At 12:30 pm on beautiful May Bank Holiday Saturday afternoon Danny McCormack walks unaided up the ramp towards the sun-kissed outdoor press area at 2019’s Call Of the Wild Festival. No crutches or wheelchair just a huge smile plus the tour manager and Ginger’s dog Maggie in tow. The Wildhearts are headlining The Call Of The Wild prime -time Saturday night slot and arrive fresh from playing The Beared Theory Festival the previous day. The Wildhearts latest album ‘The Renaissance Men’ went straight in at number eleven on the album charts and features the original line up of CJ, Danny McCormack, Ritch Battersby and of course, Ginger. So the band are back in the charts, back on the road and back together, a day many of us thought would never happen. Wearing his customary flat cap, leather vest and black t-shirt Danny is in a cheery and relaxed mood because this is where he truly belongs, on tour with his first love, The Wildhearts.
Original Rock. So Danny how would describe The Wildhearts 2019?
Danny McCormack. “Sober. I’m no angel but fucking hell…On the last ten dates, Ginger had three cans of Punk (IPA) on the whole tour, that’s it he’s cracked it, he’s in a better place. He had a bit of a dark time in Blackpool, sometimes he wakes up and cannee fucking help himself, there’s nothing I can say to him, you can’t console him you’ve just got to give him time to work himself out. That’s why Maggie’s here, he takes her for a walk and he sorts himself out you know, we’ve got a really understanding bus driver! It’s like a zoo in there.”
OR. How many worlds away is it from The Wildhearts circa 1993?
DM. “It’s a totally different kettle of fish. I’m awake for one, Ginger’s not high as a skyscraper, Ritch’s not pissed out of his head and CJ, well CJ was a dabbler anyway, (laughing) he just tried anything! (trailing off)
OR. It’s fantastic your all back together.
DM. (cutting in, deadpan) It’s a fucking miracle…
OR. How surprised have you been to the reaction ‘Renaissance Men’ has received?
DM. I knew it was a great album when I heard the songs on the acoustic (guitar) Ginger screaming out the tunes like Bob Dylan. I thought fucking hell there’s something in there. The songs are growers but everyone seems to have got it straight away, singing all the words to all the songs…The new stuff’s going down well if not better than the old tunes. There’s only so many times you can do anniversary gigs. We do a totally different setlist now that covers every album, it’s great you know.”
OR. What was it like the first time you got back on stage with The Wildhearts, I mean was it a day you ever envisaged happening?
DM. “No. (deep breath) It was really emotional I love the band so much, I missed it so much and now I’m back, so (pause) fucking hell…Fairy story innit.
OR. And everyone’s good now, you and Ginger
DM. (cutting in) We didn’t speak for fourteen years over a daft fucking lass, it’s just one of them things. We fell out when we should have had a fight and then gone to the pub to celebrate it, got it out of our system and then and gone had a few pints then got on with the rest of our lives in the band. But it didn’t go that way, I ended up losing everything.”
OR. I wanted to ask you about that because when you mention the name, Danny McCormack most people think of The Wildhearts, Yo Yo’s and Main Grains but what was going on in those years of inactivity?
DM. “Addiction, battling addiction and trying to get diagnosed to find out was wrong with me because every time I was coming off the drink and drugs I was going do-dally scally fucking nuts. I’ve got Bipolar 2, I was undiagnosed for twenty years. It was my girlfriend, she’s also bipolar, she spotted it and just said “Your bipolar”, then my brother phoned us, literally ten minutes later and said, “I’m working with Adam Ant, Danny you’re Bipolar.” So I wrote everything down because I know you only get ten minutes with the doctor, everything that was going on I scribbled down, every time I was getting clean…I should have been locked up I mean it was really that bad, it was as horrible as hell. The highs were heaven but the lows were fucking horrible, I was self-medicating with drugs just to get through the fucking day, y’now…I couldn’t handle it, there were twenty or thirty things going through my mind at once. I couldn’t concentrate on TV, a conversation I couldn’t do fuck all, I was a spastic, sorry horrible word, but I was just flitting between reality to non-reality, dreams, hearing voices, hearing music, paranoia just all the horrible bits. It’s bipolar two, I’ve finally been diagnosed.”
OR. Addiction and mental illness are quite trendy words now with many stars banding the words about who have nothing to do with it.
DM. “They can fuck off, them sort of people because when you are mentally ill it’s no fucking picnic, it’s fucking real, it does exist.”
OR. When we (The public) think of Rock stars, it’s all tours, snorting and drinking champagne with showgirls but actually when it stops there’s suddenly this big void to fill.
DM. “There’s a massive void, suddenly you come back off tour you think I should be doing something, I’ll have a beer, suddenly I’m an alcoholic. You’ve been on the road for three months and you’ve had a beer every day… You think what am I missing, I’m missing a gig and I’m missing a drink so you end up going to the offie (off-licence) and carrying on drinking, but you were getting everything for free but it costs you when you get home. Then its, oh I fancy a bag, a rock or a spliff then your back into old habits, all of a sudden you’re hanging around with the homeless in Kings Cross, for ten years!”
