gallagher, Nine Below Zero |
| Notable instruments | |
| Music Man StingRay | |
Gerry McAvoy (born John Gerrard McAvoy, 19 December 1951, Belfast, Antrim, Northern Ireland) is an Irish blues rock bass guitarist, who is best known for his twenty five year long friendship and professional association performing with Rory Gallagher between 1970 and 1991. A melodic bassist, McAvoy provided what Gallagher has maintained a "musical ESP",[1] in performances and songwriting composition, often playing solos within Gallagher's quartets, and most notably, power trios. After Gallagher's death in 1995, McAvoy moved on, and joined Nine Below Zero, with whom he is still active.
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McAvoy first began his musical career in the Belfast band Deep Joy. During his tenure with Deep Joy he first played with drummer Brendan O'Neill, who was later to tour with Rory Gallagher and appear on Gallagher's last three albums Jinx, Defender and Fresh Evidence.
McAvoy began listening to blues records at an early age. As well as rock and roll, his main influences include Muddy Waters, Paul McCartney and Jet Harris. In his autobiography he cites his brother-in-law (of the same name) as an influence on much of his musical taste. He mostly plays Fender bass guitars, particularly Precisions, owning a 1955 butterscotch blonde Precision and a 1975 cream Precision. However his main stage bass guitar is the black Music Man StingRay. He also owns a black Silvertone bass. For amplification, he uses a Trace Elliot V6 amplifier and a 4 X 10 speaker cabinet, a Peavey T1-15 and a Marshall bass 30W.
On the 18th Of December, 2011. Gerry performed his last gig (to date) with Nine Below Zero in Leicster, at a venue called 'The musician'.
2005 saw the publication of his biography, Riding Shotgun: 35 Years on the Road with Rory Gallagher and Nine Below Zero.