Ricky Warwick (born 11 July 1966) is a Northern Irish musician and the lead singer of the rock bands

Black Star Riders Black Star Riders is a hard rock band formed in December 2012. The band began when members of the most recent line-up of Thin Lizzy decided to record new material, but chose not to release it under the Thin Lizzy name. While Thin Lizzy continues ...

and

Thin Lizzy Thin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Their music reflects a wide range of influences, including blues, soul music, psychedelic rock and traditional Irish folk music, but is generally classified as hard rock or som ...

. He is also the frontman for the Scottish hard rock band The Almighty, with whom he achieved chart success in the UK throughout the 1990s, although the band is currently on hiatus. Warwick has released several solo albums and performed with a variety of other bands and artists, and also fronts his own band, The Fighting Hearts, to showcase his solo material.

Early life

Warwick was born in

Newtownards Newtownards is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies at the most northern tip of Strangford Lough, 10 miles (16 km) east of Belfast, on the Ards Peninsula. It is in the civil parish of Newtownards and the historic baron ...

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to th ...

, where he spent his formative years, and got his first guitar at 14 years old. He was soon playing along to songs by various rock and country acts such as

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originato ...

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

and

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his c ...

. Warwick quickly migrated to the music of more harder-edged acts such as

Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock band formed in London in 1975 by Lemmy (lead vocals, bass), Larry Wallis (guitar) and Lucas Fox (drums). Lemmy was also the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band are often considered a prec ...

, MC5,

Stiff Little Fingers Stiff Little Fingers are a punk rock band from Belfast, Northern Ireland. They formed in 1977 at the height of the Troubles, which informed much of their songwriting. They started out as a schoolboy band called Highway Star (named after the De ...

and

The Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the w ...

. He later reminisced that "Those artists gave me a voice", adding that "...when no one would listen to a fourteen year old boy, they gave me something important to say." A year after, he moved with his family to Strathaven in Scotland. It was at his new school in Scotland that Warwick first met his future bandmates Stump Monroe and Floyd London.

Career

Warwick got his first break in the late 1980s, when he was invited to join

New Model Army The New Model Army was a standing army formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians during the First English Civil War, then disbanded after the Stuart Restoration in 1660. It differed from other armies employed in the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Th ...

as a

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

ist on their ''The Ghost of Cain'' album world tour. He states that he learnt a great deal about songwriting and stagecraft during his time with the band. Warwick then left New Model Army and formed The Almighty in 1988 with guitarist Andy 'Tantrum' McCafferty and Warwick's former school-friends, drummer Stump Monroe and bass guitarist Floyd London. Warwick was the lead vocalist and played guitar in various formats of the band. Although all four founding members had a strong background in punk rock music, The Almighty took a more heavy metal/

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest ha ...

orientated musical direction. The early 1990s saw The Almighty tour extensively throughout the UK and Europe as support to major rock acts such as

Megadeth Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist/guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal along wit ...

Alice Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guilloti ...

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harr ...

and

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

. The band also later toured as headliners in their own right. Five studio albums and one live album were released by The Almighty during this time, which were well received by rock fans throughout the UK and in Europe. They were, however, unable to break through in the United States despite touring there in 1993. That same year, Warwick also performed with

The Stiff Little Fingers Stiff Little Fingers are a punk rock band from Belfast, Northern Ireland. They formed in 1977 at the height of the Troubles, which informed much of their songwriting. They started out as a schoolboy band called Highway Star (named after the D ...

at a gig at the

Barrowlands The Barrowland Ballroom (also known as Barrowlands) is a dance hall and music venue in Glasgow, Scotland. History The original building opened in 1934 in a mercantile area east of Glasgow's city centre, built by Maggie McIver, the "Barras Queen ...

in Glasgow. A live album showcasing that gig from March 1993, ''

Pure Fingers ''Pure Fingers'' is a live album by Stiff Little Fingers, recorded on St. Patrick's Day in 1993, at the Barrowland Ballroom in Glasgow, Scotland. Stiff Little Fingers are from Northern Ireland and playing Glasgow Barrowlands to mark St. Patrick ...

