Richard McNamara (born 23 October 1972 in
Mytholmroyd,
West Riding of Yorkshire
The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...
, England)
is an English musician, singer-songwriter, and producer, best known as the guitarist and co-lead vocalist for the English band
Embrace. He and his older brother,
Danny, grew up in the village of
Bailiff Bridge,
Brighouse near
Halifax. Danny is the band's lead singer.
Richard and Danny McNamara attended
Hipperholme Grammar School
Hipperholme Grammar School is an independent grammar school in Hipperholme (near Halifax), West Yorkshire, England. It educates pupils between the ages of 3 and 16.
Lightcliffe Preparatory School merged with Hipperholme Grammar School in 2003 ...
in nearby
Hipperholme
Hipperholme is a village in West Yorkshire, England, located between the towns of Halifax and Brighouse in the Hipperholme and Lightcliffe ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale. The population of this ward at the 2011 Census was 11 ...
with their brother Jonathan.
According to Danny, as a child Richard was nicknamed 'Firestarter' as he was fascinated with fire and was always playing with a box of matches.
McNamara was initially the drummer for a
thrash metal
Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...
garage band called Gross Misconduct in his teens. It is believed that Embrace began when his brother barged into a session and started telling him and his bandmates what to do.
Although McNamara has worked with his brother in writing many of the band's songs, he only single-handedly sings a few songs. Most notably "
One Big Family" and "
Hooligan" which were both issued as
singles; also "I Want The World" on the band's début album.
In 2018, McNamara (alongside Embrace members,
Steve Firth
Steven Mark Firth (born 1 February 1965 in Halifax, England) is the bass guitarist for the English band Embrace.
He studied art at Liverpool University
, mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning
, established = 1881 � ...
, Mike Heaton and Mickey Dale) collaborated with Preston-based songwriter, Mark Whiteside
vil Blizzardunder Whiteside’s pre-existing solo project, One Sided Horse. An album
��Between Light and Space”was recorded and produced by
Mickey Dale
Michael William Dale (born 22 March 1968 in Bradford, West Riding of Yorkshire) is the keyboardist for the English rock indie band, Embrace. He grew up in the Heaton area of Bradford, West Yorkshire.
He officially joined the band in Octob ...
and released on UK Independent Label,
Butterfly Effect.
[https://butterflyeffect1.bandcamp.com/]
Production discography
References
External links
*
1972 births
Living people
English rock guitarists
English male guitarists
English songwriters
English male singers
People from Mytholmroyd
People from Brighouse
People educated at Hipperholme Grammar School
21st-century English singers
21st-century British guitarists
21st-century British male singers
British male songwriters
{{England-musician-stub