Award-winning singer/songwriter James Morrison has paid tribute to landlord Rory Fallon who helped launch his career. Mr Fallon died on 21 January, 2008.

Mr Fallon put on the open-mic nights at Ryan's Bar in Derby, where the singer was spotted.

The 59-year-old landlord, who ran several pubs in the area, including the Hurt Arms, Ambergate, The Greyhound, Belper, and the White Lion, Sawley, died from liver failure.

James Morrison said: "Rory was a memorable man. He gave me an outlet to perform my early material when I needed it and I'll always be grateful for that. My thoughts go out to Rory's family at this time."

Mr Fallon’s family hope to keep Ryan’s Bar going in his memory after his death from liver failure.

Talent scout and musician Kevin Andrews, who is credited with discovering James Morrison at the St Peter's Street bar in 2004, said the open-mic nights had been vital in Mr Morrison's career.

He said: "Rory was a key link in the chain. James got on with him and thought the world of him. He sent his condolences the day Rory died."

Mr Fallon's wife Ginette described her husband as an old-fashioned publican who lived for his work and always put his customers first. The pub, with its Guinness mirrors and signs to Dublin and Galway on the walls, showed his pride in his Irish roots.

Mrs Fallon, 60, of Stenson Fields, Derby, said: "It might sound silly but sometimes I think he's still here. He was always at the bar to greet people when they walked in and say goodbye when they left. He enjoyed his work because he loved meeting people and he was a joke a minute."

Mr Fallon died at Derby City General Hospital, three weeks after he was admitted. Mrs Fallon was at his bedside with their three children, Ciaran, 38, Sinead, 35 and Sean, 20.

Mrs Fallon said: "It's very difficult to say goodbye because you never really think they're going to go."

Mr Fallon, who was a grandfather to Ciaran’s five-year-old son Fabian, was a landlord for 28 years. He took over Ryan's from his daughter in 2000. He had also previously run the Strutt Arms, in Milford, and The Park, in Chaddesden.

He moved to England from Ireland when he was nine and became a publican in the 1970s.

His son Ciaran, who works at Ryan's, said 325 people attended his father's funeral at St John's Church, Stapleford.

He said: "There's a sign in the pub that says 'through these doors there are no strangers, merely friends you are yet to meet'. That just about summed dad up."