Ricky Warwick and his band The Fighting Hearts materialise at Brighton Concorde as part of their tour to promote their latest album Blood Ties. Support comes from Terrorvision singer Tony Wright.
Ricky Warwick And The Fighting Hearts
Concorde, Brighton – 28 April 2026
Words: Mark Kelly
Photography: Robert Sutton
Ricky Warwick’s name being attached to any project has, over the years, become a guarantee of musical quality, and his current album Blood Ties is no exception, being a slab of rip-roaring classic rock featuring a sizeable dollop of essence of Thin Lizzy. Ricky and the Fighting Hearts’ walk-on music is Edwin Starr’s War, a sadly apt tune for the times that we live in.
However, we came here to rock, and that is what the band do from the get-go, with a storming version of Rise And Grind from Blood Ties. Ricky does not ignore his past by any means, though, and as early as the second song, we get The Almighty’s Jonestown Mind.
Over the years, Ricky seems to have worked with just about everybody who’s anybody. Celebrating Sinking, for example, written with Therapy?’s Andy Cairns. Delving a little way into the past again, we also get The Black Star Riders’ Another State Of Grace, which unsurprisingly features some very Lizzy-esque dual lead guitar.
Meanwhile, Three Sides To Every Story, from Ricky’s Tattoos & Alibis album, provides some food for thought, the three sides being “yours, mine and the truth.”
There is no doubt that Ricky Warwick is a very busy and indeed prolific artist. Blood Ties was released in March 2025, but the band play Fire And Vengeance, the title track of a new album due to be released in September.
Does this man never rest? In addition to his work with The Fighting Hearts, he will be playing with The Almighty during the summer, on the bill for Iron Maiden’s 50th anniversary bash at Knebworth in July, together with the Maid Of Stone festival a week later.
Ricky does, however, have time to impart some wisdom to us. He tells us that writing songs is a bit like keeping a diary. This is before playing Angels Of Desolation, which could well be about drinking.
Ricky has been dry for several years now, as has guitarist Ben Christo. To be fair, both of them are excellent adverts for giving up the demon drink.
Schwaben Redoubt is a standout song in the set, and is also one of the most untypical Ricky Warwick songs. It is about the futility of war and sounds like a heavy rock version of The Pogues. The song is beyond excellent, both in substance and sentiment, and somebody should sit Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump (and that Netanyahu guy too) down and make them listen to it.
Another Black Star Riders song, Finest Hour, was playlisted on Radio 2. Ricky’s mother’s response was, “I see you have a proper job now.”
Towards the end of the set, they play a very authentic cover of Motörhead’s Iron Fist in tribute to guitarist Phil Campbell, who passed away recently. Proceedings then draw to a close with The Almighty’s Free ‘n’ Easy.
This has been effectively a masterclass in how classic rock should be played and presented by an artist with an absolutely terrific back catalogue, thus ensuring a brilliant set.
There was space for more people at Concorde. It is imperative that excellent shows like tonight’s are supported, otherwise bands simply will not play. You have been warned.
Tony Wright
I was somewhat unsure about what to expect from Tony Wright. I must confess I was completely unaware that he had a solo career, notwithstanding the fact that he has released four albums.
Tony has been intending to play an acoustic tour since COVID, but it has repeatedly been cancelled for various reasons. So this support tour is something of a realisation of a dream. Tony is on acoustic guitar, mostly playing rhythm, and he is accompanied by Terrorvision guitarist Milton ‘Milly’ Evans, also on acoustic, who mostly plays lead. Milly also has a pedal which triggers an electronic bass drum.
Their playing is really rather impressive, with Nothing To Write Home About featuring dual lead acoustic guitar. You do not hear that every day. Tony’s lyrics, and indeed his between-song banter, are very witty. This guy could, and maybe should, do stand-up.
The Blues is “a true story” made up by Tony. It’s “about how shit life can be when you’re lucky.” I’ll take his word for it. Another song is about a guy who reaches 100, and when asked about the secret behind his longevity, says, “drinking a half bottle of scotch and smoking 20 tabs a day.”
It should be noted that these are not necessarily the views of the reviewer.
Naturally, we get a Terrorvision song, just the one. Friends And Family offers a wonderful opportunity for some audience participation, as Tony and Milly sing “there’s a party over there,” and we respond with “fuck you over there.”
Everybody likes a good swear, I suppose, and in public it feels ever so slightly naughty. Their short set just whizzes by, but there is no denying that it is top entertainment. Indeed, so much so that I buy one of Tony’s CDs, so he must have been good.
