Review by Damien Doherty for MPM
Good Evening, this is my first show of 2026” announces Ricky as he takes the stage. First solo show yes, but certainly not the first performance.
That came last Sunday night when he stole the show in front of a packed audience in the 3Arena for The Dedication, an event to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the passing of Phil Lynott. Ricky performed both as a part of “The Rockers”, an ensemble of legends Marco Mendoza, Richard Fortus, Michal Kulbaka, and Grant Nicholas, and also singing a couple of numbers with the RTE Concert Orchestra. Phew! By comparison, tonight is the definition of an intimate gig, sold out naturally, and the first of a pair of Saturday nights at this venue.
Thankfully the wintry conditions of the last few days have somewhat abated, the roads in this area having been subjected to some pretty bad spells of treacherous driving conditions and black ice. But the weather gods have seen fit to up the temperatures (barely) enough for the crowd to arrive safely and by the time 7:15 arrives the place is full and raring to go.
It’s a fantastic mix of material this evening from Ricky’s solo stuff, The Almighty, Thin Lizzy, Black Star Riders, along with a few choice covers. He kicks off with Devils Toy, All Hell Breaks Loose, Dancing in The Moonlight, and You’re My Rock and Roll without even taking a breath in between, what a way to warm up. Next up is a song that he hasn’t played in a while, BSRs Hey Judas, and Ricky expresses how he misses those guys, I think we’d all like to see a return to the limelight by them. Angels of desolation, the opener from his latest album Blood Ties is next followed by Killer Instinct. Then we get the good news of a new solo album coming September with a first single at the end of March (can’t tell us what it is, as the record company haven’t told him yet, lol).
Don’t Leave Me In The Dark is a track from 2025 that included a collaboration with the renowned Lita Ford, and all assembled are compelled to join in with the “whoa oh oh oh oh ohhhs” on When The Night Comes In. The song that inadvertently ended The Almighty’s Ulster Hall gig in November is halted halfway through as Ricky politely asks those having a conversation in the middle of his performance to STFU. With attention refocused in the room we hear the title track from 2021s When Life Was Hard And Fast, then The Crickets Stayed In Clovis, which briefly segues into David Bowies Hereos towards the end.
Power from The Almightys Blood, Fire, and Love seems an unlikely acoustic song, but it works. Bound For Glory and Fighting Heart are up next before Iron Maidens Wasted Years. The Almighty will be supporting the Irons at Knebworth this year on 11th July, which also just happens to be the occasion of Mr. Warwicks 60th Birthday. What a way to celebrate! Ricky certainly doesn’t look his age, methinks it’s time to hit the gym. And speaking of exercise, he requests a workout on this one, in lieu of a drummer we are all required to provide the beat for the three and a half minutes of Kingdom Of The Lost, argh my aching arms!
He prefaces the song Jesus Loves You, But I Don’t with a comment on how many preachers and priests the song has attracted, all completely oblivious to the meaning of the song. My favourite of his solo stuff follows, the Warwick/Sam Robinson penned When Patsy Cline Was Crazy… , and a heartfelt tribute is paid to Philo before busting out the dynamic duo of Cowboy Song and Boys Are Back In Town. Everyone is in full voice at this stage, further proliferated by breaking into Ace Of Spades. Final song of the night is the one that should have ended the Ulster Hall show due to the curfew, thoughts of ignoring the curfew on the night were tempered by the fact that the penalty was £5000 per minute, whew! Anway, no curfew tonight and Ricky executes this performance of Free ‘N@ Easy with extra gusto.
Ever generous with his time Ricky is straight out to the lounge to meet everyone for a wee chat, sign autographs, and pose for photos. And then it is over – for this week anyway, and we are promised a completely different setlist next week, how about that for dedication. So here’s to round two, some limited tickets remain so don’t miss out, I won’t.
