The Almighty were one of rocks great hopefuls. Burning brightly from the end of the 1980s until the mid 1990s, the four-piece formed in Glasgow, Scotland released seven albums, scoring a number of top 40 singles along the way. With shifting line ups and changing trends, the band eventually called it a day, however they're back in their original incarnation, and after a series of sell-out gigs in 2023, have more planned for 2024 and 2025. We caught up with Ricky Warwick, Floyd London, Stump Monroe, and Andy 'Tantrum' McCafferty following a special acoustic performance at the Gibson Garage in London, for a chat about their career. All sussed out; Eamon O'Neill.
Photo: Press.
How i guys, how are you doing?
Very good, thank you very much.
We've just watched you play an acoustic set at the Gibson garage. Aside from some tuning issues Ricky, how was it for you all?
Ricky: Aside from my tuning issues, I really enjoyed it. I thought it was great to play the songs. The songs sounded great stripped down, and, yeah, it was fun.
What did it mean for you guys to get back together again last year with the original line-up of the band?
Stump: Yeah it was special. We talked about it during covid. So many crew members and managers and all had died over the years, and we just started to talk about doing something before it was too late, as you never know what's going to happen next. So that's when it first came about, and then it was a question of all talking to each other again, because some of us hadn't spoken in several years. Myself and Ricky had contact, but I hadn't spoke to Andy for thirty years, probably.
Floyd: That interest never went away, though. Ricky was just saying how people every day, were asking; "when are you getting back together?", so there's a validity in the band.
Ricky: To me personally, obviously, the things that I'm involved in - and no disrespect anything else I do - but when I first got back in the rehearsal room with the guys, and when we first did the first gig in the [Glasgow] Barrowlands, I was back home. And it's the most comfortable for me, out of anything else that I do personally. So it was lovely.
It's where you all began, and if I rewind back to 1989, 1990, you were signed to Polydor Records, you're on the front cover of Metal Hammer magazine, and you're rising stars; how was it experiencing that?
Floyd: That was quite difficult because we were naïve, we were young. We were brought down to London, and we come from a very small village, and all of a sudden we were in a studio making an album, and we had a sixteen-piece string orchestra playing on one of our songs. We were doing all this stuff, and we thought we'd made it; "we've landed, and from this point in, it's just going to get bigger and bigger and better". And everything was enjoyable, everything was good, we progressed musically, we matured as a band, and we kept it going, but sometimes business decisions didn't quite go our way. We sometimes had similarities with The Clash; like, 'the band that should have been', as certain business decisions, or certain things happened that prevented us going to the next level.
It was business decisions that curtailed the band's progress?
Floyd: We got to that point, and I think it's possibly the reason we broke up in the end, because there was just so many challenges that got in the way, which is why we split up. But we were good. We were a very good band, and we toured really well. We got awards for being good, and the interest in the band was there, and the interest in the band hasn't gone away. People really want to see it, and we really want to play.
Stump: I remember the day-to-day being quite frantic because as soon as the record company got involved, it became a machine; on tour, promoting records or recording or rehearsing. It just kind of went on and on and on. I'm not saying it wasn't enjoyable, of course it was because it was all new to us, so when you look back on it, it was quite full on, quite frantic.
Very good, thank you very much.
We've just watched you play an acoustic set at the Gibson garage. Aside from some tuning issues Ricky, how was it for you all?
Ricky: Aside from my tuning issues, I really enjoyed it. I thought it was great to play the songs. The songs sounded great stripped down, and, yeah, it was fun.
What did it mean for you guys to get back together again last year with the original line-up of the band?
Stump: Yeah it was special. We talked about it during covid. So many crew members and managers and all had died over the years, and we just started to talk about doing something before it was too late, as you never know what's going to happen next. So that's when it first came about, and then it was a question of all talking to each other again, because some of us hadn't spoken in several years. Myself and Ricky had contact, but I hadn't spoke to Andy for thirty years, probably.
Floyd: That interest never went away, though. Ricky was just saying how people every day, were asking; "when are you getting back together?", so there's a validity in the band.
Ricky: To me personally, obviously, the things that I'm involved in - and no disrespect anything else I do - but when I first got back in the rehearsal room with the guys, and when we first did the first gig in the [Glasgow] Barrowlands, I was back home. And it's the most comfortable for me, out of anything else that I do personally. So it was lovely.
It's where you all began, and if I rewind back to 1989, 1990, you were signed to Polydor Records, you're on the front cover of Metal Hammer magazine, and you're rising stars; how was it experiencing that?
Floyd: That was quite difficult because we were naïve, we were young. We were brought down to London, and we come from a very small village, and all of a sudden we were in a studio making an album, and we had a sixteen-piece string orchestra playing on one of our songs. We were doing all this stuff, and we thought we'd made it; "we've landed, and from this point in, it's just going to get bigger and bigger and better". And everything was enjoyable, everything was good, we progressed musically, we matured as a band, and we kept it going, but sometimes business decisions didn't quite go our way. We sometimes had similarities with The Clash; like, 'the band that should have been', as certain business decisions, or certain things happened that prevented us going to the next level.
