Ricky Warwick

Ricky Warwick (born 11 July 1966) is a Northern Irish musician and the lead singer of the rock bands Black Star Riders and Thin Lizzy.

Warwick got his first break in the late 1980s, when he was invited to join New Model Army as a rhythm guitarist 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 orientated musical direction.

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.

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.

Warwick was born in Newtownards, County Down, 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, Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash.

Warwick quickly migrated to the music of more harder-edged acts such as Motörhead, MC5, Stiff Little Fingers and The Clash.

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.

He first met his future bandmates Stump Monroe and Floyd London at his new school in Scotland.

The early 1990s saw The Almighty tour extensively throughout the UK and Europe as support to major rock acts such as Motörhead, Megadeth, Alice Cooper, Iron Maiden and Metallica.

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 at a gig at the Barrowlands in Glasgow.

A live album showcasing that gig from March 1993, Pure Fingers, was released in 1995.

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 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 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 band recorded one album and performed at Ozzfest during 2007, but are no longer active.

He has in the past toured the British Isles and throughout Europe supporting Bob Dylan, Sheryl Crow and Keith Caputo.

Warwick will make his acting debut in an independent film written and directed by Bobby Field.

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."

Entitled The Bridge, filming is set to begin in mid 2017.

The cast features several other rock musicians including Joe Elliott, Al Jourgensen (Ministry) and Joey Santiago (The Pixies).