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

Endless Nameless, The Wildhearts’ 1997 album which turned everything up to 11, is the band’s most divisive record. It is a white noise-laden masterpiece or an unlistenable nightmare, depending on who you speak to.

Its determination to cover EVERYTHING with a layer of distortion means that for better or worse, it stands out like a sore thumb against the rest of their back catalogue, and some fans just can’t abide it.

Even the way the singles from the album were released caused consternation among The Wildhearts’ devoted following. Previously, each single had featured three b-sides on one CD, but for Endless Nameless, the band embraced multi-formatting, with different b-sides spread across two CDs and a 7” vinyl. Some fans were even annoyed that the band had chosen to record cover versions as b-sides instead of including original songs.

All in all, it was a difficult time for the band, and in the aftermath of Endless Nameless’ release, the band announced their first hiatus. Before this though, came one of their most thrilling periods.

Anthem was the first single from the album, and features former bassist Danny McCormack on lead vocals. The band even performed it in Top Of The Pops completely live, showing off one of their simplest but most memorable choruses: “I’m in love with the rock n’ roll world!”