It was business decisions that curtailed the band's progress?
Floyd: We got to that point, and I think it's possibly the reason we broke up in the end, because there was just so many challenges that got in the way, which is why we split up. But we were good. We were a very good band, and we toured really well. We got awards for being good, and the interest in the band was there, and the interest in the band hasn't gone away. People really want to see it, and we really want to play.
Stump: I remember the day-to-day being quite frantic because as soon as the record company got involved, it became a machine; on tour, promoting records or recording or rehearsing. It just kind of went on and on and on. I'm not saying it wasn't enjoyable, of course it was because it was all new to us, so when you look back on it, it was quite full on, quite frantic.
You were one of the few bands that actually navigated the grunge landscape quite beautifully with 'Powertrippin' [1993]. It was a natural evolution to something heavier; did you realise that at the time, or was that just a happy accident.
Stump: Obviously, Andy played guitar and the first two albums, and then Pete [Friesen] was in for the third, so that automatically changes the dynamic of the whole thing. And obviously, your influence was stuff you were hearing getting played the radio, and bear in mind, up to that point, rock music was not played on radio at all, until about grunge.
Floyd: We were trying hard, we were trying invention; we were reinventing ourselves because of some particular reason that we didn't get to that next level whilst doing it that way, change it a bit today in a different way, and change it again.
When the first single 'Addiction' was released, it was something different, and so heavy in dropped D tuning; who wrote that riff?
Ricky: It was me, but I've got to give Pete credit, because I didn't know anything about the dropped D tuning until he came along. He goes; "have you ever tried this?", and I was like; "what?! Fuck, you can do this?!, and suddenly this whole new stream of ideas opened up because I'd never played in dropped D before. So that was great, and I remember writing that riff. We were in Wales. I think we were at Bluestone when we started messing around, and it was just one of those riffs where you just know "this is great", and then when the guys started playing on, it just suddenly becomes massive.
Stump: I personally never sat there and listened to the album at all, and then changed the way I played; it just progressed, and the next thing, the whole dropped d thing just opened up a whole different area.
Floyd: Probably Metallica's 'Black Album' was one of the biggest influences, at that point.
Because they had heaviness with commerciality?
Stump: Yeah, I mean, we got to hear a desk tape before the album was released. We were at Donington, when Big Mick, the front house guy, came on our bus and played it, and we were just sitting going [agape]. Fuck me, the kick drum sound! And it still is, thirty years later, sonically, as incredible. Yeah, that was a bit of a game changer.
Stump: Obviously, Andy played guitar and the first two albums, and then Pete [Friesen] was in for the third, so that automatically changes the dynamic of the whole thing. And obviously, your influence was stuff you were hearing getting played the radio, and bear in mind, up to that point, rock music was not played on radio at all, until about grunge.
Floyd: We were trying hard, we were trying invention; we were reinventing ourselves because of some particular reason that we didn't get to that next level whilst doing it that way, change it a bit today in a different way, and change it again.
When the first single 'Addiction' was released, it was something different, and so heavy in dropped D tuning; who wrote that riff?
Ricky: It was me, but I've got to give Pete credit, because I didn't know anything about the dropped D tuning until he came along. He goes; "have you ever tried this?", and I was like; "what?! Fuck, you can do this?!, and suddenly this whole new stream of ideas opened up because I'd never played in dropped D before. So that was great, and I remember writing that riff. We were in Wales. I think we were at Bluestone when we started messing around, and it was just one of those riffs where you just know "this is great", and then when the guys started playing on, it just suddenly becomes massive.
Stump: I personally never sat there and listened to the album at all, and then changed the way I played; it just progressed, and the next thing, the whole dropped d thing just opened up a whole different area.
Floyd: Probably Metallica's 'Black Album' was one of the biggest influences, at that point.
Because they had heaviness with commerciality?
Stump: Yeah, I mean, we got to hear a desk tape before the album was released. We were at Donington, when Big Mick, the front house guy, came on our bus and played it, and we were just sitting going [agape]. Fuck me, the kick drum sound! And it still is, thirty years later, sonically, as incredible. Yeah, that was a bit of a game changer.
Interestingly, going back to the press launch for the reunion, Andy, I asked you what songs you were looking forward to playing, and straight away, you said 'Crank and Deceit'.
Andy: "Makes no fucking difference, it's all the fucking same"! I've put that on in my car a couple of times without letting anyone know, and turned it right up loud and hit play!
That's going to wake anyone up!
Andy: I wish we could play it with no count in. I'm sure we can't!
What does it mean to you to finally get to play those songs that you weren't part of the band for?
Andy: Well, it was brilliant, because it was almost like, I don't know if this makes sense or not, but it was like kind of going into a tribute band that's the actual band. The songs were great, and I discovered after a short period of time that I could play them, because I didn't know what Pete played. It was great. It was like just like going into a band that was already functioning, the songs were brilliant, and after some work, then I was able to play the stuff. So it was kind of like walking into a great covers band.
Was that a more recent thing, hearing the material, or did you follow the band, and hear it back when it was released?
