The Wildhearts

Led by longtime frontman Ginger Wildheart, The Wildhearts are a British hard-rock band that scored more than a dozen Top 40 hits between the early-1990s and mid-2000s. Ginger was born in 1964 as "David Leslie Walls" and formed The Wildhearts in 1989, following his dismissal from fellow rock band the Quireboys. From the start, The Wildhearts' roster proved to be an ever-changing lineup, with guitarist Christopher Paul Persaud-Jagdhar (AKA "C.J. Wildheart"), drummer Ritch Battersby, and bassist Danny McCormack emerging as the group's most stable members. After releasing the introductory EPs Mondo Akimbo a-Go-Go and Don't Be Happy... Just Worry in 1992, the group hit the charts with its full-length debut, Earth vs the Wildhearts, in 1993. The record peaked at Number 46 in the UK, stopping just shy of the Top 40, although its 1995 follow-up P.H.U.Q. climbed all the way to Number 6. "I Wanna Go Where the People Go," the album's lead single, rose to Number 1 on the UK Rock & Metal Singles chart, firmly establishing The Wildhearts as one of the era's dominant rock acts. 1996's Fishing for Luckies continued the band's success, with the singles "Sick of Drugs" and "Red Light - Green Light" peaking at Number 3 and Number 2, respectively, on the British rock charts. One year later, the full-length album Endless, Nameless spawned another chart-topping hit with "Anthem," which doubled as the first song to feature Danny McCormack on vocals. A controversial album that downplayed the band's hard rock roots in favor of industrial influences and other contemporary trends, Endless, Nameless was followed by a four-year hiatus. The Wildhearts subsequently reformed in 2001, released The Wildhearts Must Be Destroyed in 2003, and scored a pair of Number 3 rock hits with "So Into You" and "Top of the World." One year later, the compilation album Coupled With appeared, featuring the chart-topping single "Stormy in the North, Karma in the South." Although those singles marked The Wildhearts' final time occupying the upper reaches of the UK Rock & Metal Singles chart, the band remained active throughout the following two decades, releasing The Wildhearts in 2007, the covers album Stop Us If You've Heard This One Before, Vol 1. in 2008, ¡Chutzpah! in 2009, Renaissance Men in 2019, and 21st Century Love Songs in 2021.