Ahead of his gig in the Róisín Dubh next month, Lisa Regan talks to former Revs front man Rory Gallagher about going it alone, his new album and the dream sandwich.

A former front man with The Revs; why did you decide to go it alone?

As a band, we had completely lost the momentum and the buzz; to put it in an Irish way, there was no craic anymore! We had no record deal and no direction, it just felt like the right time to stop before we started killing each other. We had a brilliant seven years and I don't regret a thing.

How did you first become interested in music?

My parents used to play in a pop covers band called Pluto so there was always music in the house from the word go. I made my stage debut playing the drums with them at the Killybegs summer festival when I was four. I played 'Eye of the Tiger'. I can't really remember much about it but my aunties and uncles were impressed.

Is your own sound similar to that of The Revs or have you moved away from this?

Certain tracks are very 'Revs', but as a whole the album is more acoustic based. I am playing mandolin and Hammond organ on a lot of the tracks, so a lot of the music is more laid back and it sounds like somebody coming to the end of their 20s!

This is your debut solo album; did you write much on 'God Bless The Big Bang'?

I wrote all 12 tracks I will have you know!

There are 12 tracks in total, which one of these tracks stands out most in your mind?

The opening track 'The Oxygen Is Not Pure' means a lot, as it is the first song I ever wrote where I knew it was a great song but I also knew it would never work in The Revs as it had a bit of a country swing to it, so I suppose it got me thinking about plan B.

If you had to sell yourself on just one of these songs which one would it be?

If somebody wants to buy in to the whole thing that is their choice, I am not a door-to-door music salesman!

What music do you like to listen to?

At the minute Vampire Weekend, MGMT, Ryan Adams (not Bryan!), The Band and Mark Ronson make a regular appearance on my iPod.