Thin Lizzy Frontman Shares Opinion on Metallica’s ‘Whiskey in the Jar’ Cover, Talks How Dave Grohl Acted When They Played Together

Ricky Warwick also talks about opening for the Ramones.

During an appearance on Radio Forrest, Thin Lizzy singer/guitarist Ricky Warwick talked about Metallica’s rendition of “Whiskey in the Jar,” performing with some of the all-time giants of rock, and more.You can check out the latest Black Star Riders record “Another State of Grace” here via Amazon.When the interviewer said, “Let’s go back to the earlier part of your life. You’re six years old, you first hear ‘Whiskey in the Jar,’ and you talked about it being almost like a religious experience. What was your take then of Metallica’s version?”, Ricky replied (transcribed by UG):

“I loved the Metallica version, I think that’s great. James [Hetfield] is such a unique individual vocally and just who he is.

“And he stamped his personality all over that song. I think they really did it justice, and I think that’s great.”

I want to ask about two situations, and you kind of tell me which one were you aware of. The first one is opening for Ramones [with The Almighty], and the other was playing Motorhead with Dave Grohl.

“Oh, very much so. The Ramones, just, I think somebody pulled a rug after that, that’s it, that was your 10 minutes, you got to play Ramones, you’re done – I would’ve gone, ‘OK,’ because the Ramones were such an important band to me growing up as a kid.

“And the fact that we got to tour with those guys in the UK was just incredible. It was right when The Almighty just started touring. We were kids, we were young, and here we are, doing Ramones.

“And the Dave Grohl thing was at the Ronnie James Dio Cancer Foundation. I’ve met Dave a couple of times, but we vaguely knew each other, he just turned up that day and he was like, ‘Hey, you want to get up and play?’ ‘OK.’

“We hadn’t rehearsed – we didn’t do any rehearsal at all, we just got together at the side of the stage. He’s never forgotten the punk-rock thing that he had back up in there, he’s still a ‘get in the van’ guy.

“He didn’t demand anything. We just shared a drum kit with so many artists playing that day, and he didn’t move one stand or one drum on that drum kit.

“He got up and played like his life depended upon it, and that’s the mark of the guy, and it was incredible being on stage with who was behind that drum kit, it was something else.”

Check out the latest Black Star Riders record “Another State of Grace” here via Amazon.As an Amazon Associate, we may earn commissions from qualifying purchases.