Ginger Wildheart and The Sinners hit The Wedgewood Rooms on debut album tour | Big Interview

But if one thing unites pretty much everything he does (let’s not dwell on his extreme metal project Mutation for the sake of this argument) – it’s his way with a memorable tune. Whether it’s in the pop-rock of Hey! Hello!, the hard-rocking Wildhearts, the glam-rock of Silver Ginger 5 or the (sometimes) more acoustic fare he’s released under his own name.

And so it continues with his latest release with The Sinners – 10 joyous tracks of country-rock and Americana which was released earlier this month. The album has been in the can since before the pandemic, but its roots go back even further than that.

Ginger explains: ‘I've always wanted to do something that's more inline with the music I listen to when I'm home – I've always found country music comforting, and rock'n'roll with country leanings, just the same. And in between playing (hardcore punks) Discharge and Abba and all the rest of it, this is the one sound that's always followed me all through my life, even from being a kid.

‘I've always wanted to do an album like this.’

The start of The Sinners

In January 2016 Ginger was in LA for the funeral of legendary Motörhead frontman Lemmy.

‘The person I was staying with was so sick of me playing (Motörhead's 1982 album) Iron Fist over and over again he put (Southern rock act) The Georgia Satellites on. It was an album called In The Land of Salvation and Sin that I'd never heard.

‘This song Six Years Gone came on and I just went: "That's the sound I want to make – that's the kind of band I want to form”. At that point it became something I needed to do.’

Back home he came across an album by a band called Stone Mountain Sinners and Ginger knew he had to meet them.

In August 2019, Ginger met up with the band’s Neil Ivison and Nick Lyndon, plus drummer Shane Dixon.

Given the infamous dysfunction of The Wildhearts (they have repeatedly split and reformed over their 30 year history with numerous members passing through their ranks), intra-band relationships were important to Ginger for this project.

‘It was of paramount importance to make this the antithesis to The Wildhearts. The Wildhearts had never really been a close band, and it was getting to the point where we didn't even like being in a room together.’

‘Me and The Sinners met for the very first time in the studio, in preparation for recording an album together.

‘We figured out that if we can’t get along with each other then the music would be ultimately worthless. So we went to the pub and got drunk together. The next morning the music started flowing with ease. This is the sound of friendship.’

Ginger had planned to release it through his own Round Records, but then Wicked Cool Records – the label run by actor and Bruce Springsteen’s right-hand Steve Van Zandt got interested.

‘You don't say no to Steve Van Zandt, you know what I mean?’ Ginger laughs, ‘he's been in The Sopranos – so he probably knows some people... We were like of course you can Little Steven, sir!

‘And then the pandemic hit and it's been sitting in the corner ever since.’

The end of The Wildhearts (again)

Meanwhile The Wildhearts appeared, to the outside world, to be on a roll. Their 2018 reunion album Renaissance Men and 2021’s 21st Century Love Songs had both been critical and commercial hits.

But when the band took part in Download festival in June 2021, one of the government’s pilot events as we emerged from the worst of Covid, the wheels were falling off again.

‘I didn't want to do it. The band hadn't played for ages, we hadn't even kept in touch, and it was just so dysfunctional when we got together, we just left with a horrible empty feeling.

‘I thought: “You know what, music's supposed to be fun”. I didn't get into this to have a miserable time doing it.’

And then in May this year, with a tour and festival dates pending, The Wildhearts announced that ‘due to ongoing issues in the band’ they would be going on hiatus.

On the flipside, Ginger’s friendship with The Sinners had grown during the pandemic: ‘Because we hadn't had the chance to play live we've just bonded –we've got closer and closer, so when we finally did get to play live we were already really good mates. It was a positive Covid story!’

In fact the band has already recorded a second album. ‘And now there's talk of doing a third,’ adds Ginger. ‘It's one of those bands where it was never meant to be anything, so everything is a bonus – for me and for them.

‘They're the sort of people you'd like to be surrounded by if you were at war. The worst people to be surrounded by in a war would be The Wildhearts...

‘The friendship side of it has made it a bit of a revelation really.’

