Ricky Warwick has released his feel good rock’n’roll Christmas single, ‘All I Want For Christmas… Is Christmas!’, which is out now via Earache Records and features Billy Duffy of The Cult on guitar and guest vocals from Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott.
The track is available to stream now and you can pre-order for download, which will be available on 13th December, at earache.com/rickywarwick
The track is an ode to the blissful and innocent enjoyment of Christmas and the affirmation to just switch off and reset. The only agenda for ‘All I Want For Christmas… Is Christmas!’ as Ricky puts it, “is a good one.”
Ricky adds, “Christmas always seemed magical to me when I was young. We didn’t have a lot of money, but we had a lot of family. I always hoped, in vain, that it would snow on Christmas Eve, the only day of the year when my parents could get me to go to bed early so Christmas Day would arrive faster!
“My old man would put Perry Como’s Christmas album on which I pretended to hate but secretly liked as it made everything seem right. We weren’t a particularly religious family, but my two sisters and I would religiously watch Christmas Top Of The Pops. I was mesmerised by the Glam Rock brilliance of Slade and Roy Wood’s Wizzard. Those festive feelings never diminished as I grew older and I tried to pass them down to my own kids.
“Christmas just seemed to be simpler back in the day… Pretty much like most things… We sadly seem to be so out of touch with ourselves and each other now. When the world has become so skeptical, isn’t it okay for the heart to be naïve? I’m not yearning for nostalgia, I’m always hopeful for tomorrow, and I’m hoping this tune can put a smile on people’s faces at this time of year!
“Christmas for me is a time when the world stops for a day and we can all get off to see the festive lights, take a breath and reset ourselves before getting back on the ride again.”
The track comes hot on the heels of the announcement of Ricky’s new solo album Blood Ties, which will be out on 14th March via Earache Records. You can pre-order the album here.
To get a taste of what’s to come from his forthcoming album, Ricky has released the single ‘Don’t Leave Me In The Dark’, which sees legendary The Runaways guitarist & famed solo artist Lita Ford joining on vocal duties.
About the single, Ricky comments, “This was the first song written for the album and details the intricacies of love and the battles we fight to stay in it. When you put everything into a relationship and the significant other doesn’t reciprocate, there’s always a huge mental toll, a price to pay on commitment.”
Ricky dug deep for Blood Ties and by doing so has made this one of his most personal records yet. Big cathartic guitar sounds and life-affirming, often joyous assessments of where he is in life right now have made it a standout body of work in a career that has spanned over four decades at the coalface of rock’n’roll.
As a solo artist and an esteemed singer/songwriter in his own right, Ricky Warwick has also collaborated with some of the finest musicians on the planet and, with Blood Ties, has enlisted some notable guests including the aforementioned Lita Ford, Billy Duffy (The Cult) and Charlie Starr (Blackberry Smoke).
The album was produced by Ricky’s friend and creative compadre Mr Keith Nelson (Buckcherry). The cover of the Blood Ties was also designed and drawn by Ricky’s stepdaughter Zoe Hinton.
Ricky Warwick remains undoubtedly one of the hardest working men in rock’n’roll and his creativity continues to roar, with Blood Ties being as much a celebration of his stellar songwriting as it is his ethos towards doing the best he can for himself and for the fans.
“If people can connect with this album, musically, lyrically, its artwork, or better still all three, then that is all I can really ask and hope for. If it means as much to someone else as it does to me then I feel my work is done. For me, it’s all about what other people think!! What’s the point in creating art if you don’t share and care!”
Blood Ties is out on 14th March 2025 via Earache Records and is available to pre-order here.
Ricky Warwick and The Fighting Hearts will be performing in March 2025 at the following dates. Tickets are available here.
March 2025
Saturday 8th – BLACKPOOL, Waterloo Bar
Sunday 9th – MILTON KEYNES, The Craufurd Arms
Tuesday 11th – BRIGHTON, Concorde 2*
Wednesday 12th – NOTTINGHAM, Rock City*
Friday 14th – MANCHESTER, Academy*
Saturday 15th – NEWCASTLE, O2 City Hall*
Monday 17th – GLASGOW, Barrowland Ballroom*
Tuesday 18th – YORK, Barbican*
Thursday 20th – BIRMINGHAM, O2 Academy*
Friday 21st – BRISTOL, O2 Academy*
Saturday 22nd – LONDON, Roundhouse*
Monday 24th – CARDIFF, Clwb Ifor Bach
Tuesday 25th – LINCOLN, The Drill
*Special Guest to Stiff Little Fingers
