Live Review : The Wildhearts + Silveroller @ Hangar 34, Liverpool on April 2nd 2026

“You are not your Diagnosis”

Eerily prescient words written by Ginger Wildheart just a few short years ago. Following his own diagnosis much more recently Ginger has vowed to play out his life in his own way. Still on stage, still making music, still having fun, there is a calm acceptance of his fate and a man who, having battled demons for most of his life, is finally at peace with himself. The packed venue bears witness to one of the UK’s most underrated songwriters and is a testament to his musical legacy which will live on long after the man himself has departed this mortal coil.

It’s also a bonus for the support, local lads Silveroller. Someone once told me that “In Liverpool, everyone is IN a band so no-one wants to go and SEE a band” but fortunately tonight that proves not to be the case. Everyone is in early to jostle for a good spot, and as the house lights dim and the theme song to The Good The Bad & The Ugly booms out from the PA the crowd greet them with a generous roar of anticipation. They are an oddity in this era of autotune, AI and backing tracks in that their sound, look and indeed whole ethos is retro. Looks-wise, imagine a band like early Deep Purple with long, centre-parted hair, flares and attitude fronted by a bouffant-haired, bouncy, modern-day Rod Stewart and you will have a mental picture of this band. Soundwise it’s not far off either as they blend hard, blues-based rock with pop sensibilities and catchy choruses.

The big standout in their sound is the Hammond organ, which gives a 70s-tastic vibe and just occasionally veers them into prog territory. Thankfully frontman Jonny soon dispels that with blissfully clean vocals and just a smidgeon of scouse humour. There are a couple of tracks that are good enough to be noted ‘Start Walkin’ is almost an anthem for them now and they unironically actually follow the song ‘Black Crow’ with a song that sounds a bit like the Black Crowes! There is a definite whiff of The Faces to the sound, but they bring a modern hard-rock twist that they present with boundless energy. By the end of the set the whole room is moving with them and it seems they have gained many new fans with tonight’s polished performance.

No intro is needed for The Wildhearts. They walk on to stark lighting and a lack of anything more complicated that a cheerful “Hello!” from Ginger, and immediately launch into opening track ‘Failure Is The Mother Of Success’. It’s an immediate riot of riffs, a tsunami of twin guitars, a power-packed punch to the crowd’s collective faces. This current Wildhearts iteration may still be sneered at by the purists by goodness, they are good! Carol Hodge at the back adds a new dimension to the sound with her keyboards and vocals, drummer Charles is a powerhouse of flying sticks and furious hair, Ben Marsden on guitar still looks like he can’t quite believe his luck being on this stage but proceeds to make the most of it, and (Random) Jon Poole is stolid, reliable and deep as befits a bass player of his stature.

But of course all eyes are on the main man. Is he really OK? Well if tonight’s show is any indication then the answer to that is a very resounding “YES!!” There was a time when seeing Ginger smile was a rarity at gigs but tonight any hint of a dour demeanour is quickly dispelled. He swigs regularly from an ever-present bottle of Newcastle Brown Ale and gives us his inimitable grin as he leads his troops into a set that is made up of his own favourite Wildhearst songs. Yes, not for Ginger the tedious greatest hits circuit that you may expect from a performed of his vintage. Instead he mixes it up, and old favourites jostle for space with deep cuts and even a brand-new song in the form of ‘Spider Beach’. Yes, there will be at least one more new Wildhearts album coming, probably towards the end of this year, and this taster was very well-received. But before we got to that point, there was much merriment to be had. ‘Nothing Ever Changes (But The Shoes)’ takes them right back to the start. A small issue with the snare drum has Ginger telling us a cancer joke “because I can get away with that now” and that sets the tone for the whole evening.

Ginger has always been an emotional vampire who feeds off the crowd reaction and tonight is no exception – a couple of times he asks for the house lights to come up and just stands and drinks in his adoring, sweaty public. They lighten the mood with the party anthem ‘Mazel Tov Cocktail’, they satisfy the old school with ‘Everlone’, they throw in what Ginger describes as an impossible song to play in the form of ‘Vernix’ and manage to deliver it pretty much flawlessly. ‘Cheers’ (the theme from the TV show) provides some welcome light relief, whilst ‘Slaughtered Authors’ takes us to a darker, more intense place. ‘Diagnosis’ is it’s usual chirpy AC/DC-inspired fun-packed three minutes. I’m not an animal indeed!

The set including encores lasts for almost two hours, and is a masterclass in raw, aggressive musicianship tempered with both beautiful harmonies and genial humour. Of course the encores are the crowd favourites ‘Suckerpunch’ and ‘My Baby Is A Headfuck’ because Ginger understands his people. He knows that we appreciate his skill in waving together melody and aggression into three-minute slices of happiness, but he also knows that sometimes we just want to let loose and jump up and down a bit. Sated and sweaty, band and crowd both seem pleased with how the evening has gone. The Wildhearts – even though they didn’t play it tonight they still wanna go where the people go and as the people wanna go where The Wildhearts are it all works out rather nicely.

Check the “In The Flesh” page for more photos!
The Wildhearts + Silveroller