'', was released in 1995. Ricky Warwick by Alec MacKelliag 2011

In 1996, disillusioned with the direction The Almighty were taking Warwick moved to Dublin where he formed a new band called (sic) with Ciaran McGoldrick (bass) and Gary Sullivan (drums). The band's one record – ''I Feel So Lonely I Could Die'' – was only released in Japan, although a four-track EP came out in the UK. (sic) broke up in 1999 and then Warwick returned to The Almighty. The Almighty then released two further albums before again disbanding in 2001. After the second break-up of The Almighty, Warwick admits he felt like quitting performing altogether. Instead, he went on tour in 2002 as a solo artist and, taking on board his fondness for

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

and Americana, he played acoustically. The tour reinvigorated Warwick's love of music, and he began writing songs for a new album. Warwick's first solo album, ''Tattoos & Alibis'', was released in October 2003. Almost entirely acoustic, it was a marked departure from the raucous hard rock of The Almighty. A follow-up album was released in January 2006, ''Love Many Trust Few'', which was similar in style to his solo debut although slightly more hard-rock orientated. In January 2006 The Almighty reformed with their 'classic' line-up of Warwick, Stump, Floyd and Pete for benefit shows. Later in the year, they appeared as headliners at the 2006

Bulldog Bash The Bulldog Bash was an annual motorcycle rally, with a reported attendance of 50,000 people in 2007. It was held over a weekend in mid-August, at the former Shakespeare County Raceway, situated outside of Stratford-upon-Avon in England. The la ...

and then undertook a 5 show tour of the UK in December 2006. During the same year, Warwick also joined the band Circus Diablo, along with Billy Duffy (of

The Cult The Cult are an English rock band formed in 1983 in Bradford, West Yorkshire. Before settling on their current name in January 1984, the band performed under the name Death Cult, which was an evolution of the name of lead singer Ian Astbury' ...

). The band recorded one album and performed at

Ozzfest Ozzfest is an annual music festival tour of the United States and sometimes Europe and later Japan, featuring performances by many heavy metal and hard rock musical groups. It was founded by Sharon Osbourne and her husband Ozzy Osbourne, both ...

during 2007, but are no longer active. He has in the past toured the British Isles and throughout Europe supporting

Sheryl Crow Sheryl Suzanne Crow (born February 11, 1962) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actress. Her music incorporates elements of rock, pop, country, folk, and blues. She has released eleven studio albums, five compilations and three ...

and

Keith Caputo Mina Caputo (born Keith Caputo; December 4, 1973) is an American singer best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of New York City alternative metal band Life of Agony. Caputo came out as transgender in 2011 and transitioned to fem ...

. Warwick will make his acting debut in an independent film written and directed by Bobby Field. Entitled ''The Bridge'', filming is set to begin in mid 2017. The cast features several other rock musicians including Joe Elliott,

Al Jourgensen Alain David Jourgensen (born Alejandro Ramírez Casas; October 9, 1958) is a Cuban-American singer, musician and music producer. Closely related with the independent record label Wax Trax! Records, his musical career spans four decades. He is b ...

( Ministry) and Joey Santiago (

The Pixies Pixies is an American alternative rock band formed in 1986, in Boston, Massachusetts. Until 2013, the band consisted of Black Francis (vocals, rhythm guitar, songwriter), Joey Santiago (lead guitar), Kim Deal (bass, vocals) and David Lovering ...

). In April 2009, Warwick released his third solo album, ''Belfast Confetti'', continuing in the largely acoustic guitar based approach of his previous two solo albums. ''Metalriot.com'''s Morgan Y. Evans wrote of Warwick's 2021 solo single "You're My Rock'N'Roll" that it ,"...is an infectious yet street-wise song that feels like what it means to live for rock, a punk-tinged power anthem that brings to mind working class, scab knuckled hands wiping down the bar to start all over again. It's the sort of song that would make the Social Distortions and Rose Tattoos of the world proud, a fine tribute to the many faces known and unknown behind the genre's glory and ongoing legacy."

Thin Lizzy and Black Star Riders

Black Star Riders – Wacken Open Air 2014 20

In September 2009, Warwick was invited to join the latest lineup of

and joined them as lead vocalist and guitarist. Warwick took part in Thin Lizzy's 2011 European tour commemorating 25 years since the death of original frontman

Phil Lynott Philip Parris Lynott (, ; 20 August 1949 – 4 January 1986) was an Irish singer, bassist, and songwriter. His most commercially successful group was Thin Lizzy, of which he was a founding member, the principal songwriter, lead vocalist and b ...

. In December 2012, he co-founded the Thin Lizzy spin-off band,

in order to release new material largely composed by Warwick with guitarist

Damon Johnson Damon Rogers Johnson (born July 13, 1964) is an American guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter, currently a solo artist and member of Thin Lizzy. In the 1990s he co-founded Brother Cane, and later joined Alice Cooper's band as lead guitarist. He w ...