Andy: I didn't, no. I wouldn't have been listening that closely. There were songs that I knew. I knew the singles.
Stump: You weren't buying the albums?!
Moving forward in the band's career, and line up's shifted, and Floyd, you were credited as a musician on 'Psycho Narco' [2001], but not as a band member.
Floyd: I played on album six, didn't I?
Ricky: You played on The Almighty self-titled album [2000]. It was Gav Gray who played bass on 'Psycho Narco'. He was in Tygers of Pan Tang.
Was that personally difficult for you navigating the changing line-ups?
Ricky: As Stump said, me and Stump never lost touch. We were always still hanging out, and we're mates. I think Stump was over in Dublin, and we were in nightclub one night, and we were both hammered, and we just thought; "let's get the band back together" [for the 1999 - 2001 reunion]. And it was a bit half-assed, to be honest with you, looking back at it, but we just wanted to play with each other. And, you know, I think it was a weird time for me. I wasn't in a particularly good place at that point in my life, and it's just wasn't really the same without Floyd, and Pete as well, you know? That was the band, that was the core.
Stump: I mean, even when we played with Nick Parsons on guitar, he's great, it was great, but Floyd was gone. I still enjoyed that - Nick's a great guitar player, and great song writer and all that - but you see when you change a bass player, when you've played with the same guy since you were eight years old, I started to really not enjoy it. And it's nothing to do with Gav's playing, or playing with anybody else; they're all great players, but it was just not us. Someone else, no matter who they are that's playing; it doesn't feel right.
You're back now, full circle to the original four; what are your plans going forward?
Floyd: I'm going to get to the bottom of that beer.
Andy: Nothing's changed!
Ricky: I'm just looking on!
Before we go, I have to ask, Ricky; there's got to be a Belfast show for The Almighty. What's going on with that?
Ricky: Yeah, listen. I mean...
Stump: it's difficult.
Ricky: Listen, we're working on something, We'll see what happens.
Stump: We were working on something, and that something changed, and now we're working on something else, but it's not been forgotten about. But you know, the simple fact you've got to go over the water makes things obviously slightly different, but it's not been forgotten. We were working on something, it went tits up, we're working on something else.
Andy: "Makes no fucking difference, it's all the fucking same"! I've put that on in my car a couple of times without letting anyone know, and turned it right up loud and hit play!
That's going to wake anyone up!
Andy: I wish we could play it with no count in. I'm sure we can't!
What does it mean to you to finally get to play those songs that you weren't part of the band for?
Andy: Well, it was brilliant, because it was almost like, I don't know if this makes sense or not, but it was like kind of going into a tribute band that's the actual band. The songs were great, and I discovered after a short period of time that I could play them, because I didn't know what Pete played. It was great. It was like just like going into a band that was already functioning, the songs were brilliant, and after some work, then I was able to play the stuff. So it was kind of like walking into a great covers band.
Was that a more recent thing, hearing the material, or did you follow the band, and hear it back when it was released?
Andy: I didn't, no. I wouldn't have been listening that closely. There were songs that I knew. I knew the singles.
Stump: You weren't buying the albums?!
Moving forward in the band's career, and line up's shifted, and Floyd, you were credited as a musician on 'Psycho Narco' [2001], but not as a band member.
Floyd: I played on album six, didn't I?
Ricky: You played on The Almighty self-titled album [2000]. It was Gav Gray who played bass on 'Psycho Narco'. He was in Tygers of Pan Tang.
Was that personally difficult for you navigating the changing line-ups?
Ricky: As Stump said, me and Stump never lost touch. We were always still hanging out, and we're mates. I think Stump was over in Dublin, and we were in nightclub one night, and we were both hammered, and we just thought; "let's get the band back together" [for the 1999 - 2001 reunion]. And it was a bit half-assed, to be honest with you, looking back at it, but we just wanted to play with each other. And, you know, I think it was a weird time for me. I wasn't in a particularly good place at that point in my life, and it's just wasn't really the same without Floyd, and Pete as well, you know? That was the band, that was the core.
Stump: I mean, even when we played with Nick Parsons on guitar, he's great, it was great, but Floyd was gone. I still enjoyed that - Nick's a great guitar player, and great song writer and all that - but you see when you change a bass player, when you've played with the same guy since you were eight years old, I started to really not enjoy it. And it's nothing to do with Gav's playing, or playing with anybody else; they're all great players, but it was just not us. Someone else, no matter who they are that's playing; it doesn't feel right.
You're back now, full circle to the original four; what are your plans going forward?
Floyd: I'm going to get to the bottom of that beer.
Andy: Nothing's changed!
Ricky: I'm just looking on!
Before we go, I have to ask, Ricky; there's got to be a Belfast show for The Almighty. What's going on with that?
Ricky: Yeah, listen. I mean...
Stump: it's difficult.
Ricky: Listen, we're working on something, We'll see what happens.
Stump: We were working on something, and that something changed, and now we're working on something else, but it's not been forgotten about. But you know, the simple fact you've got to go over the water makes things obviously slightly different, but it's not been forgotten. We were working on something, it went tits up, we're working on something else.
RSS Feed