The Almighty: Шотландиялық рок тобының тарихы

Scottish rock band

The Almighty are a Scottish hard rock/heavy metal band from Glasgow formed in 1988. After disbanding for the first time in 1996, they were reunited from 1999 to 2002, again from 2006 to 2009 and reformed for the third time in 2023. Three of the founding members, Ricky Warwick, Stump Monroe and Floyd London were friends who met at school. Although the band members musical roots were in punk, the Almighty adopted a more heavy metal/hard rock oriented musical direction in their early years. Later albums saw the band's musical style move towards the band members' original punk roots. They have released seven studio albums, two anthologies and one live album.

The Almighty were formed in Strathaven on 19 January 1988. Most of the musicians came from a punk background. Lead singer Ricky Warwick had previously done some session and tour work with New Model Army, although not on any of their recordings. They were signed by Polydor in March 1989 and recorded their first album, Blood, Fire & Love which was released in October to generally positive reviews. The band were also signed to a long term songwriting agreement to Chrysalis Music, having been scouted by Dave Massey. In the same year they were voted in third place on the Kerrang! readers poll for Best New Act. However, a more extensive follow up tour of the US did not go ahead, although they did embark on a European club tour. The band's hard rock sound was compared favourably with the likes of the Cult, AC/DC and Motörhead in press reviews of their live shows. A live album, Blood, Fire & Live, was released on 8 October 1990, having been recorded at July gigs in Edinburgh and Nottingham. The concert at the Town and Country club in London was filmed and released later that year on VHS as Soul Destruction – Live. Later in the year they supported Alice Cooper on a European tour. In March 1992 internal differences within the band came to a head causing guitarist Tantrum to leave the band. He was replaced by Canadian Pete Friesen who had previously played for Alice Cooper, The Almighty embarked upon a European tour supporting Iron Maiden, their longest tour to date. This was followed with a support slot at that year's Milton Keynes Bowl festival, which substituted for Donington as the Monsters of Rock festival was not staged in 1993. In Autumn 1993 they finally toured America, but failed to make the hoped for impact. On their return they started a headline European tour, but had to abandon it after the first two London dates due to poor health. The second single from the album, "Jonestown Mind", also reached Number 26. In the autumn they toured the UK in support of the album and spent seven weeks in Europe supporting Pantera. The band returned to tour Europe as headliners in early 1995. Their fifth album, Just Add Life, was released in 1996, with the lead single "All Sussed Out" reaching Number 28 in the UK singles chart.

The classic lineup (Ricky, Stump, Floyd and Pete) reformed for benefit shows in January 2006 and then appeared at the 2006 Bulldog Bash. They undertook a short five show tour at the end of December 2006. It was announced on 17 January that the band would be recording footage with multiple cameras at various shows on the upcoming tour for a 20th Anniversary DVD. Ricky Warwick announced in an interview with Komodo Rock that there were plans to record a new album following the band's UK Tour. He said "I would like to. I'm inspired again though, and I feel to me it might be time to turn round and make that definitive Almighty Album." In November 2008, Floyd announced on the band's forum and MySpace pages that he had decided to leave the band. The Almighty had been on hiatus since then, aside from a one off benefit gig in June 2009 for the family of former manager Tommy Tee who had died in December 2008. In late 2020, Warwick announced the impending release of a box set comprising the band's back catalogue from 1994 onwards, as well as demos and other material. He also stated that he was still in regular contact with Stumpy Munroe and Tantrum, but had not spoken with Pete Friesen or Floyd London for six years – making any potential band reunion highly unlikely, particularly given Warwick's ongoing role as frontman of the Black Star Riders and his own solo career. The box set was released in March 2021; seven discs comprising the four albums released between 1994–2001, as well as B sides, remixes, live recordings and demo tracks.

On 1 January 2023, Warwick teased a potential reunion of The Almighty with the words "Never say never" displayed in front of the band's logo. When asked if The Almighty had a new album in the works, Warwick said, "I'll go with 'never say never'. Sorry if it's cheesy, but we've all got so much going on in our lives at the moment that I really can't look past the first show." The Almighty will continue their reunion with a trio of UK shows, titled "Three 'N' Easy", to take place in 2024 and 2025 in celebration of Saint Andrew's Day. In addition, the band will be headlining one date at the Steelhouse Festival in July 2024. They have also discussed the possibility of writing new material as well as playing shows outside of the UK.