Interview by Adrian Hextall
In the world of rock and roll, few names resonate with the same rebellious spirit and unyielding passion as Ginger Wildheart. Known for his dynamic performances both on and offstage and genre-defying compositions, Ginger has carved out a niche in British music royalty that is distinctly his own yet sees him compared to some of the biggest names in the business (and rightly so). In a fascinating interview for MyGlobalMind, we delved into the life, inspirations, and future aspirations of this iconic musician.
The new incarnation of The Wildhearts
For those who have followed the band, as I have for many years, you’ll know that the current lineup of the band sees something of a re-vamp. Gone are established names, CJ, Danny and Ritch and returning on bass is none other than fan favourite ‘Random’ Jon Poole, guitarist Ben Marsden and, going forward, drummer Charles Evans. What could have been quite a hill to climb for Ginger and the band to impress on the fans the new identity has instead inspired the front man who explains to us just how he feels:
“It’s an exciting time right now because it feels like we’ve been setting things up and it’s now all ready to go. Imagine going to the fun fair, to go on the roller coaster and you’re just getting ready, you’re making your way there, and then you’re queuing up, then you’re sitting in the car. At that point, you’ve still got the choice to get out. BUT, as soon as the car moves and it clicks onto the rail that takes you up, it’s too late. And that’s what it feels like right now. Everything just seems to be clicking and it’s too late to do anything now. It’s all in action and it’s really exciting. I don’t even know if it’s healthy to be this excited at my age, but it is.”
Comparing new material to what’s come previously
Depending on how the fans see the lineup changes, and believe me, a vast chunk have been vocal, both positively and negatively, the new album, ‘The Satanic Rites of The Wildhearts’ will divide and conquer in equal measure. There’s no doubting though that this is special, a re-birth of the band. Looking at the last couple of albums and his solo releases, it seemed logical that the new release would feel different to Ginger for many reasons.
“Well, the previous releases were awful. Part of the problem, the last one was made during COVID, so that was awful for everyone. They weren’t very happy albums to make or to promote but the new one feels different.
I just write a bunch of songs that go in there and people tell me if they’re any good or people tell me that they don’t sound like The Wildhearts or that they sound like classic Wildhearts. When new material comes out I’m usually like, ‘Whatever…’ you know, ‘It’s public property now, so you can say what you want about it.’ But this one seems really exciting because we’re working with a label, so I’m not in any way independent anymore, and I’m working with the A&R man who first signed The Wildhearts, Dante Bonutto. Now ‘Earth Versus’ was my first album. The rest of the guys had recorded albums, but that was my first album, and it was Dante’s first album. So the fact that we’ve come full circle and we’re working again, it’s just lovely to be able to trust someone with stuff like this. His ideas are great, and every time we have a kind of disagreement, it ends up that he was right, and I’ve just got to relinquish control, which is new to me but very welcome.
So it does seem really exciting, it does seem really, really fresh, and it feels a bit like the first album, obviously with not as much alcohol and drugs involved!”
The Partnership with Dante Bonutto
Dante Bonutto puts a lot of his grey hairs down to Ginger. At a recent album playback session, he was quite vocal about the fact that the work on the band’s debut was ‘challenging’. Whatever the outcome at the time and the chaos that seemed to follow the band wherever they went [Remember the Kerrang! offices debacle?], the fact that Dante and Ginger are working together some 30 years later is testament to the strength of the bond between them.
“It’s magic. There’s loads of little elements that are coming together. We’re just a big candle and it’s lighting all these other candles as it goes along. Of course we’ve had this funny little procession of players that are part of the story, but it’s all coming together now. I just find it fascinating. When you’ve been doing it as long as me, the big difference between when we started and now is gratitude. I’m so grateful for the chance to keep doing this. I’m so grateful for the community to stick with me through all the good and bad, and there’s been a lot of bad.
I’m so proud right now and I think that’s the main difference between this and other albums. I wasn’t as proud about any other albums, apart from ‘555%’, I was quite proud of that one.
I’m a big fan of the unknown, just diving into things and not knowing or caring really how it ends up. I dive into there because I literally don’t know what’s going to happen and that to me is very exciting. ‘555%’ changed everything. I wasn’t expecting that. But it changed my fortunes, it changed Pledge Music’s fortunes, it re-established the community who really saved me, and I think that was a fresh level of respect between us, both between me and the community.
Something shifted there and for me, it was a game changer. We’re talking now probably because of that album. It also, I think, opened up the way fans interact with artists as well from that point. I mean, I know social media’s helped no end, but at the time, it was the first opportunity to feel like fans were part of something, and that connection seems to have continued with independent artists a lot more in recent years.”
