With the latest Ricky Warwick solo album released Friday 14th, March, MetalTalk caught up with him via Zoom from Glasgow yesterday to chat about Blood Ties, The Almighty, Black Star Riders and sobriety.
Ricky pops up on my Zoom screen bang on 10 am, looking fit and fresh with a “Hi Robert, great to see you again,” greeting. I had briefly spoken with him after his gig at The Craufurd Arms in Milton Keynes last Sunday.
Ricky Warwick is doing selected headline shows with his band The Fighting Hearts and also supporting the legendary Stiff Little Fingers. “The tour is going brilliantly,” he says. “The crowds have been very supportive to us and the new songs are going down really well. I’m also doing in-stores and playing some solo acoustic songs at those, too. I’m loving every second of it.”
Ricky Warwick – Blood Ties
We get around to chatting about his incredible new album, Blood Ties. “The reception has been incredible, and the reviews I’ve seen have been really positive. I read your review in MetalTalk and thank you so much for your kind words.” I tell him that the thanks are all mine, as the album is truly wonderful.
The lyrics on Blood Ties are strikingly personal. “Most of my lyrics come from personal experiences, but there were a few issues I had been avoiding for a few years,” Ricky says. “I felt the time was right for me to face up to those issues, and the results have been very cathartic and life-changing. These feelings were kicking around for a long time, and although they never really affected me on a daily basis, it was a bigger relief than I expected when I completed the album.”
I remind Ricky that we had a fantastic interview just before his last album When Life Was Hard And Fast, was released. He remembered that interview and kindly told me he had had a great time doing that. Keith Nelson produced When Life Was Fast And Hard and is also the producer of Blood Ties.
During that interview, Ricky Warwick told me that he had started demoing material for what would become Blood Ties. “Keith isn’t only my producer,” Ricky said, “he’s one of my closest friends. It was never in question that Keith would produce Blood Ties. It was just taken as read, and he did an exceptional job once again.”
We spoke of The Cult’s Billy Duffy and his incredible performance on The Hell Of Me And You. “Billy is a great friend of mine, and it was such an honour to have him on Blood Ties. He just rocked up to Keith’s studio, searched through his guitars, found a beautiful Les Paul, plugged in and instantly sounded like Billy Duffy.
“We did around ten takes with Billy, then Keith and I went through them to find the best one. To be honest, we could’ve used any of the takes, and it would’ve sounded incredible.”
Lita Ford also makes her appearance felt on Don’t Leave Me In The Dark. “That was done remotely from her house in the south,” Rocky says, “but she was incredible. Such a professional and a complete joy to work with. I was ecstatic when she agreed to do the video with me.”
Blackberry Smoke’s Charlie Star lends his guitar playing to Rise And Grind. “That was a real coup for me to get Charlie on that track,” says Ricky. “It’s not his usual style of music, but a great player can play anything, and Charlie is a great player.”
We spoke about Ricky’s sobriety, and I reminded him of what he had said about it at his recent solo acoustic gig at The Gibson Garage in London, where he said, “since I stopped drinking, I’ve never been more looked after.”
Ricky laughs at that and says, “It’s true. Anytime someone asks me if I want a drink and I tell them that I dont, they always ask if I’m ok. Since I stopped drinking, the weight has really fallen off me. There’s a lot of calories in drinking and it’s not only that.
“After a good session, you tend to make a lot of bad food choices. A cheeky wee kebab or some sort of greasy takeaway on your way home back from the pub. I’ve always been on the chunky side, and since I’ve stopped drinking, those temptations aren’t there anymore.
“I’ve never felt better, both physically and mentally, since I stopped drinking. I’m doing in-store gigs and signings in the afternoon, then doing a full gig in the evening. A few years ago, I wouldn’t have been physically capable of doing that.”
Our conversation turns to The Almighty. “We’re just having the best time playing these gigs,” he smiles. “After the first three, we all felt it would be crazy if we didn’t do it again. There’s no pressure doing these shows. We’ve had plenty of offers, but we’re just having fun playing together again.
“We all have our priorities, so we’re just having a blast playing together. We want to make the St Andrews day gig at Glasgow Barrowlands a regular thing. It’s our spiritual home, and the gigs there are always incredible.”
Talk returns to the Blood Ties tour, and I thank Ricky again for the recent wonderful gig in Milton Keynes. “I really enjoyed that gig,” he says. It was here that Ricky explained who Ginger Jesus, the character described at the start of Dead And Gone on the Blood Ties album, was. That track is about addiction and the choices we make.
I go back to an earlier interview where Ricky told me that once The Almighty finished and he went back to Ireland, he was in a bad way. His good friend, Joe Elliot, Def Leppard frontman, got him back into the studio and they recorded the Tattoos And Alibis album. “That album really saved me,” Ricky says.
“I wasn’t a proper singer. I was the frontman of a loud rock band, and suddenly, I found myself learning how to sing properly.” For me, Tattoos And Alibis is one of my favourite solo albums of his because it was so different. “It had to be different,” Ricky says, “as I had to find myself again.”
For his solo acoustic gigs, Ricky Warwick had to find a different way of communicating with the audience. “Doing a solo acoustic gig, there’s nowhere to hide,” he says. “It’s just you, a guitar and the crowd. Playing in a band, you’ve got your bandmates there to support you and a huge wall of Marshall’s. Without a doubt, doing those gigs has improved me as a performer. It’s given me a lot more confidence.”
Ricky left everything on the stage at the recent gig at Milton Keynes. “At the end of the day, that’s my job,” he says. “The six-hour drive and shitty food mean nothing at all if you don’t put everything into that hour-and-a-half gig in the evening. People give up their time and hard-earned money to come to my gigs, so the very least they should get is the very best I can give them.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s a small club or a festival headline in front of thousands of people, the same rules apply. I am in the entertainment business and I strive to entertain wherever I play.”
Our Zoom time is fast running out, so I ask what the year has in store for Ricky Warwick. “I’ll finish this tour with The Fighting Hearts,” he says, “then I’ve got a few solo acoustic gigs back in Ireland. Then I’ve got solo acoustic gigs in the States and another tour for The Fighting Hearts in the UK in the Autumn. Then it’s The Almighty gigs in November.”
Would he consider doing a tour of America with The Fighting Hearts? “Of course I would,” he says, “but it would have to be with American-based musicians due to costs.”
I ask Ricky if he ever takes a holiday. He laughs and says, “not really. I’ll have weekends away, but I can’t seem to switch off. I’ve always been that way. Saying that, I’m hoping to get away for a couple of weeks this year, so we’ll see how it goes.”
With that, our time is up, and I thank Ricky for his time and wish him every success with the tour and his wonderful Blood Ties album. Hopefully, I’ll see him in the Autumn and definitely in Glasgow on St Andrews Day for The Almighty gig.
“Thank you so much for your support, Robert, and to everyone at MetalTalk. Hopefully, I’ll see you soon.”
UK Album Chart Hopes
The news broke on Monday evening that Ricky Warwick’s wonderful Blood Ties album entered the UK album chart with a midweek placing of Number 8. This is a tremendous achievement.
If you are thinking about buying the album, please do it this week if you can afford it. Every single sale up until 11.59 pm on Thursday counts.
Let’s try and rally together and give Ricky Warwick his first-ever Top Ten solo album placing. It would be the least we can do to help one of the hardest-working and nicest guys in rock.
Ricky Warwick – Blood Ties was released 14 March 2025 via Earache Records and is available from here.
