Rory Gallagher was a blues and rock guitarist, singer and songwriter. Born in Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal in 1948, he grew up in the city of Cork. He taught himself to play guitar from the age of nine and also played alto saxophone, harmonica and mandolin. Based in London during most of his 30 year career, he toured extensively, and in Greece, Gallagher once drew 40,000 people to a 15,000 capacity soccer stadium, making headlines and selling 100,000 albums in Greece alone. He sold 30 million records, and had a worldwide following of loyal fans. He died in London at the early age of 47, on 14 June 1995.


Hailing from Belfast James Galway inherited his woodwind skills from his paternal grandfather. Progressing from mouth organ and penny whistle, Galway's victories in all three classes of the Irish Flute Championships at the age of 10 led to a place in the Belfast Youth Orchestra and his first BBC broadcasts. A brief spell as a trainee piano tuner preceded scholarships at London's Guildhall School of Music and then the Paris Conservatoire - where he supplemented his grant by busking on city subways. From the rank-and-file at Sadlers Wells, he rose to become principal flutist with the Berlin Philharmonic in 1969. Six years later, manager Michael Emerson suggested he go solo. While averaging 120 concerts a year, his award-winning recordings of Mozart and Vivaldi paralleled a more financially rewarding venture into pop in the late '70s which culminated with three hit albums and, also in 1978, an international smash with an arrangement of John Denver's "Annie's Song." As well as two more best-selling albums, Galway has written his autobiography, recorded an album Sometimes We Touch with Cleo Laine, two with The Chieftains and undertaken world tours to full houses.


Born Robert Frederick Zenon Geldof in 1954 in Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin. Geldof initially entered the music scene as a journalist before forming the band Nightlife Thugs, which subsequently evolved into The Boomtown Rats. After starring in the film of Pink Floyd's The Wall, he turned his attention to the dreadful famine that was plaguing Ethiopia in 1984. Shocked by the horrific pictures that he saw on television, Geldof organized the celebrated Band Aid aggregation for the charity record which he co-wrote with Midge Ure, "Do They Know It's Christmas!" The single sold in excess of three million copies and thanks to Geldof's foresight in gaining financial control of every aspect of the record's production, manufacture and distribution, famine relief received over 96 pence of the 1.35(pound) retail price. The record inspired 1985's mammoth Live Aid extravaganza in which Geldof herded together rock's elite to play before a worldwide television audience of over 1 billion.


Record label founded from a small record store by Terri Hooley in Belfast in the late 1970's amid the Punk Rock scene to allow bands from the north of the country to record. Among its biggest finds were The Undertones.


Kieran Goss was born and raised in Newry, County Down. One of a family of fifteen, he studied Law at Queen's University Belfast, but after qualifying as a lawyer in 1985, he turned his back on a legal career to concentrate on songwriting. Kieran has released five albums to date; four solo albums, and one duo album with Frances Black.

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