Chris McCormack (guitarist)

Chris McCormack (born 1973 in South Shields, England) is an English rock guitarist, best known as the guitarist and co-founder of 1990s rock band, 3 Colours Red and the organiser of Camden Rocks Festival.

The younger brother of Danny McCormack[1] of The Wildhearts, Chris McCormack first found success playing guitar for Newcastle-upon-Tyne heavy metal outfit Forgodsake, who released an album on Bleeding Heart Records before McCormack eventually left.[2]

He originally moved to London to join Honeycrack with C. J. from The Wildhearts but ended up forming 3 Colours Red with ex- Diamond Head bassist Pete Vuckovic instead. They went on to record two UK top 40 albums and six UK top 40 singles before splitting at their peak in 1999. He soon joined electro rockers Grand Theft Audio with Rich Battersby from The Wildhearts,[3] and spent several months touring the US with them. 3 Colours Red reformed in 2002 and released a third album but split again in 2005.

He has also toured as the guitarist in Gary Numan's live band,[4] and the reformed Professionals, with former Sex Pistols drummer Paul Cook.[5][6]

Since 2009 he has run Camden Rocks Festival; a music festival in Camden Town, London showcasing both new and established artists across twenty venues in just one day.[7] The festival headliners have featured the likes of The Cribbs, Bullet For My Valentine, The Subways, PiL, Feeder and Frank Turner. McCormack also organises regular Camden Rocks shows in Camden Town for upcoming bands.

  1. ^ "Danny McCormack - New Songs, Playlists & Latest News - BBC Music". BBC. Archived from the original on 26 November 2017. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  2. ^ Nash, Stewart (23 February 2010). "3 Colours Red". Creation-records.com. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  3. ^ "International Velvet | NME". NME. 12 September 2005. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  4. ^ Smith II, Geoffrey (undated). "Gary Numan". Rockstarjournalism.com.
  5. ^ Lewry, Fraser (14 September 2017). "The return of The Professionals, the ultimate punk supergroup". Teamrock.com.
  6. ^ Chaligne, Craig (30 October 2017). "The Professionals: The Garage, London - live review". Louder Than War.
  7. ^ "Camden Rocks Festival Website".