Gig review: The Wildhearts, Glasgow ABC

The Wildhearts are a rock’n’roll band in the old-fashioned, badly behaved tradition, who have cut a haphazard swathe across British rock music over the past two decades without digging deep enough to leave much of a lasting legacy.

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Frontman Ginger Wildheart has been the sole stable fixture – though stable doesn’t quite seem the word – in their on/off carousel of a ride which returned to Glasgow as yet another hiatus was interrupted in order to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their debut album, Earth Vs The Wildhearts.

This involved a mainly meat-and-potatoes rock diet with some other flavours tossed into the mix. Some songs had a punkier kick, others aped the unashamedly melodic style of the Sunset Strip hair metal bands, while The Miles Away Girl combined the punk pop catchiness of their contemporaries Green Day with some brawny guitar work and a New Wave breakdown.

The album version of gonzo rocker My Baby Is A Headf*** featured the alleged last ever guitar solo by legendary Bowie sideman Mick Ronson.

Live, it was enjoyably incorrigible, especially compared to the headlong metallic sprint of the following Suckerpunch and the pugnacious power pop of Love U Til I Don’t.

The remainder of their set was at the mercy of the fans, who were invited to cheer for their favourite number in a series of hard won head-to-head battles which threw up some hi-octane headbanging choices, and the beery singalong Geordie In Wonderland.