OR. Is that where you were living at one point?
DM. “No, I was living in London, what I was doing was going to Japan making a lot of money and then coming back and hanging out with homeless people. Buying them clothes, getting pizza’s in, drugs in and then we’d all go to the little den and shoot up. I used to look after people but they’ve sorted me out, I’ve been down there with nothing in my pocket and they’ve been “Danny you look fucking ill” and buy me a bag, just look after us. So I remembered and I looked after them. I had loads of good friends down there, most of them are dead now, unfortunately, (deep breath) but that’s my life, Top Of The Pops one day then hanging out with the homeless the next. Helps keep your feet on the ground though.”
OR. With all the Wildhearts ongoing success, what does it mean for The Main Grains?
DM. “I’ll do it when I get some downtime because Ginger releases twenty-five albums a year so I’m bound to get a week off some time (laughing), he shits tunes! What happened was the guitar player and drummer fell out, so I thought if anybody leaves I’ll fuck it off, it was Ginna and JJ who fell out. Ginna said at the time it was to spend more time with the family but it wasn’t it was because he’s had an argument with JJ but they didn’t want to upset me, so they kept it from us but the truth came out. But they’ve made up, we saw each other in Leeds for the first time, we all sat down had a pint and just chatted so we’re back together. Best of mates, have a pint sort it out. I’ve got about eight songs for The Main Grains so I’ll do another two and do the album.”
OR. Is it best for you to keep busy these days?
DM. “ Yeah, oh very much so, it’s part of the addiction, you get bored, just keep your head right. I’m going to have to stop the Bipolar tablets because that’s when I go a bit quirky and write music and stuff when I’m off the planet either that or take loads of speed, it’s the same thing. I don’t want to go fucking mental again, I was in a bad place you know.”
OR. You said earlier you were sober but your sober is not everybody’s sober…
DM. “It’s not sober to anyone else in the fucking world! but it’s sober to me! (laughing), I’m not addicted anymore. I can take it or leave it, I’ve never touched a needle since I lost my leg, that was a wake-up call.”
OR. You did show me a photo of your leg in 2016 just before playing in Wolverhampton with Main Grains and The Wildhearts, it wasn’t a pretty sight!
DM. “ I know, it was like a shark bite, wasn’t it, I had to live with that. The circulation was that bad it took about nine months to heal, I nearly lost it up to the top (of the leg) because it wouldn’t heal. Just kept packaging it and rebandaging it, every day, it was like fucking hell man, come on. Being in a wheelchair for eighteen months was so fucking hard…People were coming up to me going “you alright son” (overly patronising voice) I was like, look it’s me fucking leg, not me fucking head, fuck off yer cunt! I should of went begging shouldn’t I! (laughing), take a cup and a dog!”
OR. So The Main Grains.
DM. “It’s an ongoing process, it’s really exciting because we’re all writing songs because I’ve done all the songs up to now. But now Ben’s writing he’s done The Spangles stuff, it’s a really good album. JJ’s doing Psychobabylon.”
OR. It’s amazing what comes from the roots of The Wildhearts?
DM. “Someone should do a poster of the (Wildhearts) family tree, the number of bands that have been formed or influenced… you wouldn’t fit on the fucking wall.”
OR. And how about a Yo Yo’s reunion?
DM. “Tom and Neil are up for it and I would do it with those two we just need a drummer. Andy wouldn’t do it he’s in KMFDM now. Maybe at Christmas or something, we might do a couple of gigs again it’s if I’ve got time. Also, it depends on Tom because he’s in The Professionals with my brother (Chris) and Neils’ working but yeah I’d be up for it. ‘Upper And Downers’ is a good record isn’t it (it is) on Sub-Pop. I remember Ginger split us up (Wildhearts) in Japan and I was gutted and it was like, oh fuck what am I gonna do now. Ginger was pissed on the plane and he was “what you going to do you useless cunt, what you going to do” and then looked at me and went “and what are you going fucking do?” and I said, I’m gonna form a band called the Yo Yo’s, and I wrote four songs in my head. I phoned Tom and it was on, and I was the first one to get an album out (laughing)! Quality.”
OR. (as we’re chatting Ritch walks by) What’s it like being back on a stage with that powerhouse?
DM. “Oh he’s a fucking manimal ain’t he, he’s fucking brilliant, great, he pulls some great faces doesn’t he!”
OR.Have you watched the Motley Crue biopic ‘The Dirt’?
DM. “I’ve read it but I’ve not seen the movie yet.”
OR. Would you be interested in doing a Wildhearts one, could you see it happening?
DM. “We’d be arrested immediately!!!! hahaha! People wouldn’t believe it, they wouldn’t fucking believe it, honest to God. I think we’re going to do a book and audiobook, which could be interesting.”
OR. What a history of The Wildhearts kind of thing?
DM. “Yeah, yeah it would be an interesting read, wouldn’t it.
