The Wildhearts are an English rock group, formed in 1989 in Newcastle upon Tyne. The band's sound is a mixture of hard rock and melodic pop music, often described in the music press as combining influences as diverse as The Beatles and 1980s-era Metallica. However, this characterization is denied by the band, who see their influences as being far broader, as shown in the song "29 X The Pain", which lists many of group leader Ginger's influences. Despite several top 20 singles and one top 10 album in Britain, the Wildhearts have not achieved major commercial success, owing in part to difficulties with record companies and many internal problems often relating to recreational drugs and depression.
2010 to present
In 2010 Ginger joined as the guitarist for former Hanoi Rocks frontman Michael Monroe, who played the Download Festival on 12 June 2010. Ginger also performed as a solo act at the festival, arriving with a large band of acoustic guitar players dubbed "Guitarmageddon." Only Wildhearts songs were performed, as was the case for the Ginger & Friends December 2010 tour of the UK. The Michael Monroe album Sensory Overdrive, featuring Ginger, was released in 2011.  In December 2010, Ginger stated that he is unsure if the Wildhearts will ever reform. It would appear that the departure of Scott Sorry and retirement of Ritch Battersby led to the hiatus. Following this particularly with his renewed solo career, Ginger publicly stated a number of times on Formspring that he had absolutely no desire to revisit the Wildhearts and considered that period of his life over. Despite this, Ginger announced in August 2012 that the most recent Wildhearts line-up will reform for a one-off appearance in December. The Wildhearts' songs "Geordie in Wonderland" and "Dreaming in A" appeared in the 2012 UK feature film Life Just Is.  On 10 December 2012, it was announced that Scott Sorry had left The Wildhearts due to family commitments. He was replaced by former bassist Jon Poole for the December 2012 reunion show. The band went on to play a number of shows in early 2013 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the release of Earth vs the Wildhearts, playing the album in its entirety for the first half of the concert and allowing fans to choose the rest of the set list by means of voting between a choice of two songs at a time for the extended encore. Such was the anniversary tour's success that a second leg took place in June of the same year. The Nottingham Rock City performance would subsequently be released as the 2014 live album Rock City vs The Wildhearts. Another UK tour took place in April 2014, this time with Scott Sorry back on bass. 2015 saw the 20th Anniversary of the release of P.H.U.Q. and another successful tour, this time with Jon Poole on bass duties.  Prior to their Christmas tour in 2016 (supported by Dirt Box Disco, Danny's new band The Main Grains and JAW$ featuring Ginger's son) Ginger stated in an interview that the band would be recording a new album in 2017. Proceeds from the album will go towards assisting Danny's recuperation after the amputation of his lower right leg.
What album did The Wildhearts release in 2010?
The Michael Monroe album Sensory Overdrive, featuring Ginger, was released in 2011.
The Michael Monroe album Sensory Overdrive, featuring Ginger, was released in 2011.