“MY HEROES WERE ALWAYS THE RHYTHM GUYS”

THIN LIZZY AND BLACK STAR RIDERS FRONTMAN RICKY WARWICK ON HIS LATEST SOLO ALBUM, VINTAGE GEAR AND COVERING BRITNEY SPEARS

- Amit Sharma

After leading Scottish hard rockers The Almighty in 90s, Ricky Warwick joined Thin Lizzy in 2009, and now fronts splinter group Black Star Riders. His current solo album When Life Was Hard And Fast is a celebration of no-frills, rock’n’roll...

What exactly are we hearing on your solo album?

We used my Gretsch guitars, plus a lot of [producer] Keith Nelson’s vintage Teles and Gibsons. There was a Rickenbacker 12-string on a few tracks too. They were fed through some Bogners and Marshall JCM800s. It was all old valve amps and vintage guitars. There were no plug-ins or any crap like that. I don’t care what people say, they’re okay for demos, but when you’re making a record digital stuff is a big no-no for me. And I don’t really use much in terms of effects. If you’ve got a great sound, you’ve got a great sound. Keep it that way!