There has been one final and decisive error that is 99.9% certain to cost us a place in today's top 40.
For reasons beyond the band's control, HMV's website's system wrongly stated that the single was to be released on June 26th. They were asked to change this to June 19th. They succeeded in correctly amending the CD and DVD formats, but failed to change the 7" release date. So yesterday, when the 7" stock finally arrived at the website's base in Guernsey, they refused to ship the pre-ordered 7" singles out to the people who had pre-ordered them. As a result we've missed out on hundreds of guaranteed sales which would have cemented our place in this week's top 40 singles chart.
This latest set-back has proved to be the last straw and so it's with deep regret that I have to announce that Ricky have split up.
The last five and a half years has been a real rollercoaster. We've enjoyed lots of wonderful experiences and endured more than our fair share of disappointments too. However, despite all the great things that we've achieved, the fact is that we're all still skint and we've arrived at a point where we've had to accept that we're just not going to earn a living from this band.
On a personal level, I've devoted the last five and a half years of my life to Ricky. I've been unable to buy myself any new clothes since the year 2000! I've had to survive off my parents' goodwill. They've been prepared to support me because they too had immense belief in this band's capabilities, but sadly, this string of recent set-backs has been too much for them too.
Despite all the current disappointment, I'd like to remind everyone of all the great things we've achieved:
* Reaching number 32 in the UK Singles Chart (and number 8 in the UK Indie Chart) with 'Stop Knocking The Walls Down'. A top 40 single is an extremely rare achievement for a band in the Portsmouth area.
* Reaching number 50 in the UK Singles Chart with 'That Extra Mile' - a self-released single. This is one of the highest-charting singles ever to be released by a then-unsigned band.
* Touring several times with our childhood heroes, The Bluetones.
* Meeting loads of other musical heroes including Arthur Lee, Noel Gallagher, Ray Davies, RHCP and Paul Weller. Meeting Arthur Lee, Noel G and Ray Davies within an hour of each other at the MOJO awards was incredible!
* Being interviewed live on Jo Whiley's BBC Radio 1 show and twice on BBC Radio 5 Live.
* Receiving airplay from BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 2, BBC 6 Music and Virgin Radio.
* Meeting my all-time idol, Ricky Gervais.
* All the great reviews in the national press, especially the * * * * review in Q magazine - the UK's biggest-selling music mag.
Along the way we've made loads of new friends across Britain, many of whom have tried so hard (and some of whom have parted with a great deal of money) to help us in our quest to become successful. There are too many people to mention everybody, but I'd like to offer a huge thanks to Tony Walton, Jim Easton, the Kerridge brothers, Nick Quantrill, Matt Tomiak, Kate Linton, Chris Parker, Nat Dale, the Lavenders, Pat Gilbert and Chris Miller.
I'd also like to express our gratitude to one of the world's greatest songwriters: Daniel Wylie. Daniel was an enormous help to Ricky in our early days. To get such support from someone who we idolised was a fantastic inspiration.
We've also had loads of support from our friends in Pompey. Above all else, I want to thank Craig Leworthy who's always been the nearest thing we've had to a Bez-type figure. Craig's always been there for me through the good times and the bad. He's got to be the only person in the world with a Ricky tattoo! We owe a massive thanks to loads of other mates too, especially Kev Whittle, Ben & Becky, Frank, That Lent, Champ, Tez, Bish and Warren the Weazle.
Huge thanks also have to go to our families for constant financial and moral support.
Many people have understandably questioned the wisdom of us signing to Beat Crazy Records at the beginning of last year. However, I'd like to remind everyone that when we signed to the label it was a professional outfit being run by people with plenty of music industry experience and with significant financial backing. How were we to know at that point that within eight months the label would descend into a state of farce?
Finally, I'd like to thank everyone who tried to make the World Cup single the big success that it had the potential to be - particularly Dawn Peters, Matt Smith and Dom Hirst.
We'll keep the MySpace site up as a tribute to the band.
All the best,
Jim Lines
ricky@jameslines.freeserve.co.uk