Richard McNamara (born 23 October 1972 in

Mytholmroyd Mytholmroyd (pronounced ) is a large village in the Upper Calder Valley in West Yorkshire, England, east of Hebden Bridge. It lies east of Burnley and west of Halifax. The village, which has a population of approximately 4,000 is in the L ...

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

, England) is an English musician, singer-songwriter, and producer, best known as the guitarist and co-lead vocalist for the English band

Embrace Embrace may refer to: * A hug, a form of physical intimacy * Acceptance Music Bands * Embrace (American band), a post-hardcore band from Washington, D.C. * Embrace (English band), a post-Britpop band from West Yorkshire * Embrace (duo), a Dan ...

. He and his older brother,

Danny Danny is a masculine given name. It is related to the male name Daniel. It may refer to: People * Danny Altmann, British immunologist *Danny Antonucci, Canadian animator, director, producer, and writer *Danny Baker (born 1957), English journal ...

, grew up in the village of

Bailiff Bridge Bailiff Bridge is a village north from Brighouse, West Yorkshire, England, and is from Huddersfield and from Bradford. Bailiff Bridge falls within the Hipperholme and Lightcliffe Ward of Calderdale Council. The village is centred on the A64 ...

Brighouse Brighouse is a town within the metropolitan borough of Calderdale, in West Yorkshire, England. Historically within the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated on the River Calder, east of Halifax. It is served by Junction 25 of the M62 m ...

near Halifax. Danny is the band's lead singer. Richard and Danny McNamara attended

Hipperholme Grammar School ) , established = , closed = , type = Independent school , religious_affiliation = Church of England , president = , head_label = Head Teacher , head = Mr Nick James , chair_label = Chair of Go ...

in nearby

Hipperholme Hipperholme is a village in West Yorkshire, England, located between the towns of Halifax and Brighouse in the Hipperholme and Lightcliffe ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale. The population of this ward at the 2011 Census was 11,3 ...

with their brother Jonathan. According to Danny, as a child Richard was nicknamed 'Firestarter' as he was fascinated with fire and was always playing with a box of matches. McNamara was initially the drummer for a

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

garage A garage is a covered structure built for the purpose of parking, storing, protecting, maintaining, and/or repairing vehicles. Specific applications include: *Garage (residential), a building or part of a building for storing one or more vehicle ...

band called Gross Misconduct in his teens. It is believed that Embrace began when his brother barged into a session and started telling him and his bandmates what to do. Although McNamara has worked with his brother in writing many of the band's songs, he only single-handedly sings a few songs. Most notably "

One Big Family ''One Big Family EP'' is a four-track extended play (EP) by English band Embrace from their debut album, ''The Good Will Out'' (1998). Released on 7 July 1997, and with the song "One Big Family" as the lead track, the EP narrowly missed the top ...

" and "

Hooligan Hooliganism is disruptive or unlawful behavior such as rioting, bullying and vandalism, usually in connection with crowds at sporting events. Etymology There are several theories regarding the origin of the word ''hooliganism,'' which is a d ...

" which were both issued as

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

; also "I Want The World" on the band's début album. In 2018, McNamara (alongside Embrace members,

Steve Firth Steven Mark Firth (born 1 February 1965 in Halifax, England) is the bass guitarist for the English band Embrace. He studied art at Liverpool University, and also completed a psychology degree. Firth admitted that he only found out about Embr ...

, Mike Heaton and Mickey Dale) collaborated with Preston-based songwriter, Mark Whiteside vil Blizzardunder Whiteside’s pre-existing solo project, One Sided Horse. An album ��Between Light and Space”was recorded and produced by

Mickey Dale Michael William Dale (born 22 March 1968 in Bradford, West Riding of Yorkshire) is the keyboardist for the English rock indie band, Embrace. He grew up in the Heaton area of Bradford, West Yorkshire. He officially joined the band in October 1 ...

and released on UK Independent Label, Butterfly Effect.https://butterflyeffect1.bandcamp.com/

Production discography

References

External links

* 1972 births Living people English rock guitarists English male guitarists English songwriters English male singers People from Mytholmroyd People from Brighouse People educated at Hipperholme Grammar School 21st-century English singers 21st-century British guitarists 21st-century British male singers British male songwriters {{England-musician-stub