{"id":28669,"date":"2026-06-30T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/?p=28669"},"modified":"2026-06-29T10:59:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T09:59:10","slug":"the-wildhearts-newport-corn-exchange-day-of-wreckoning-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/?p=28669","title":{"rendered":"THE WiLDHEARTS – Newport Corn Exchange (Day Of Wreckoning Festival)\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Nervous! That\u2019s what I am right now as I\u2019m typing this review, why you ask? Well, I\u2019m a newcomer to this reviewing malarkey, for many, many years I\u2019ve thought about what I\u2019d write if I ever got the chance to say how this band and particular artist make me feel, whether it be through albums, gigs, or on a general day-to-day basis. Of course, I am talking about THE WiLDHEARTS and Ginger Wildheart.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For those who know me, they will tell you my passion and borderline obsession with this band and the great man who has lived and breathed it, for anyone who doesn\u2019t know me, I\u2019ll try and summarise\u2026.. I was relatively late to the party being born in 89 I missed out on the madness of the 90\u2019s but in the early 00\u2019s I was introduced to them through my brother Mike and good friend Dom Daley, I think it might have been Vanilla Radio or Zomboid, one song the catchiest thing you\u2019ll ever hear and the other a wall of noise, two songs that couldn\u2019t be more different but that\u2019s Ginger for you and we wouldn\u2019t have it any other way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I first got the chance to see The WiLDHEARTS in 2003 I believe, Cardiff Uni with Amen supporting, at the time believe it or not I\u2019d have probably have said that the support band were the band I preferred, that ended that night\u2026.. roll on 23 years later and I can say I have seen Ginger live one way or another around the 40-50 times mark, not bad going yeah? I\u2019ve lost count on the number of T-Shirts, Hoodies, CD\u2019s, Cassettes, VHS and Records (That includes the holy grail of FFML on vinyl) I\u2019ve collected over the years, I am well and truly all in on this band so to have to write a review that\u2019s out there for fellow fans and possibly the band to see, yeah that\u2019s why I\u2019m nervous!!! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I probably should get on with the review now\u2026.  Well okay so it\u2019s about 7 months on since I last seen the band in Pontypridd and what a glorious night that was, during that said gig Ginger said on stage that he had been under the weather a few months later in March Ginger then announced the news that he has Mantle Cell Lymphoma, I like many was truly shocked and honestly didn\u2019t have the words but Ginger the man he is has told everyone to be positive and celebrate so that\u2019s what I am going to do and what this gig in Newport was! <\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Hot on the heels off a Download festival set which by all counts went down a absolute storm (Ginger on his Patreon said it was his greatest moment on a Donnington stage) THE WiLDHEARTS a week later grace the stage in South Wales in the Newport Corn Exchange for a one day festival called Day Of Wreckoning, I\u2019ll be honest I can\u2019t comment on anything on else to do with the festival, I was just here for one thing and one thing only and that was to see the headliners (the classic t-shirt didn\u2019t apply here, if you know you know ha ha). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I make my way straight to the barrier and get chatting to fellow fans, we discuss the just announced Ginger Birthday Bash on December 17th and the glorious line up that has been assembled for which I truly cannot wait for, ticket and hotel already sorted! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The band make their way to the stage and jumps straight into the epic \u201cFailure is the Mother of Success\u201d the closing song to the brilliant \u201cSatanic Rites\u201d album. \u201cYou took a lot of knocks to get where you are today\u201d is the first of many goosebumps moments for me in this set, those lyrics hit so heavy!!!\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Straight after that, we go back to the very beginning of the Mondo Akimbo E.P., the absolutely glorious \u201cNothing Ever Changes, But The Shoes\u201d and my bottom lip is going, I sing my heart out as does the rest of the audience and of course, so is Ginger who is on absolute fine form here.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ginger asks the audience how everyone is doing and the crowd is loving it, he then says he can\u2019t remember what this album the next song is off it\u2019s \u201cSleepaway\u201d off \u201821st Century Love Songs\u2019 and what a belter it is, one of my personal highlights of the evening is watching the absolutely lovely Carol Hodge on Keyboards marching along with a smile that could light up a room on the hup, 2, 3 section of the song, such a beautiful moment. Speaking of smiles honestly I cannot remember Ginger looking so happy up on that stage, it\u2019s a testament to how damn good this line up is, when Ginger isn\u2019t at the mic he\u2019s going around his band mates one by one, laughing and joking with Mr Random Jon Poole on bass, these two men have been working together for close to 30 years now and what a ride it has been, Jon was also on bass that first time I saw the band back in 03 and what a fantastic musician he is!!! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next up, we get the big crowd participation moment. Ginger asks the audience to sing along to the chorus, it\u2019s easy, it goes \u201cwoah woah\u201d of course it\u2019s the euphoric \u2018Mazel Tov Cocktail\u2019, one of the biggest crowd pleasers there is bar none. After that we get a double whammy off \u2018Satanic Rites\u2019 \u201cKunce\u201d which had me smiling from ear to ear \u201cthere\u2019s always some kunce in the way\u201d indeed and the brutal \u201cMaintain Radio Silence\u201d with one of the many massive riffs we are going to be treated to this evening, if you wanted proof of how good this line up is then you\u2019d have to look no further than this, Charles is a absolute beast on the drums, he smashes the shit out of his kit and doesn\u2019t miss a beat!!!\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ginger then tells the story of how the next song was championed by Chris Moyles on the radio and with every passing play the song went further down the charts which made the audience chuckle it is of course the classic \u201cCheers\u201d a song that never fails to bring joy to everyone, another mass singalong ensues, Ben, Carol and Jon with some stunning backing vocals and massive smiles, beautiful stuff. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If anyone doesn\u2019t know there\u2019s a new Wildhearts record on the way, it\u2019s been done for about a year now and it\u2019s just awaiting the green light from the record company for the release, Ginger says it should be here by the end of the year, the album is titled \u2018Northern Spirit\u2019 and tonight we are treated to hear one of said album called \u201cSpider Beach\u201d which I\u2019m sure is going to be fan favourite once the album drops. <\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

