In a new DVD, which chronicles the rise and fall of Gallagher's blues trio Taste - and their show-stopping performance at the Isle of Wight Festival in 1970, the Queen star reveals he begged the Irishman for his guitar secrets backstage after a gig in London, and then went out and bought the equipment he used.

He says, "He was a magician. He was one of the very few people of that time who could make his guitar do anything, it seemed. I remember looking at that battered Stratocaster and thinking, 'How does that (sound) come out of there?'

"We hung around and hid when the Marquee (London venue) was at turning-out time, and then we strolled over as if we were supposed to be there, and I said (to Gallagher), 'How do you get the sound? What is it?' And he said, 'Oh, it's very simple. I have this guitar and I have this amp (amplifier) - an AC-30 amp - and I have this little Rangemaster Treble Booster...'

"So I went straight out and got the AC-30 and the Treble Booster and it gave me what I wanted; it made the guitar speak. So it was Rory that gave me my sound, and that's the sound I still have."

Bob Geldof and The Edge also pay tribute to Gallagher and Taste on What's Going On: Taste Live at the Isle of Wight.

Captured on film by Oscar-winning director Murray Lerner, the set was Taste's last before Gallagher went solo. He lost his battle with severe liver damage in 1995. He is still considered among the world's greatest guitarists.