Song

Don’t Leave Me In The Dark

Artist

Ricky Warwick (feat. Lita Ford)

Ricky Warwick backstory

Main man for The Almighty, the booming voice of Black Star Riders, Thin Lizzy alumnus and singer songwriter supreme: Ricky Warwick is a rock and roll legend.

The Northern Irishman is loved and respected as much by his peers as he is by his legions of fans the world over.

And it’s the combination of talent, passion and focus underpinning everything he does that makes the 58-year-old an enduring favourite.

After anchoring The Almighty across seven studio albums, Warwick set about forging his reputation as a solo artist during the noughties.

And by the end of that decade he found himself fronting Thin Lizzy.

From there, Lizzy offshoot Black Star Riders released the first of five albums in 10 years — 2013’s All Hell Breaks Loose and last year’s Wrong Side Of Paradise bookending a rich period of songwriting form.

Now Joe Elliott’s best man — and one of the best in the business — is ready to take things up another notch with the release of 2025’s Blood Ties.

In Ricky Warwick’s own words:

“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.

Lita Ford is a true hardcore rocker, she’s the real deal in every way. The attitude, energy and professionalism she brought to the video shoot was inspiring on every level.

“She also brought her famous original Hamer Guitar that dates way back to her time in The Runaways.

“When I wrote the lyrics for Don’t Leave Me In The Dark I knew right away the song needed to be performed as a duet. 

“Lita instantly sprang to mind. I’m honoured that she agreed to be a part of it.

“She absolutely nailed it sonically and visually as I knew she would.”

The verdict on Don’t Leave Me In The Dark

Rock fans of a certain vintage will forever hold a place in their hearts for Lita Ford’s 1988 duet with Ozzy Osbourne.

Close My Eyes Forever is a fabulous snapshot of a moment in time where hair metal ruled and MTV wrote the rulebook.

But has Lita finally eclipsed that legendary collab after hooking up with do-it-all Ulsterman Ricky Warwick?

Don’t Leave Me In The Dark throws together two of the most identifiable hard rock voices of the last four decades.

And it feels like Ford and Warwick were always destined to wring the very last drop of emotion out of this impassioned track.

Paired with a classy video — pitting the two vocalists as sparring warriors inside the ring — this is up there with the very best of Warwick’s back catalogue.

But Ford’s the driving force: see the light and add Don’t Leave Me In The Dark to your rock and roll playlist now. Thank us later.

What’s next for Ricky Warwick

Blood Ties is released via Earache Records in March 2025.

The star-studded album features collaborations with Ford, Billy Duffy and Charlie Starr.

Buckcherry’s Keith Nelson produced the album and the cover artwork was drawn by his stepdaughter, Zoe Hinton.