Rock and roll's great unsung hero

Despite their turbulent history, UK rockers The Wildhearts are back with a greater following than ever. Lead singer Ginger talks to Lara Page about his fans, his love of the Midlands and his quest to find Roy Wood!

Ginger, the enigmatic, flame-haired frontman from The Wildhearts, is chatting to me in a busy restaurant in downtown New York.

Unfortunately I'm not there with him, but from my cluttered desk in Wolverhampton, I almost feel as though we're face-to-face.

He's a fast and compelling talker - outspoken, lyrical, friendly, philosophical and articulate, almost to the point of intellectualism - with a gentle Geordie twang and a sunny personality that starkly contrasts with the hardman image he's attracted in the past, thanks to his band's turbulent history.

Three things immediately strike me about Ginger.

Firstly, and predictably, music is in his blood - having been brought up on a strict diet of bands like Sweet, Motorhead and Slade.

Secondly and more poignantly, he harbours a sadness about his band's bittersweet history and of their lack of recognition in the charts. He says he longs for a "happy ending" to the Wildhearts' story and is determined to achieve one.

But perhaps less anticipated is his touching affection for the Black Country - a region which maintains a loyal base of fervent followers who flock to some of the band's favourite venues - the Civic Hall, the Wulfrun Hall, and JB's in Dudley - every time The Wildhearts come to town.

Ginger claims they "might as well be a Midlands band" for the strength of their links with the region.

"We've had so many great times in Wolverhampton, there are too many to mention," he muses. "One of my favourite performances was an accoustic set we did one Halloween at the Civic Hall - that was very special.

"Some of my favourite people are from the West Midlands, including our drummer - and the girls there are just gorgeous!"

The history of The Wildhearts is so colourful that it could be made into a film.

It all began in on a housing estate in South Shields, when Ginger (real name David Walls), an accomplished guitarist, budding songwriter and reluctant singer, joined glam metal band The Quireboys in the late 80s.

He made his debut on rhythm guitar at the Hammersmith Odeon in London, where the band were supporting rock heavyweights Guns N' Roses.

Industry powerhouse Sharon Osbourne stepped on board as their manager and The Quireboys released their debut album A Bit of What You Fancy.

By all accounts their future seemed bright, but Ginger was dropped from the line-up in 1990.

It was a blow that would prove a blessing in disguise - he quickly went on to form his own band, The Wildhearts - a growling, melodic rock ensemble who penetrated the collective consciousness of the early 90s with their poetic, urban lyrics and infectiously catchy riffs.

Writing almost all the songs himself, Ginger and his band released two albums - Earth Vs The Wildhearts in 1993 and subsequently Fishing For Luckies in 1995 - but it wasn't until their third album P.H.U.Q, released the same year, that the band experienced international success, achieving number six in the British charts and storming Japan on a late 1995 tour.

Yet despite their swelling fan base, the band were plagued with problems and uncertainties.

"It was very volatile for a long time," Ginger laments.

Clashes within the group lead to several line-up changes. They entered into bitter feuds with their record label.

Various members were battling with drug addiction, bouts of depression and alcoholism - Ginger himself suffered the latter, but he proudly announces he's been sober for a year.

The Wildhearts continued to play live and record albums, releasing an updated version of Fishing for Luckies in 1996, quickly followed by Endless Nameless in 1997.

A quiet period of respective solo projects ensued, before The Wildhearts reformed in 2001 to make Earth Vs The Wildhearts, followed by the more commercial The Wildhearts Must Be Destroyed in 2003.

By 2005, Ginger, plagued with personal problems and frustrated with a lack of committment from the others, dissolved the band - then promptly reformed it for a one-off gig at Wolverhampton's Wulfrun Hall in December 2006.

Now, with their current line up of Ritch Battersby on drums, Scott Sorry on bass, CJ on lead guitar and Ginger taking rhythm guitar and lead vocals, he says they've finally nailed it.

"What we've got now feels very special," says Ginger. "I feel we've got the perfect line-up."

And they're keeping very busy. Earlier this year they released a compilation of covers from some of their favourite bands, entitled Stop Us If You've Heard This One Before.

"It's something every band wants to do," explains Ginger. "To educate people, and switch them on to things they haven't heard.

"Most of my favourite bands have been underrated or off the radar. And it's good for the bands we're covering because we're spreading the word and reawakening an interest in their music."

The album includes tracks from bands like Soul Asylum, Super Furry Animals, The Distillers, Georgia Satellites and Baby Chaos, and Ginger says they've stayed as faithful to the originals as possible.

To promote the album, which was released in April, the band have hopped across continents to play packed-out shows in Japan (they're especially popular in Japan), Australia, Finland, Germany and the UK.

They may not have achieved major chart success or the level of mainstream recognition they deserve, but one thing The Wildhearts possess, wherever they go, is every band's dream audience.

"There's loyalty and volume and passion," he enthuses. "Our fans have a bit of a football crowd mentality, which is great - they really egg us on.

"Other bands ask us how we get our audience so fired up, but it's really just that we play songs that make people want to sing and enjoy themselves."

Ginger's own taste is surprisingly varied.

"My iPod Shuffle goes from Sinatra and Dean Martin to revolutionary stuff from the 70s when the world was changing and so was music - there was suddenly less fluffing about and I think the same thing's happening again with music now."

His favourite band of all time is Cheap Trick ("Robin Zander has the greatest voice in rock and roll"), an influence which many music journalists have picked up in classic Wildhearts songs.

And despite having been a New Yorker for the past year, Ginger says the West Midlands has played an important part in his life and his band's success.

"It's steeped in musical history, in fact the West Midlands has dramatically affected the music world and it'll do that for the rest of time."

He rhapsodises about his dream line-up of rock talent - Slade's Noddy Holder, Sweet's Steve Priest and his hero, Roy Wood, the Brummie-born rocker from Wizzard.

"I've spent years trying to get hold of Roy Wood to do one of our songs!" he laughs. "I could spend my life trying to track him down, but I'm determined to do it!"

So, apart from tracking down Roy Wood, I ask Ginger, what does the future hold for The Wildhearts?

"I want a happy ending to the story of The Wildhearts and not to be 'criminally underrated' as someone once put it.

"It annoys me when journalists unfairly dismiss us an an unworthy band, because we do inspire a very positive thing with our audiences, and in my opinion, we can easily compete with anything that's out today."

He craves a certain kind of recognition for the band, the kind that includes being invited to perform on the Jools Holland show, and is more interested in attaining critical acclaim amongst the music press than he is with chart success.

But with respected industry publications naming their new album "dazzling" (Guitarist Magazine), "stunning" (Classic Rock Magazine) and "A rifftastic return to form" (Kerrang), The Wildhearts are stronger than ever.

"It's basically," he concludes, "...a very long winded way of achieving world domination!"

By Lara Page

If you missed The Wildhearts at Wolverhampton's Civic Hall on December 8, visit their website www.thewildhearts.com for info and updates on their 2009 tour.

You can also buy their album Stop Us If You've Heard This One Before.