. Black Star Riders' first album '' All Hell Breaks Loose'' was released in May 2013. In 2014, Warwick recorded a second album with the Black Star Riders. Titled ''

The Killer Instinct ''The Killer Instinct'' is the second studio album by hard rock band Black Star Riders, released on February 20, 2015. Black Star Riders evolved from the touring version of Thin Lizzy, assembled by guitarist Scott Gorham after the death of Thin L ...

'', the album was released on 20 February 2015. Alongside his touring commitments with Black Star Riders in 2015, Warwick toured the UK with his bandmate Damon Johnson, performing acoustic sets of Thin Lizzy and Black Star Riders songs, plus various covers and selections of Almighty and solo material. He also recorded an album of covers titled ''Stairwell Troubadour'', again through PledgeMusic. During 2016 and early 2017, Warwick and Thin Lizzy performed a small number of shows to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the band's breakthrough hit album, ''

Jailbreak A prison escape (referred as a bust out, breakout, jailbreak, or prison break) is the act of an inmate leaving prison through unofficial or illegal ways. Normally, when this occurs, an effort is made on the part of authorities to recapture t ...

'' and the 30th anniversary of Phil Lynott's death. Black Star Riders' third album, '' Heavy Fire'', was released on 3 February 2017 and reached No. 6 in the UK album charts.

The Fighting Hearts

In February 2014, Warwick launched a campaign through

PledgeMusic PledgeMusic was an online direct-to-fan music platform, launched in August 2009. It was started to facilitate musicians looking to pre-sell, market, and distribute projects; such as recordings and concerts. It bore similarities to other artist p ...

to launch two albums later in the year, one comprising acoustic songs with the other being a hard rock record. The two albums, ''Hearts on Trees'' and ''When Patsy Cline Was Crazy (And Guy Mitchell Sang The Blues)'', were released at the end of 2014 to those who contributed to the PledgeMusic campaign, and on general release as a double album in February 2016 on the

Nuclear Blast Nuclear Blast is a record label and mail order record distributor with subsidiaries in Germany, the United States and Brazil. The label was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Germany. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label move ...

label. Guest musicians on these recordings include Damon Johnson,

Joe Elliott Joseph Thomas "Joe" Elliott (born 1 August 1959) is an English–Irish rock singer, best known as the lead singer and one of the founding members of the hard rock band Def Leppard. He has also been the lead singer of the David Bowie tribute ba ...

, Andy Cairns, Billy Morrison, Nathan Connolly,

Ginger Wildheart Ginger Wildheart (born David Leslie Walls; 17 December 1964 in South Shields, England), sometimes known simply as Ginger, is an English rock guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career as a guitarist in The Quireboys, bu ...

Richard Fortus Richard Fortus (born November 17, 1966) is an American guitarist. He has been a member of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he has recorded one studio album, since 2001. Fortus has also collaborated extensively with The Psychedelic Fur ...

and Jake Burns. Warwick assembled a band named The Fighting Hearts to tour behind the album, featuring Gary Sullivan on drums, Black Star Riders bassist

Robbie Crane Robbie or Robby is a surname. It is usually encountered as a nickname or a shortened form of Robert, Rob or Robin. The name experienced a significant rise in popularity in Northern Ireland in 2003. People Given name Robbie * Robbie Amell (born ...

, and ex- Mission guitarist Mark Gemini Thwaite. Ricky Warwick and The Fighting Hearts supported

on a full UK tour throughout late February and March 2016. The Fighting Hearts undertook a second UK tour in November 2016, supported by

Vice Squad A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character tr ...

. Filling the bass guitar role on this tour was Richard Vernon. Ricky headlined the very first WinterStorm festival in Troon in 2016. In 2022, Warwick reactivated The Fighting Hearts for a month-long tour of the UK and Ireland in March. Retaining bass guitarist Richard Vernon, Warwick also recruited guitarist Ben Christo (

The Sisters of Mercy The Sisters of Mercy is an English rock band, formed in 1980 in Leeds. After achieving early underground fame there, the band had their commercial breakthrough in the mid-1980s and sustained it until the early 1990s, when they stopped releasi ...

) and drummer Jack Taylor (Tax the Heat). Further shows followed in May, with Christo replaced temporarily by

Sam Wood Samuel Grosvenor Wood (July 10, 1883 – September 22, 1949) was an American film director and producer who is best known for having directed such Hollywood hits as '' A Night at the Opera'', '' A Day at the Races'', '' Goodbye, Mr. Chips'', '' ...

( Wayward Sons), and in August, two shows in Dublin and Belfast, again supporting Stiff Little Fingers.

