The Wildhearts were a band who influenced almost all of today's British heavy rock bands¹. They were formed when Ginger, bored with playing other people's music, decided he could do better on his own.

They released their first EP Mondo Akimbo A-go-go in 1992, and followed it with the Don't Be Happy... Just Worry mini-album. Their first full-length release Earth vs The Wildhearts was given rave reviews in all the music press and the singles all made the charts. They then released a fan-club only album called Fishing For Luckies which contained a collection of long, experimental songs written simultaneously with their second album, P.H.U.Q.².

After P.H.U.Q. the band began to have severe problems with their record label EastWest, and after two re-releases of Fishing For Luckies (one approved, the other boycotted by the band) they signed a new deal with Mushroom. This led to the release of their third album Endless, Nameless³ and marked a new direction for the band, but many fans were unhappy with their new sound.

The band planned a tour, but internal tensions led to their split before it took place. Most of the ex-members have carried on with other projects, give or take a couple of exceptions.

Recordings

Their singles include:

• TV Tan
• Caffeine Bomb
• Suckerpunch
• If Life Is Like A Lovebank, I want an Overdraft/Geordie In Wonderland
• I Wanna Go Where The People Go
• Just In Lust
• Sick of Drugs
• Red Light, Green Light
• Anthem
• Urge

These all included new B-Sides, so are worth looking for, just as much as the albums.

Band Members

Ex-Wildhearts include Bam, Stidi, CJ, Danny McCormack (brother of 3CR's Chris), Ginger, Ritch Battersby, Jef Streatfield, Mark Keds and Willie Dowling (live and on some studio tracks).

Although never a member, Devin Townsend (Strapping Young Lad, Ocean Machine, Vai etc.) did help out when CJ left the band.

The bands linked directly to the Wildhearts are: Dogs d'Amour (Bam), the Jellys (Stidi and CJ), the Yo-Yos (Danny), Honeycrack (CJ and Willie Dowling), Senseless Things (Mark Keds), Jolt (Mark Keds), Sugar Plum Fairies (Willie Dowling), Three Colours Red (Danny's brother's band) and Clam Abuse (Ginger's new thing).

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¹ Such as Three Colours Red.
² Which, incidentally, the Editor of h2g2 believes to be one of the greatest heavy rock albums of all time.
³ Which, incidentally, the Editor of h2g2 believes to be one of the worst heavy rock albums of all time, and is the only album he has ever returned for a refund.