If you search for live footage of Yungblud on YouTube, you’re likely to spot Adam Warrington on stage to the right. The 28-year-old Scottish guitarist has accompanied the band on nearly every tour, showcasing his talent at major events such as the Reading and Leeds Festivals, various award ceremonies, and television appearances like The Graham Norton Show. He is also prominently featured in many of their music videos and credited on several tracks from the last two studio albums.
In November 2020, Yungblud introduced Warrington to fans on his BBC Sounds podcast, highlighting the significance of Warrington in both his personal and professional life. “He’s a guitar player who always makes people turn their heads wherever he goes,” Yungblud remarked.
Yungblud reminisced about their first meeting at Phil Taggart’s Slacker night in East London, saying, “I needed a guitar player. I kind of needed someone who would be the Sid Vicious to my Johnny Rotten or the Carl Barât to my Pete Doherty.” He fondly recalled their initial encounter, where they were both wearing Harrington jackets and he handed Yungblud a beer. “It was that doppelgänger thing, and I was like, ‘Ah, hello!’”
Just two weeks after they met, the duo was living together and performing in the same band. Yungblud shared how their early experiences helped him transition from Dom Harrison Music to his now-renowned stage persona. Their chemistry was fueled by a mutual appreciation for Joy Division, gin, and port.
Praising Warrington’s versatility and love for the guitar, Yungblud emphasized his friend’s ability to keep things simple. “He’s great at scales, but he’s not going to be like, ‘Hey man, B minor diminished blah blah blah!’” Yungblud laughed. “He’ll just have a couple of beers and play you something amazing.”
Before joining Yungblud, Warrington performed alongside chart-topping Scottish singer-songwriter Lewis Capaldi, who remains one of his oldest friends and strongest supporters. Capaldi shared, “Adam is one of my oldest pals from back home. We started off playing shows in tiny venues in Scotland. He’s an incredible guitar player and is usually off playing around the world with Yungblud now! It’s nice to have someone you grew up with going on to do amazing things.”
During live shows, Warrington typically uses his Gibson guitars, including a 2018 SG Standard, a 2001 Les Paul Standard, and a Custom Shop ES-335, covering most of their set. His collection also features a Gretsch G6128T-89VS Vintage Select ’89 Duo Jet with Bigsby and a Fender Classic Player Jazzmaster Special, all running in stereo via a Hiwatt Custom 20 and Marshall 1962 Bluesbreaker reissue.
He demonstrated his gear on Marshall’s YouTube channel as part of its Artist Spotlight series, noting that the connection to John Mayall’s Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton led him to the amp. He described it as his main workhorse, saying, “It’s called a Bluesbreaker for a reason,” and praised its ability to deliver a “really amazing middle presence.”
Warrington’s pedalboard features a wide range of tonal options, including the high-performance Boss 500 series, specifically the RV-500 reverb, DD-500 delay, and MD-500 modulation. He also favors standalone stompboxes like the Ibanez WH10V3 wah, Electro-Harmonix Micro POG, DigiTech Whammy, Z.Vex Super Hard On boost, and Dunlop Echoplex delay pedal.
His fuzz options include a JHS Crayon, which replicates the sound of plugging directly into a preamp; a JHS Muffuletta, which houses five classic Big Muff sounds; and a Fulltone ’70 BC-108C, famously reverse-engineered from Eric Johnson’s original blue Fuzz Face, which gained fame on the Strat virtuoso’s early studio albums.
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