OR. Well, Ginger did the ‘Songs And Words’ book.
DM. “Yeah I got it, I’m in it, it was like, oh fuck I’m in a book, it was good though.”
OR. So what’s next after this run of shows?
DM. (Reaching into his pocket) I bought a flyer just in case you asked me that! I’ve come prepared. I haven’t a clue I just get on the bus (laughing, rolls a list of dates).
OR. How did you find the Britrock (Must Be Destroyed) tour?
DM. “It was great, I loved it, it was brilliant fun, I wish I’d been standing for it though. I could stand for two or three songs but I was in agony, I had on the wrong leg on. It was fucking my back up, it wasn’t my leg that was hurting but now it is my (new) leg that’s hurting onstage. The muscle getting tougher, I’ve only had this new leg seven weeks it’s still adjusting. I’m fine walking along but just not too far. I’ve got a pair of crutches on standby but I didn’t bring them this time, I thought no I’m gonna walk everywhere and if I get stuck I’ll stop and sit down. I’ve only got to sit down for five minutes to recover and I can walk a few hundred yards again, I’m getting better all the time.”
OR. How has the music industry changed since The Wildhearts burst onto the scene in the early Nineties?
DM. “Well you don’t have to move London, L.A or New York it’s all done via the internet.”
OR. There’s also no more record advances it seems bands have to have a more hands-on DIY approach, which you’ve seen with The Main Grains.
DM. “I’ve seen more money out of The Main Grains record than any record I ever did with The Wildhearts. That tells you a story doesn’t it.”
OR. I know The Wildhearts had problems with East West records and their back catalogue is scattered.
DM. “I was getting off with all the secretary’s they were sick of me, it’s true (laughing). It’s a one-time owner thing, a massive corporation that’s what East West is, it’s an umbrella corporation that goes down. WEA, Atlantic and few other labels all under the Time Warner brand.”
OR. So do you anything from The Wildhearts back catalogue?
DM. “No, fuck all, not a penny, not a penny.”
OR. But now, is that different for the ‘Renaissance Men’?
DM. “Well, we paid for that ourselves.”
OR. So you’re like a shareholder in the album?
DM. “Yeah, plus we’ve got a proper manager this time, not a crook manager. He’s honest, he’s fair, twenty per cent of nothing’s still nothing, so he’s working for (with) us, it’s as simple as that.”
OR. Is it more hands-on being in a band now, I mean you were always in the crowd anyway.
DM. “Absolutely it’s like one mad family, I love meeting people. It makes my day if you’re unhappy and you meet someone who cheers you up.
OR. Ginger called The Wildhearts fans a community.
DM. “Yeah yeah it is, they are diehard fans, I mean they’ve got every record, they collect everything. They know the words to every fucking song, all the B-sides, it’s a cool little band.
I mean ‘Earth Vs’ is going for four hundred quid on vinyl, in decent condition…’Fishing For Luckies’ nine hundred quid, they didn’t even send me a copy of ‘Fishing’ the cunts, mind I would have sold long before now anyway!” (laughing)
OR. So have you got anything left from the original Wildhearts days, anything you managed to hold onto?
DM. “No, oh no my Bass, just my bass. When Ginger and I broke up I was a pretty broken man, to be honest, my band was fucked, my relationship was over, I ended up moving in with my Mother because I was so ill, she looked after us. I hadn’t been down to my flat in months and when I got down there I put my key in the door and it wouldn’t fit. I thought what the fucks going on it’s the right key I’ve only got one key. I looked through the window and it was empty. I lost everything, fucking everything. I lost the band, girlfriend, my career everything…I had to start again, good though, easier to move! Just my bass and a carrier bag full of clothes. (laughing)”
OR. So finally what do the next twelve months hold in store for Mr Danny McCormack?
DM. “More gigs, see a bit more of the World and hopefully make a couple of quid this time. (dead serious) Look after my family, it’s very important to me. Me Mam says I’ve got more lives than a schizophrenic cat! “
Before leaving for his next interview Danny regales me with the time he died for twenty-five minutes and how the paramedics used their last shot of adrenaline to revive him. You get the feeling it’s just one of many near-death experiences for Danny. It is the way he lived his life, sex, drugs and Rock ‘N’ Roll, without any limits. The Wildhearts high’s were eventually outweighed by some truly unimaginable lows. Interviewing Danny is a pleasure, it’s like chatting to an old friend and to many, many people that’s just what he is, a mate, a mucker, a stand his round, kind of man.
The future is unwritten and with The Wildhearts, nothing would surprise anyone but at this moment the band seem closer than they’ve ever been. A little bit older, wiser and dare I say it, even maturer in their outlook. The album ‘Renaissance Men’ is not just another “Rock” album it’s a full bloodied “we’re back” statement, a Lemmy left hook to the temple of a release and something every fan of Rock/Metal/Grunge/Punk/Indie/Doom should own. Ginger, CJ, Ritch and Danny are back in your face again…Arriba!
A great interview with such an honest man.