I mentioned riffs earlier, well, ladies and gents, for the next 20-odd minutes or so you will not hear as many monster riffs by anyone anywhere, in what is probably the best moment of the current setlist. First up we go old school and honestly if the band were to only play one song off Earth VS the wildhearts again for the rest of time it would be this masterpiece for me, in a career of hundreds and I do mean hundreds of life changing\/affirming song this has to be right at the very top I\u2019m talking about non other than \u2018Everlone\u2019 I absolutely adore this song and from Gingers reaction I\u2019m pretty sure he does too!\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then the riffs just keep coming, the band is as tight as they have ever been and the riff medley section is outstanding, as much as I love a singalong you just have to be in awe and the musicianship on display here, they do not miss a beat, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

snippets of classics like \u2018Do The Channel Bop\u2019 and \u2018Shame on Me\u2019 thrown in, this is brilliant. Riff after motherfucking riff indeed! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the medley comes to an end, we go straight into another epic off the much underrated self-titled (white) album \u2018Slaughtered Authors\u2019, the Assault on Precinct 13 opening riff never fails to get me. This song has everything: monster riffs, time changes galore, epic chorus, \u00a0breakdowns,\u00a0and yet another pinnacle of an unbelievable songwriting career Ginger has had.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m repeating myself here, but again, the next song is one of the greatest Ginger has ever written, \u2018Diagnosis\u2019 off the excellent \u2018Renaissance Men\u2019 album, which anyone who\u2019s suffered with mental health can relate to, yet another moment in this set where I\u2019m fighting holding back tears because of how much this song means to me. \u201cI\u2019m not an animal, I am A HUMAN BEING\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

We\u2019re approaching the end of this incredible set just before the band go off for a few minutes respite we have another epic to close the main set the title track of the \u2018Chutzpah!\u2019 album another song with twists and turns, pure aggression one second, euphoria the next, I haven\u2019t highlighted Ben Marsden yet but oh boy it was worth the wait, the guitar solo outro to this song was mesmerising, absolutely stunning! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The band take the well earned break before the crowd breaks into a rendition of \u2018Don\u2019t Worry About Me\u2019 as always, the band then return and give the audience a couple more classics to send everyone home with smiles on their faces a frantic one two off \u2018Earth Vs.\u2019 the moshpit favourite \u2018Suckerpunch\u2019 and \u2018My Baby Is A Headfuck\u2019 which never fail to get me headbanging, screaming and shouting along, if I could do this every day I\u2019d never get bored. The band finishes and before they leave the stage give thanks to the crowd to mass cheers and applause, Ginger is the last one on stage and is serenaded with chants of his name, you could see how much it meant to him and looked very emotional as was the audience, I\u2019ve said a couple of times that I could feel my bottom lip going and eyes welling up none more so than this moment, what a roller coaster ride that was indeed! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So a parting word\u2026.. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

God Bless THE WiLDHEARTS<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God Bless GINGER WiLDHEART<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Author: Christian Davies<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nervous! That\u2019s what I am right now as I\u2019m typing this review, why you ask? Well, I\u2019m a newcomer to this reviewing malarkey, for many, many years I\u2019ve thought about what I\u2019d write if I ever got the chance to say how this band and particular artist make me feel, whether it be through albums, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":28676,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28669","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-live-review"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28669","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=28669"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28669\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28679,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28669\/revisions\/28679"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/28676"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28669"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28669"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28669"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}