Hard rock trailblazer Lita Ford is gearing up for a major return with her first studio album since 2012’s Living Like a Runaway — and she’s teasing a powerful duet with metal queen Doro Pesch that she says will strike an emotional chord with fans.
Produced once again by guitarist Gary Hoey, the yet-untitled record has been years in the making. While Ford isn’t ready to unveil the album’s name just yet, she shared that it’s only a matter of finalizing the record label before making that announcement. “Yes,” she laughed when asked if there’s a title in place. “But I’m trying to wait until we get a record label signed. And so once I do, then I can tell you everything.”
The release date is still up in the air, but Ford is hopeful: “I don’t know. Soon, I hope. Fingers crossed. We’re working on it.”
Ford describes the album as deeply personal, inspired by lived experiences that shaped its lyrics and tone. “I had to live it before I could write it,” she explained. “It sounds a little creepy and everything, but it’s pretty cool. It’s a dark fairytale, ala — I don’t know — ala Shrek. And I love Shrek. I mean, there’s no green people in it or anything like that, and there’s no ogres. Well, I guess there are ogres.”
One of the most anticipated moments on the album is a collaboration with longtime friend and German metal icon Doro Pesch. “It’s waiting to come out,” Ford said. “And I’m dying. It’s so good. It’s not a ballad, and it’s not a fast song. It’s just a really powerful, mid-range song. And it will reduce you to tears.”
Recalling how the duet came to life, Ford shared that it all started with a chance encounter: “When I ran into Doro, she was receiving an award in Los Angeles, and she says to me, ‘Lita, we have to do a song together.’ And I said, ‘I’ve got it. I’ve got the title. I know what the title is.’ Because sometimes you just grab titles, and you don’t even know why. It’s just something that sounds amazing.”
The album also features a duet with singer, songwriter, and producer Jean Beauvoir — known for his work with Crown of Thorns and Plasmatics — adding yet another layer of collaboration to the project. “Jean, he’s like family because we kind of grew up in the punk rock era together, [him] from the Plasmatics and [me] from The Runaways,” Ford said. “Sometimes you’re just at the right place at the right time with the right people. And Jean and I wrote this song together. And, yeah, it’s magic. It’s a duet, but it’s produced by Jean, and he just knocked it out of the park. It’s a magic, magic song.”