Interacting With Fans
Like any artist, Ginger Wildheart has faced his share of challenges. From battling personal demons to navigating the ever-changing music industry, his journey has been anything but smooth. His resilience is a testament to his character, and his triumphs serve as an inspiration to aspiring musicians everywhere. Part of his inspiration comes from his open and honest interactions with his fan base. It’s not something he takes for granted as he explains:
“I’ll tell them the truth, whether or not the truth is what they want to hear. Someone once described me as being pathologically honest, and I think that’s probably, you know, close to the truth, but it’s always been like that for me. I started doing, ‘Ask Ginger’ years ago, when the internet kind of was really in its infancy about ‘97, something like that. I always liked to know who the fuck’s buying my records, who are you? What do you do? I’ve always enjoyed that, that part of it, gives it all a reason. It adds authenticity, otherwise you’re just doing it to fucking see your face in a picture or whatever, which has not been the case for me. Knowing that people are into this, and it’s touching them in some way. That’s the reason why I get to continue doing this and that and that’s also the advice I give to people in bands when they say; ‘Oh it’s not working, we can’t get a tour and I will always say, fuck your tour, fuck it’s not working, get in the back of a van, you lazy bastard, get to play in front of 3 people and make them all tell 3 more people. That’s the way I did it and that’s the only the only advice I can recommend to someone is work for it. You know, every single person that you get through to is going to tell at least one person, and that’s how we started, and the internet just made it an online version of what we’d already been doing.”
New Music
As our conversation shifts to the new album, ‘The Satanic Rites of The Wildhearts’, latest single ‘Troubadour Moon’ speaks about someone who loves writing and has a lot to get out of their system. As with most of his songs, it’s a very personal viewpoint for Ginger and one he’s keen to expand on.
And then an album writes itself and that’s usually the way it works with me, but I’ll be walking the dog and songs just come, and they don’t come when I’m leaning over the guitar, looking at my watch going, come on, it’s been an hour, and nothing come through. I never force it. I never push anything, and I don’t criticise, I’m not a critic when it comes to songs. If a songs come to me, I feel like it wants to be born and that’s usually my method of doing things.
Here’s our review of the album:
Failure Is The Mother Of Success
The closing track on the album was also the lead single and whist ‘Failure…’ might feel like a strange choice, clocking in at 8 minutes long making it very radio unfriendly unless you’re listening to ‘The Prog Hour’ or similar. There is however a method to the madness and some of it comes down to ‘relinquishing control’ as Ginger highlighted earlier.
Band Mates
As our interview comes to an end, Ginger Wildheart reflects on his current band mates, highlighting one in particular for considerable praise.
“Well, you know; If I want to do something and Jon Poole’s available, there’s no one else I’d rather work with, both as a musician, just as energy, just as a funny, funny fucking fellow. People are always laughing when he’s there and it’s a fucking good feeling. Musically, he’s just, he’s light years ahead of me. He’s just got a supernatural understanding of music.
When I was looking for a guitar player, Ben Marsden looked like he was designed to be in the band. His voice, guitar playing, the way he looks, the way he behaves, everything about him is just right. It’s a bit like Ronnie Wood with the Stones, you know what I mean? That’s the way I figure Ben fits in.
We also had a drummer, called, he changes his name every time he works on a new project, he was called Dudge for this album, but he’s also called Cheb Nettles. He plays in Gong with Kavus Torabi, and they came in as like a kind of a team to just help us figure something out and Kavus plays a little bit on the album, but Dudge’s drums, it’s so good. I’ve heard people say it’s not a real drummer, which is a great compliment. But it was, he was never going to be able to be in the band. He’s already in tonnes of bands.
We had Pontus join us for the London gig, so he helped us out but he’s single bass drum player and the drumming on the album was all double bass drums. So I knew that we were going to need someone as a double bass drum player.
Then our good friend who does our monitors, Jay Shredder suggested Charles. Now I know Jay is a great musician, a great producer, and he really does seem to know everything and everyone. So when he said Charles, I just thought this guy’s gonna be good. And he came down and he’s just like Ben, it’s almost like twins. We’ve got this Cheap Trick thing going on. I didn’t expect to be one of the weirdos, but we’ve got me and Jon on one side and Ben and Charles on the other. It’s actually a lovely dynamic. Everything works with this lineup, and, and for God’s sake, don’t think that I’m putting the last lineup down in any way, cos the last lineup sounded amazing.
All the lineups sounded great, so I don’t want to take anything away from anyone, but this lineup has just got a lovely organic thing about it where we haven’t tried too hard to get it together, it’s just that they came in and the energy they bring, it’s unfuckable!
I like guys who come along on the road and don’t complain about anything. Instead, they actually compliment people on things, they’re impressed by everything, that’s better than complaining, and I’ve had a lot of complaining in the past.
As we write the band head out on a short UK tour before heading into Europe in May. Keep an eye on the band’s website for more details.
About Author
