Rory Gallagher’s 1960s Hofner Colorama

Rory used this guitar briefly while he played within the showband Fontana, sometime in the early sixties. The guitar wasn’t actually his but was borrowed because the only other guitar he had at the time was the Rosetti Solid Seven. Apparently, that guitar just didn’t cut it, and Rory soon invested in a Stratocaster.

When I joined the showband, after a few months I got a Strat. It took me four years to pay it off on HP. I`d borrowed a Hofner Colorama for a while, which wasn’t bad. Anyhow, I sold the Solid Seven when I got the Fender and borrowed a Vox AC30 from the bass player in the band.

…RORY GALLAGHER talks to NICK ROBERTSHAW

The Colorama that was most likely an early 60s model with double cutout body, featuring tremolo bridge and either one (Model 163) or two (Model 164) single-coil pickups. It was finished in red, as all of the Coloramas at that time were.