Getting his friendship-fix

To use an analogy which would have had a very different meaning in Ginger’s hard-living past, he explains: ‘It's become druggy in as much as I want my fix of playing music with these guys – it's all down to the music.

‘There's no adherence to any lifestyle – no one's turning up on drugs and stuff. It’s all about the music and at my age, and the amount of experience I've got, all I care about is the music and playing music with people who love music.’

He’s also enjoying not having to take lead vocals on all the songs.

‘Anyone who knows me knows that that's been my dream gig since starting to sing – having someone else in the band that sings. The one thing which endeared the Stone Mountain Sinners to me was Neil's voice, a couple of light bulbs went off, and it was like: “Ooh, hell, this could work out well”. And it turned out everyone in the band's got great voices – Shane, the drummer is the singer in a band called Tri-City Fanfare, Nick the bass player has been a singer for pretty much all his life. It's turned into The Eagles now..!’

On the album’s release it scraped the top 40 – which was an unexpected result for this low-key project.

‘That's ridiculous, it's lovely, don't get me wrong, but it must have just fallen at the time when people want an alternative to The Wildhearts – something more reliable, where if you buy a ticket, chances are the band will turn up!

‘I think people also just want good time music and the Sinners is a very good time. I think that's an indication of why it's gone so popular – there's a lot of po-faced cookie-cutter rock that all sounds the same, and it's neither happy or sad, it's just generic. And I guess there’s a tangible vibe on our record.’

Keeping the devil at bay

Busy as always, Ginger was recently invited to join in with the Finnish glam-metallers’ Hanoi Rocks’ reunion show in Helsinki.

‘I always keep busy. if I don't keep busy it's not going to end well, so I keep busy and it keeps the devil away...

‘That was great though – just loads of people I knew really well and hadn't seen for years. Just a really good vibe.’

And there’s also a new solo album, It Came From The North, which he expects to release next spring.

’It's very eclectic pop-rock. Lots of melodies, lots of harmonies, big anthemic choruses, lots of riffs, tonnes of ideas. It really is a musical smorgasbord.

‘We've taken a long time to record them so I'm really happy with the performances and I think it's the strongest solo album I've ever made, maybe the strongest album, but I'll let the critics be in charge of that…’

Ginger has often struggled with his mental health and through social media has been candid about it, but he has lately been in a good place, and on the day we’re chatting he says: ‘It's a day at a time. It feels like a good today – I've had a nice long walk with my dog, been doing some painting, and some interviews!’

And at the time we talked, Ginger couldn’t wait to get on tour with the band – it kicked off last Tuesday in Edinburgh.

‘It's the first time we've been in a bus. We've never done more than two gigs at a time and then gone home. Spending a few weeks on a bus with these guys is going to be a lot of fun.

It’s a family affair

‘We're travelling with (support act) Dan Lucas, who goes under the name Boss Caine, and he's a great guy. It's very much a family affair – Jane, the mother of my boy will be on-board doing merch. My little boy – he's 14, and he's taller than me – will be joining us. I'm training him up to be a guitar tech! And Maggie my dog will be there.

‘I do love taking the whole family out – it's part of it for me. The familiarity and the comfort is all part of there being a great show.’

Ginger’s dog, Maggie is a registered emotional support animal.

‘The last tour we went out on with the Wildhearts I wasn't allowed to take my dog, and I don't think anyone else really cared about me not taking her, but it was a big thing for me to be away from her.

‘She's my comfort and my security. This band are more understanding and know why Maggie comes with me.’

Given that there are clearly unresolved issues and lingering acrimony over the latest split, can Ginger ever see The Wildhearts reforming?

‘I don't know. I've always said from day one that it's the songs and the audience and that's all it's ever been. The fact we don't get on as that line-up – we've had a lot of line-ups – it really doesn't matter. As long as I'm there and the audience is there, it's going to be a great night. There's no reason why The Wildhearts won't do something in the future.

‘Just not that line-up.’

Ginger Wildheart and The Sinners are at The Wedgewood Rooms, Southsea on Thursday, October 27. Ticket £20. Go to wedgewood-rooms.co.uk.