“I went backstage and said to Rory, ‘There’s a guy out there called Slash who’s come to see you…’ Rory’s eyes lit up”: The night Rory Gallagher gave the Guns N’ Roses guitarist a taste of affordable Gibson via his 1960 Melody Maker

Rory Gallagher's 1960 Gretsch Melody Maker.

This 1960 Melody Maker was nudged in a more Les Paul-like direction, with the addition of a humbucker at the bridge, when Rory Gallagher acquired it in 1985 originally for slide work. However, when a certain member of Guns N’ Roses turned up at a Los Angeles gig to pay homage to Rory, it came in handy for another purpose, as his brother Donal Gallagher explains. 

“In March of 1991, we’d arrived back in LA after a long flight from Sydney. Oddly enough, we’d left Australia on 2 March, which was Rory’s birthday. I’d kind of planned the flights so that Rory would get two birthdays [after crossing the International Date Line].