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

After a break of four years, The Wildhearts returned in 2007 with a new bassist, Scott Sorry, formerly of American punk rockers Amen, the return of drummer Ritch Battersby and a new-found focus. The result was probably their best album in over a decade.

Eponymously titled, it was accompanied by a DVD, made by one of Ginger’s idols Tim Smith, frontman of The Cardiacs.

It was recorded at what Ginger called “the most Haunted Castle in Britain. This place is apparently chock full of ghosts,” he said, “ranging from an angry French priest, who screams for you to leave, to a headless humanoid form that rises from the ground.”

Rock Sound gave the album 10 out of 10, The Sun dubbed it “probably the rock album of the year", and Metal Hammer called it “magnificent”. It certainly has that expansive feel that all the best Wildhearts songs do, and The Hard Way is a prime example. More than anything else on the album, it has the feel of something from their Earth vs… days, full of massive riffs and bigger choruses, plus a guitar solo Mick Ronson would be proud of.