Richard Francis "Rikk" Agnew Jr. (born December 9, 1958) is an American musician with a career spanning more than 40 years.
[5] Because he was shy, Agnew gravitated toward music, and played various instruments that he and his younger brothers Frank and Alfie found around the house.
[7] Agnew joined Christian Death soon after leaving the Adolescents, writing and playing guitar on the seminal Only Theatre of Pain album, issued by Frontier in March 1982.
He also performed on the band's Deathwish EP, recorded before the album during the sessions for the compilation Hell Comes to Your House but not released until 1984.
[10] He also played guitar in Poop (with Scott Hoogland, former frontman of the influential Orange County band The Mechanics) and the reunited Detours.
After playing in Christian Death 1334 with James McGearty and Eva O, Agnew joined the new lineup of Voodoo Church as second guitarist and performed on their 2009 album Eminence of Demons.
[13] He is also currently active in the Gitane Demone Quartet and Only Theatre of Pain (a band that performs the entire Christian Death album of the same name).
Agnew has cited influences such as the Beatles, the Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page, Cheap Trick's Rick Nielsen, Black Flag's Greg Ginn and Flipper's Ted Falconi.
[13] Agnew struggled with alcohol and drug use over much of his career, but in 2010, had a health crisis and started an effort to stay sober.