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The Taste AKA Taste

From: Cork, Ireland

Active: 1966-1971

Style: Rock / Blues / Psych / Power Trio


Lineup #1 (1966-68):
Lineup #2 (1968-71):

Bio:

The Taste formed in August 1966. The roots of the band can be traced back to Rory Gallagher's tenure with the Impact and Fontana Showbands. More details to follow. The band gigged solidly across for two years, including stints in Hamburg, and The Taste eventually became just Taste. They were particularly popular in the Maritime Hotel in Belfast.

The original trio disbanded in mid-1968 due to a combination of factors, including what appears to have been record company meddling and management mishandling, the exact details now lost in the mists of time. The new rhythm section was John Wilson and Richard McCracken (sometimes called Charlie McCracken) from Belfast. Both had played with numerous earlier outfits - more details to follow - most recently The Cheese. The band signed to Polydor (after a single on Major Minor), re-located to London, and began to be conquer the world. They released two excellet studio albuns Taste [1969] and On The Boards [1970], but split at the end of 1970, playing their final gig in Belfast on New Years Eve. Two ropey live albums followed in 1971, Live Taste and Live At The Isle of Wight. More archive recordings emerged over the years including studio recordings by the original trio in 1967 which first came out as Taste First [1972] (see discography below for other variations), and October '68 recordings at the Marquee in London released as In Concert [1976].

When Taste split, Rory Gallagher went solo while Wilson and McCracken formed Stud ex Blossom Toes with guitarist Jim Cregan.

Wilson and McCracken revvied the Taste name in 2000 with new guitarist Sam Davidson and have played intermittently ever since.




Poster for a gig at Mothers on 3 May 1969
[poster courtest Syd Wall]


Official Single Discography:

• Blister on the Moon / Born on the Wrong Side of Time
7" - Major Minor Records - MM 560 - UK/IRL - April 1968
• Born on the Wrong Side of Town / Blister on the Moon
7" - Major Minor Records - MM 718 - UK/IRL - 17 July 1970
Reissue with sides flipped (by accident?) and mis-titled A-side.
Recorded by Kitteringham/Damery lineup.


• Born on the Wrong Side of Time / Same Old Story
7" - Polydor Records - 56313 - UK - March 1969 - mono
7" - Polydor Records - NH 59298 - Italy - 1969 - PS
7" - Polydor Records - DP-1646 - Japan - 1969 - PS


• What's Going On / Railway and Gun
7" - Polydor Records - 2058 008 - Germany - 1970 - PS


• What's Going On / Morning Sun
7" - Polydor Records - 2058 012 - France - 1970 - PS


• If I Don't Sing I'll Cry / I'll Remember
7" - Polydor Records - 2058 017 - Spain - 1971 - PS


• Wee Wee Baby / You've Got To Pay
7" - BASF Records - 06 19089-1 - Germany - 1972? 1974? - PS


• Die Vier Grossen Hits
2x7" - Polydor Records - 2607 025 - Germany - 1976 - gatefold


• s/t EP
12" - Polydor Records - POSP 609 - UK - October 1982 - PS?


Official Album Discography:

• s/t
LP - Polydor - 583 042 - UK - 1969


• On The Boards
LP - Polydor - 583 083 - UK - 1970


• Live Taste
LP - Polydor - 2310 082 - UK - 1971


• Live at the Isle of Wight
LP - Polydor - 2383 120 - UK - 1972


• Taste First
LP - BASF - 20 29084-0 - Germany - 1972
LP - BASF - BV-20.039 - Venezuela - 1972
Rory Gallagher - In the Beginning
LP - Emereld Gem - GEM/GES 1110 - UK/IRL - 1974
Rory Gallagher & Taste - Take It Easy Baby
LP - Springboard - SPB-4056 - USA - 1976
Recorded in 1967.


• In Concert
LP - Ariola Records - 25 001 ET - Germany - 1977
LP - Ariola Records - 205 366-270 - Germany - 1978
Recorded at The Marquee on 25 October 1968.


Bootleg Discography:

• London Invasion
CD - label? - ???
Recorded for the BBC Top Gear Show 1968-69

Notes: Excellent quality BBC recordings. The second half of this disc (last 6 tracks) was recorded live at The Marquee on 25 October 1968 and was given an official release on Ariola Records [205 366] in 1978 as "Taste in Concert".



Rory Gallagher - Live With Taste
CD - label? - TASTE 1 - 2003 - digipak


• The Irish Werewolf.
CD - Genuine Pig - TGP-CD-110 - 1993
• Taste The West. Live in Basel Feb 1970.
CD - label? - 2002
• Basel Or Bust
CD - label? - ???
Recorded live at the Stadthalle, Basel, Switzerland on 1 February 1970.

Notes: Excellent quality soundboard recording issued at least three times, with slightly different track listings.



• Trickster's Fake (Live Hamburg Feb 1970)
CD - WPOCM Records - WPOCM 0290 D 044-2 - Germany - 1990
World Productions of Compact Music


• s/t
LP - Violet Systems Records - ??? - Germany - 1970 - 500 copies
Recorded live at Eisstadion, Dusseldorf, Germany on 15 May 1970

Notes: One of the rarest 70s bootlegs, certainly the first Taste bootleg, and a very desireable item despite the average sound quality. Violet System were shut down after the first pressing of 500 and no further copies were made. The A and B side tracklistings on the back cover are swopped on the actual disc. Also the song titles on the side two label (side one on the back cover) are incorrectly listed as 'Storm' and 'Daughter of the Fireplace' on some copies. These come from another Violet System bootleg from 1970, Man's 'To Live For To Die'.



Rory Gallagher And Taste - Just a Rolling Stone: Amsterdam June 5th, 1970
CDR - Swingin' Pig - TGP-CD-120 - Italy - 1993


• Live In Amsterdam - Amburgo - Basilea 1970
CD - Armando Curcio Editore - ??? - Italy - 1992
Live in Amsterdam, Hamburg and Basil

Notes: Italian CD in a series titled "Il dizionario del Rock. miti di ieri e di oggi" - "The Dictionary of Rock. Myths of yesterday and today". This collects tracks from three shows already issued separately: Basel 1 February 1970, Hamburg February 1970 and ROry Gallagher solo on 5 June 1972 in Amsterdam.



• The Taste 18/09/70
CD - label? - ???
Recorded live at the Konserthuset, Stockholm, Sweden on 18 September 1970.

Notes: A 14-track version of this concert is also in circulation






See also: Cheese, Rory Gallagher, Stud


Help!: We need your help to complete this entry. If you can tell us more about this band then please do! We welcome any corrections, missing details, connections to other bands, where are they now, etc. We also need photos, scans, copies of releases or live or demo recordings, and any other memorabilia gathering dust in the attic. If you can help, then please get in touch.




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