Calling Card

Rory’s eighth solo album ‘Calling Card’ was recorded during 1976 at the famed Musicland Studios in Munich. All of Rory’s previous releases had been self produced, for this album he was keen to find a producer who had an affinity with traditional rock values but who was open to new ideas.

On his previous release ‘Against The Grain’ Rory had started to shift away from the blues/rock sound he’d made his own, creating a harder sound. He was keen that this progression should continue but needed to find a producer who shared his convictions and could help create the sound he wanted. During the 70’s Deep Purple were one of the most successful rock bands in the world and Rory had toured the U.S. with them. Roger Glover, Deep Purples bassist, offered his services to Rory, seeming to be a perfect candidate to produce the album. They began work on ‘Calling Card’ in the summer of 1976.

The band, Gerry McAvoy on bass, Lou Martin on keyboards and Rod De’Ath on drums added the final element to the ‘creative’ mix. In the three years they had been performing together they had grown into a formidable band. As Roger Glover explained “they all seemed very dedicated to Rory, there was an allegiance, born of years of smoky clubs and endless journeys”. This was the fifth and last release featuring this classic line-up.