The Wildhearts

The Wildhearts were the kind of band that the British rock press has wet dreams about: creatively brilliant, completely out-of-control, and utterly doomed from day one. Led by charismatic lunatic Ginger, the group's turbulent career lived up to the highest (or lowest, as it were) expectations, with all the ups and downs of a roller-coaster ride, which, after numerous frightening twists and turns, finally derailed in spectacular fashion. But not before yielding a wealth of inspired hard rock and literally miles of even more entertaining magazine copy. A long-time denizen of London's sleazy underground glam rock scene, vocalist/guitarist Ginger was coming off a brief stint with Faces wannabes the London Quireboys (he was kicked out for doing too many drugs -- imagine that) and an even shorter turn with New York-based glam disasters the Throbs when he decided to start his own group, the Wildhearts, in early 1990. Joining him were ex-Tattooed Love Boys guitarist Chris "C.J." Jagdhar, drummer Andrew "Stidi" Stidolph, singer Snake, and one Julian on bass; but this setup wouldn't last long (a sign of things to come) and by the following year, Ginger had sacked everyone but Jagdhar and assumed vocal duties himself. After borrowing drummer Bam from the Dogs D'Amour and recruiting 19-year-old bassist Danny McCormack, the group became an instant sensation in London clubs. Their unashamedly decadent image and ultra-heavy hard rock quickly ignited the English press' hype machine and, after flirting with Atco, they signed a contract with EastWest Records in the summer of 1991. Besides wetting their feet in the recording studio with a couple of EPs (Mondo Akimbo A-Go-Go and Don't Be Happy...Just Worry), the Wildhearts continued to tour incessantly throughout 1992, logging an...