Personal life

Warwick met Vanessa Young, presenter of

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

show ''

Headbangers Ball ''Headbangers Ball'' is a music television program that consisted of heavy metal music videos airing on MTV and its global affiliates. The show began on MTV on April 18, 1987, playing heavy metal music videos from both well-known and more ob ...

'', in 1990, during his time with The Almighty. They married in 1991 and divorced in 2000. He is now married to Christina, and the couple live in Los Angeles with their four children. Warwick is good friends with singer

, having performed backing vocals on

Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1976 in Sheffield. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drums, backing vocals), Phil Collen (guitar, backing vocals), ...

albums, whilst Elliott has returned the favour recording on and producing Warwick's solo albums. Warwick also served as Elliott's Best man at his wedding in 2004. Warwick is a fan of Northern Ireland football club

Glentoran Glentoran Football Club is a professional football club that plays in the NIFL Premiership. The club was founded in 1882. History Early history In 1914, Glentoran won the Vienna Cup, becoming the first United Kingdom team to win a European t ...

, and in 2010 he released a three track DVD in aid of the Spirit of 41 campaign to save Glentoran from extinction. In December 2014, he performed an acoustic benefit show in Dundonald (a town east of

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

) to raise funds for the Glentoran Community Trust. Warwick wore a specially commissioned one-off Glentoran football strip for the show. It featured the logos of all his bands, including The Almighty and Thin Lizzy, and was auctioned to help raise further funds for the Trust.

Discography

Solo albums

*''Tattoos & Alibis'' (2003) *''Love Many Trust Few'' (2005) *"Love Owes" EP (2007) *'' Belfast Confetti'' (2009) *''Hearts on Trees'' (2014) *''When Patsy Cline Was Crazy (And Guy Mitchell Sang the Blues)'' (2014) *''Stairwell Troubadour'' (2015) *''When Patsy Cline Was Crazy (And Guy Mitchell Sang the Blues)'' / ''Hearts on Trees'' (double album 2016) *''When Life Was Hard and Fast'' (2021)

The Almighty

*'' Blood, Fire & Love'' (1989) *''

Blood, Fire & Live ''Blood, Fire & Live'' is the first live album by Scottish rock band The Almighty, recorded on their "Wild and Wonderful" tour in July 1990 and released in October that year. The title, and defaced album cover itself, is a pun on their first alb ...

'' (1990) UK No. 62 *''

Soul Destruction ''Soul Destruction'' is the second studio album (third overall) released by Scottish rock band The Almighty. It was released by Polydor Records in the United Kingdom in 1991. According to frontman Ricky Warwick, the album's songs centered on fo ...

'' (1991) UK No. 22 *''

Powertrippin' ''Powertrippin is the third studio album by Scottish rock band The Almighty. It was released in the United Kingdom in 1993 by Polydor Records and was the band's final studio album for that label. It was the band's first album to feature guitaris ...

'' (1993) UK No. 5 *'' Crank'' (1994) UK No. 15 *''Crank and Deceit: Live in Japan'' apan only release(1995) *'' Just Add Life'' (1996) UK No. 34 *'' The Almighty'' (2000) *'' Psycho-Narco'' (2001) *''Wild and Wonderful'' – compilation (2002) *''Anth'f**ing'ology'' – compilation (2007) *''All Proud, All Live, All Mighty'' – live (2008) *''The All Fuckin B-Sides Vol 1'' – compilation (2008)

Stiff Little Fingers

*''

'' – live (1995)

(sic)

*''I Feel So Lonely I Could Die'' apan only release(1997) *''Eyeball Kicks EP''

997 Year 997 ( CMXCVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Japan * 1 February: Empress Teishi gives birth to Princess Shushi - she is the first child of the ...

Circus Diablo

* ''Circus Diablo'' (2007)

Black Star Riders

*'' All Hell Breaks Loose'' (2013) UK No. 25 *''

'' (2015) UK No. 13 *'' Heavy Fire'' (2017) UK No. 6 *'' Another State of Grace'' (2019) UK No. 14 *''

Wrong Side of Paradise ''Wrong Side of Paradise'' is the fifth studio album by hard rock band Black Star Riders, released on January 20, 2023. It is the first Black Star Riders album to feature drummer Zak St. John, and the last to feature guitarist/songwriter Christian ...

'' (2023)

References

External links

*
Interview with Leeds Music SceneRicky Warwick interview June 2010JAM Magazine interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Warwick, Ricky 1966 births Living people Male singers from Northern Ireland Rock guitarists from Northern Ireland People from Newtownards Thin Lizzy members Black Star Riders members New Model Army (band) members Musicians from County Down