Mark Liddell goes "Mondo Akimbo A-Go-Go" with East/West's latest sensations the Wildhearts...
WHOLE HEARTED
"We're expecting the EP to break the ice," says WILDHEARTS' main man, Ginger, referring to Mondo Akimbo A-Go-Go. Haven't got a clue what it means, but it rolls off the tongue nicely. Me and the lads are sitting in the comfortable ambience of a swanky Kensington pub.
Ginger - guitarist, spitting blood vocalist, songwriter; raw boned, flame haired, moody son of a bitch, but I like him.
Bam - tub thumper, looking like Jimmy White with braids and tattoos and quietly humorous.
CJ - guitarist, sarky, off kilter.
Danny - bass, like Ginge a Geordie, easygoing and very amiable.
This appears to be the settled line-up in a band whose personnel have changed as frequently as the shifting sands of the Sahara. Their debut EP, to Steal From Ray Zell, is a kind of "melodic thrash" with a few twists and turns to intrigue. Anyway, aided and abetted by the clout of a big record company, East/West, The Wild Hearts could be brewing up more than just a storm in a beer glass. Although, in today's stagnant British rock scene, that might not be too difficult. And there's still their first album to come in late September.
"It's good for us," acknowledges Ginger, "but it's too easy, man. There's no competition. There's a few bands doing the rounds, but they don't seem to be taking it that seriously with a view to a fuckin' lifetime's commitment."
Oh, the clocking in syndrome...
"Yeah, definitely. I don't think a lot of bands think about their songs too much. You can't be generalizing 'cos I don't know of any of the bands I'm talking about. So, I'm probably talkin' a load of shit."
Nah, you were right the first time.
"I think rock music stinks anyway," he growls.
Ah, that's more like it, no holds barred.
"They'll just stick by something, like the Seattle thing," continues Ginge, referring to both record companies and the punters, I think. "They're fucking sheep, the whole lot of them."
As regards to The Wildhearts' past, we'll skip that, except to note that Ginger prefers to draw upon his involvement with THE QUIREBOYS and THE THROBS in a positive way.
"I've learned more being in those two bands than any other lesson I've had in music. Emotionally, I learned what not to do. People probably keep going on about it. I mean, I really wasn't in The Quireboys when they did anything - I was never on Top of the Pops...or Wogan, eh?"
The Wildhearts appear to be fully paid-up subscribers to the notion that rock n' roll is something to be lived, breathed, drank, and snorted right round the clock.
"All of the 23 hours of the day that we don't play, we have a great time," enthuses Ginge.
What they don't subscribe to is the hypocrisy and 'soapbox' mentality of some of Rock's aging 'Grand Dames' with their born-again zeal for purity, as Ginge explains.
"We were talking with LOVE/HATE and they were saying that when they toured with OZZY, they weren't allowed to drink. So apparently Ozzy came into their dressing room once, and discovered this case of beer that they'd allegedly sneaked in. He went mad!"
We eventually get round to talking about their EP. I make the observation that in terms of song delivery and production, they've left all the rough edges in.
"Underproduced!" he sneers. "We're not going to be sterile. I'd rather have something that sounds a bit ragged at the edges. You capture it... it's like a photograph. You've got something that you actually went in, recorded, and didn't spend months and months trying to make it better. 'Cos then ya get to the point where you've got to go on stage, and then say 'How the fuck am I gonna to recreate the sound of five million guitars in the studio."
A la "Death" Leppard (couldn't resist it)?
"Well, yes, DEF LEPPARD have always been a fuckin' pretendy band, anyway. You learn all the time," says Ginge. "You can't ever be embarrassed about anything you've done in the past. You get so many groups saying, 'Awh, the new album shits over everything we've ever done.' I was reading an interview with KISS. Me and CJ were huge Kiss fans. But they're saying that the last ten years was a waste of time. They're embarrassed about it, denying ever having any real involvement with it. Ten years of yer life, and you haven't had any involvement with it!? Smelling like bullshit to me..."
Total involvement. No bullshit! The Wildhearts, going out in a blaze of ragged glory.
Mark Liddell
Riff Raff
July 1992
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