Richard McNamara

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Richard McNamara
Background information
Born 23 October 1972 (1972-10-23) (age 35)
Genre(s) Rock, Britpop
Occupation(s) Guitarist
Instrument(s) Lead guitar

Richard McNamara (born 23 October 1972, Bailiff Bridge, West Yorkshire) is the guitarist for the English band Embrace. He and his older brother, Danny, grew up in the village of Bailiff Bridge, near Bradford, in West Yorkshire. Danny is the band's singer.

Richard and Danny McNamara were pupils at Hipperholme Grammar School in the village of Hipperholme, near Halifax.

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.[citation needed]

McNamara was initially the drummer for a thrash metal garage band called Gross Misconduct in his late teens. It is believed that Embrace began when his brother barged into a session and started telling him and his bandmates what to do.[citation needed]

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.

McNamara and his wife Joanne live in Halifax, with their two children, Ella and Sonny.