Ricky Warwick And The Fighting Hearts/CJ Wildheart – Brudenell Social Club, Leeds (21/9/2025)

Gracing the Brudenell Stage on this Autumn night were two artists that I have been lucky enough to see numerous times over the last thirty odd years. Both are almost chameleon like in the way their careers have developed over that time. I first saw (and indeed reviewed) tonight’s headliner when playing with The Almighty at The After Dark Club in Reading while on tour with Horse (London). I saw dozens of shows with Ricky Warwick playing in that band. Then we had (sic), acoustic tours with Therapy? and Def Leppard, Black Star Riders and now he has gathered together his new look Fighting Hearts. CJ Wildheart, well it is the same….firstly with The Wildhearts, then Honeycrack, The Jellys and another stint with The Wildhearts in addition to releasing a number of quality albums under his own name. There is one thing that both these rock troubadours can always guarantee their audience- Rock and Roll music played with passion and honesty and a certainty that they will both do their absolute upmost to ensure each member of the audience is rocked to their very core.

First up we have honorary Yorkshireman, CJ Wildheart. By eck, this lad has been up here in the North for some 13 years now and in so many ways it has been his greatest as a musician so far. Albums like Blood, Split and most recent Spots show that CJ Wildheart is becoming a more gifted songwriter in his own right. Things tonight don’t start so well with a broken string coming in the very first song, but there is no rock star tantrum or the throwing of said six stringed instrument being hurled at some roadie. No, what we get tonight is the audience being informed that he will have to switch from his first guitar, Lucy, to her replacement…Mabel! Speaking of the ladies he and his band rip in to The Baddest Girl In The World and it sounds cracking!!

CJ (just as Ricky Warwick will do later) will dip in to all his past musical ventures, the bubble gum pop of The Jelly’s Lemonade Girl and crackers from Honeycrack like Go Away sound as brilliant as they did in the 1990’s. It made me think that I must go back and revisit those projects because they were so good! It is at the end of the set that CJ revisits the band who gave him his name. We all know that being in The Wildhearts was never an easy ride for anybody who was ever a member, but the pride that CJ shows for his involvement as a founding member of the band is evident as he launches into Stormy In The North, Karma In The South. CJ Wildheart has as much to offer in his mid fifties as ever did, and his genes are of the highest quality as although the dark locks of hair may have gone, but he barely looks any older than he did back in the day (I wish I could say the same!!!)

And so to tonight’s headliner, Ricky Warwick who has brought a new look backing band, The Fighting Hearts. With guitarist Ben Cristo away on tour with Sisters Of Mercy, Warwick has brought in Leigh Heggerty (Ruts DC) in his place and he does a wonderful job . Throw in the Drum / bass combo of Jack Taylor (Tax The Heat) and Richard Vernon, these Fighting Hearts are of the highest quality. The twenty two song set is exactly what any fan of Ricky Warwick will want to hear and is even more impressive considering the variety of his different projects, all of which are covered in those twenty two songs that run together perfectly.

Kicking off with an adrenaline charged You’re My Rock & Roll the audience are lapping it all up. Thin Lizzy fans do not have to wait long before they are headbanging with the classic Are You Ready? the third song played. Later in the set we are treated to Thin Lizzy classic Jailbreak (surely a contender for the best middle eight of all time, I mean there are police sirens and everything!!!). Mr Warwick’s time with The Almighty is also not forgotten with the likes of Free N’ Easy and Jonestown Mind being greeted like long lost friends. Funnily enough, it is The Almighty track Do You Understand? that has me dancing hardest with it’s nods to Northern Soul, a point that is further pushed when he plays Rise And Grind from his wonderful album, Blood Ties which Ricky beautifully describes as ‘If Northern Soul met The Almighty on Acid!!!’

Black Star Riders fans would leave this wonderful Yorkshire venue happy too with tracks like Another State Of Grace (a song with it’s heart back in Ireland which Ricky once again calls home) and Finest Hour all sounding as fresh and as joyous as they were when I first heard them. Throw in some choice solo material from the likes of Don’t Leave Me In The Dark and a wonderful story of how Lita Ford got to sing on the track. When Patsy Cline Was Crazy (And Guy Mitchell Sang The Blues) and set closer, Fighting Heart all reminded me about one thing. Ricky Warwick adores music. He lives it, breathes it and has brought so much joy to his fans of any of his projects because there is one thing that he has never forgotten…..that music is just the greatest of all pleasures!!!!