The Wildhearts: 10 Tracks You Need To Call Yourself A Fan

The naughtily titled p.h.u.q. (if you’re wondering how it’s pronounced, it’s exactly how it looks) was released in May of 1996, and remains the band’s highest charting releasing, entering at number six. It also gave The Wildhearts their second highest charting single, with album opener I Wanna Go Where The People Go reaching number 16 in the month before p.h.u.q. came out.

The video for I Wanna Go… saw the band - a three-piece after guitarist CJ’s sacking - performing on the back of a flatbed truck being driven around New York. It was on this trip that drummer Ritch knocked a lighted candle onto his bed at The Chelsea Hotel.

More diverse and far-reaching than its predecessor, p.h.u.q. should have seen the band conquer the mainstream, but they were beset by various setbacks in 1995. The whole Mark Keds debacle (more of which later) seriously hindered their ability to play live, but a falling out with their label EastWest was the real killer.

The relationship between band and label had broken down so much that Ginger believed no one at EastWest even liked them anymore, and he went as far to threaten to split the band in late 1995 rather than continue under their contract.

Eventually the band moved on to form their own Round Records, but the fallout from the dispute probably cost The Wildhearts the major mainstream success they so deserved.