
From Loudersound.
Black Star Riders’ frontman Ricky Warwick has delivered an early Christmas gift to fans of his former band The Almighty, by revealing that a career-spanning box set from the Scottish biker rockers will emerge in 2021.
Warwick made the revelation in an exclusive interview with the eonmusic website to promote his forthcoming solo album, When Life Was Hard and Fast, which is set for release via Nuclear Blast on February 19.
Warwick, the driving force behind the Glasgow band, fronted The Almighty from 1988 until 2002, with varying line ups that included mainstays Stumpy Monroe [drums], and bassist Floyd London. The band released seven albums, including their acclaimed debut Blood Fire and Love, and the grungy Powertrippin’, which breached the UK Top 10 in 1993.
Although the band’s debut and its follow up, 1991’s Soul Destruction, were given deluxe reissues via Spinefarm Records in 2015, the rest of the quartet’s catalogue has remained out of print.
Telling writer Eamon O’Neill that he was serving up an exclusive for the site, Warwick revealed the existence of the forthcoming box set, “with everything and more; demos, you name it. Everything that was ever recorded by The Almighty will be available next year.”
“It’s something we’ve been working on for years, just trying to get the licences and all that,” Warwick reveals. “We finally got it all together, so I’m excited about that. We’re still working on all the logistics of it, and a release date, but we’re almost there! With things being on so many different labels and all that stuff, the clearances take a while. But it’s there, and it’s going to happen, and more information will be revealed as soon as we get it.”
Last year Warwick told Planet Rock that he still gets offers from promoters to book The Almighty for reunion shows.
“We still get offers to play festivals, good offers,” he said. “But I don’t feel like I need to go back. I love that people remember us fondly, and I love that we have a legacy. There’s still some people who’ll see me as ‘Ricky from The Almighty’ and that’s okay with me.”
Asked by Eamon O’Neill if the other former members of the band had contributed to the set, Warwick revealed divisions in the camp.
“I’m in fairly regular contact with Stumpy,” he says. “Him and I are still very close, and myself and Stumpy and my management have put the whole thing together. I talk to Tantrum [original guitarist] now and again; there’s no problems there.”
“[Guitarist] Pete [Friesen] and Floyd [London] sort of removed themselves from the equation a few years ago, and sort of decided they didn’t want any more contact with us, for whatever reason. I’ve no idea why, because everything seemed to be fine one day, and didn’t seem to be fine the next!”
“It’s mind-boggling,” Warwick concluded. “It’s very sad, but, I’ll state for the record; they’ve made their stance clear, and we have to respect that. So sadly there’s been no contact at all. I haven’t spoken to them in six years maybe, which is terrible, in my opinion, but that’s how it goes.”
The full interview with Ricky Warwick is available now.
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- Black Star Riders - Wrong Side Of Paradise - Purple Vinyl - UK - vinyl LP - £24.99, $30.99, €28.49 (New Item) (arrived 31-Mar-2023 16:09)on April 1, 2023 at 4:12 pm
BLACK STAR RIDERS Wrong Side Of Paradise (2023 UK Indie Stores Exclusive limited edition 11-track LP pressed on Purple Vinyl. The groups fifth studio album including the singles Better Than Saturday Night,Pay Dirt and Riding Out the Storm, along with their cover version of the Osmond's classic Crazy Horses, housed in a glossy picture sleeve with lyric printed inner. Although not sealed, this example remains in a 'near mint' condition MOSH664LP)
- Black Star Riders - Another State Of Grace - UK - picture disc LP - £24.99, $30.99, €28.49 (New Item) (arrived 31-Mar-2023 16:00)on April 1, 2023 at 4:12 pm
BLACK STAR RIDERS Another State Of Grace (2019 UK Limited Edition 10-track Picture Disc LP, housed in a deluxe gatefold picture sleeve with a lyric & credits inerts. Although not sealed, this example remains in a 'near mint' condition)
- Black Star Riders - Heavy Fire - German - vinyl LP - £24.99, $30.99, €28.49 (New Item) (arrived 31-Mar-2023 15:53)on April 1, 2023 at 4:12 pm
BLACK STAR RIDERS Heavy Fire (2017 German pressed 10-track vinyl LP, the third studio album from the Hard Rock group which evolved from the touring version of Thin Lizzy, assembled by guitarist Scott Gorham and fronted by Ricky Warwick,including the singles When The Night Comes In, Testify Or Say Goodbye and Dancing With The Wrong Girl. Housed in a gatefold picture with lyric printed insert. Although not sealed, this example remains in a 'near mint' condition)
- The Almighty - Blood Fire & Live - UK - vinyl LP - £15.00, $18.60, €17.10 (New Item) (arrived 14-Mar-2023 17:05)on April 1, 2023 at 4:12 pm
ALMIGHTY Blood Fire & Live (1990 UK 8-track LP mini album, recorded live during their 'Wild & Wonderful' UK tour early in 1990, hype stickered picture sleeve with picture/credits inner. The sleeve shows some light wear and the vinyl has light signs of play, overall excellent)
- The Almighty - Jonestown Mind - UK - 7" picture disc - £8.00, $9.92, €9.12 (Back In Stock) (arrived 09-Mar-2023 09:07)on April 1, 2023 at 4:12 pm
THE ALMIGHTY Jonestown Mind (1994 UK limited edition 7" Picture Disc EP, also including live versions of Addiction and Crank & Deceit recorded in Stuttgart, Germany in October 1994, clear PVC sleeve with back picture insert CHSPD5017)
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