Dom Martin: “You got beat up for playing guitar where I came from, so it was always very insular learning how to play”

Belfast-born Dom Martin is fast becoming known as the heir to legendary Irish guitar hero Rory Gallagher.

Universal invited Dom to perform an acoustic set to launch the 50th anniversary edition of Rory’s classic album Deuce in 2021. Dom recently embarked upon a UK acoustic tour, and has electric dates lined up for October.

Are you performing Rory Gallagher songs on your acoustic dates?

“For as long as I’ve got breath in my body there will always be an element of Rory to the setlist! There used to be a lot more Rory songs in the set but we were a verging on becoming a tribute band. That’s not really what I was going for, because I have a lot of my own songs that have something to say.

“I just feel like I owe Rory an awful lot. As a kid growing up in Belfast, my dad gave me a tape with two of Rory’s albums on it – Blueprint and Live In Europe. That was my whole childhood! I still have it, but it’s sellotaped back together so many times it doesn’t work anymore. Rory was my only constant growing up. Nobody told me that he’d died and I found out when I was about 16. I was devastated!”

What were your other influences?

“My dad was like a mix of Ralph McTell and Tommy Emmanuel. We didn’t have a lot growing up, and music was our main food source if you will. There was a lot of playing in the house, always a lot of parties. 

“I was listening to all my dad’s old records, Rory Gallagher, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd. You got beat up for playing guitar where I came from, so it was always that very insular thing learning how to play. It’s helped me through so much over the my whole life. I don’t know how people cope without playing an instrument.”

Dom Martin - Used To Be (Rory Gallagher) - YouTube

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What else is in your acoustic set?

“There’s some Ralph McTell, a bit of John Martyn, bit of John Prine – all the Johns! It’s been great to get back to the stuff that me and my dad used to play years ago. The last couple of gigs I’ve done, it’s been great to get back to the acoustic. Instead of just blasting out songs you’re actually getting that feel and that groove again.”

How do you prepare for acoustic shows?

“I don’t really practise; it’s more of an addiction. When I get home from a gig in Ireland, it’s half-two in the morning. It’s time to try and switch off and I can’t because I have to play. I’ll be there at five in the morning just playing an electric guitar unplugged. I don’t do this because I want to do it. I do it because I need to.”

What’s your live rig?

“There’s a Strymon BigSky for ambience, a tuner and that’d be it for acoustic gigs. There’s no preamp, just whatever’s in the guitar. I just get lucky!”

• A Savage Life is out now.