Ginger Wildheart on friendship, the fans and the return of The Wildhearts

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Earlier this year, ever-present Wildhearts frontman Ginger, who co-founded the band back in 1989, finished recording Satanic Rites Of The Wildhearts, an eleventh Wildhearts studio album, with bassist Jon Poole, guitarist Ben Marsden and drummer Pontus Snibb. The four-piece subsequently played a post-hiatus performance at London’s Shepherd’s Bush Empire on June 6, there's a short run of European shows scheduled for December, and now UK tour dates have been announced for 2025.

When Classic Rock catches up with them – and Ginger’s friendly collie Maggie - during a break from rehearsals in the Glasgow studio owned by local guys Gun, they’re in very fine fettle.

“It’s all great,” Ginger enthuses. “We’re all friends anyway, so it’s a lot of fun. This is the third day we’ve been here, and we’ve just laughed every night. You go to bed with the sound of everybody laughing downstairs, and it’s a fucking beautiful thing.”

Former Cardiacs mainstay Poole has enjoyed three previous stints in The Wildhearts, and he’s glad to be back. Marsden and Snibb are new members.

“We’ve lost our Wildhearts virginity!” beams Marsden, formerly of Grand Theft Auto and the youngest member of the current line-up.

“It’s a privilege,” adds Snibb, who’s on loan from his day job as frontman with Swedish hard rockers Bonafide. “We get to play Ginger’s fantastic songs.”

The new album, which is set for a spring of 2025 release – it was originally scheduled for autumn of this year – was recorded at Treehouse Studios in Derbyshire with producer Jim Pinder, who has previously worked with Sleep Token, Bring Me The Horizon and Bullet For My Valentine, among others. He also produced The Wildhearts 2019 album Renaissance Men.

“He’s a Wildhearts fan,” says Ginger, “so he knew exactly what we wanted without us having to try and explain it to him. And it’s everything that Wildhearts fans want, really. There’s loads of variety, loads of riffs, loads of big choruses, there’s lots of melody, some unexpected parts… It’s just a collection of really, really strong songs with strong performances. I think everyone’s going to be surprised and delighted by it."

Poole concurs: “It ticks a lot of boxes, but at the same time it feels really fresh. We’re not repeating ourselves. I think it’s fair to say that it’s quite from the heart – Ginger’s stuff always is. They’re personal songs, and you get that feeling from it."

Ginger has always been commendably open about his mental health struggles. Last year he was sectioned and placed on suicide watch. Thankfully he came through, and his latest batch of songs reflect that.

"The album is very rejoicing,” he says. “It’s forward-thinking, it’s very positive and celebratory. It kind of starts with feeling resigned to this life, a life of mental illness and all that sort of stuff, but it takes you on this journey, and by the end of it we’re saying: good times, bad times, they happen to everyone, it’s important to connect. We’re all human, we’re all experiencing things. They’re the sort of subjects that’ll touch everyone."

That comforting spirit of connection has always been a huge part of The Wildhearts’ appeal. It’s an extended fan/family affair.

"They’re always there for each other," says Ginger. “The most important thing about the community is when the band’s not playing, when they haven’t got the music on, they’re still there, they still help each other out financially, emotionally, mentally. It’s a very healthy family to belong to, and that for me has always been as important as the music. When they’re singing the words back, it doesn’t matter how tired you are, how jaded - y’know, this is just another show of many - as soon as they start singing it just puts you back into that place you want to be. For us and them, it’s a sharing experience. They’re a very special bunch."

Ginger expounds on the subject of his devoted fanbase when gently pressed, as it’s clearly very important to him. It explains why he’s kept The Wildhearts going for all these years.

"They’ve helped me a lot," he says, "and apparently the music helps them. If you’re trying to better yourself all the time, then your opinion of life changes, there is always something inspirational to feed from the older you get. I also feel like it’s a position of service, because you know that people are really looking forward to the music. But beyond that it’s the community, it’s bigger than us, it’s bigger than the music."

So what can we expect from the forthcoming live shows?

"Lots of pyro," Ginger says, smiling. "I’m a pyro fanatic. I’ve always wanted a bigger stage show, and we’re going to reinvest in it this time. It’ll be a visual treat."

And the setlist? The Wildhearts have a vast back catalogue to cherry-pick from.

"You’ve got to play the fan favourites," says Ginger, "but I want to showcase this band’s musicality, so we’ve included some of the longer songs we’ve never played before. But really the whole thing is geared towards everyone being entertained within an inch of their life."

Satanic Rites of The Wilhearts can be pre-ordered now. Tickets for the UK tour, which begins on March 8 at the Leadmill in Sheffield, are on sale now. This story has been adapted from one that appeared in Classic Rock 328 (May 2024) to reflect developments.