A Message From Danny McCormack
From Danny The perception of The Wildhearts 2022 is so far removed from the truth that I’m not sure people will be able to process it. We aren’t really friends anymore, yet we love each other. We pretty much hate being in a room or on a bus together yet miss it terribly when we’re apart. We make excellent albums, especially the last two ‘Rennasiance Men’ and ‘Twenty-First Century Love Songs’, both of which sold well and received substantial critical acclaim. I read a rumour that I hadn’t played on the last studio album, fuck off, I was there; it was me; no one else can make that bass sound The Wildhearts have. I feel hurt, and I’m in pain constant pain. I know I’ve let everybody down, and I can see clearly how far I have fallen. My ongoing financial woes have blighted mine and the band's name and reputation, and for this, I'm wholeheartedly sorry. In February 2022, I asked Guy to help me sell my iconic yellow bass, which I’ve had since I was sixteen. It was the only thing I owned of any value. Guy came to visit me and do some interviews for the book in Febuary 2022. I had no TV, stereo, internet, the microwave had blown up, my phone fell into the toilet, and I’m now on Universal Credit. We sat in my local Wetherspoons, and I had no money for a drink; Guy bought all the rounds as he did the next day when he took me to The Steamboat in South Sheilds for further interviews. I also hadn’t eaten for three days, so Guy and Angelina went to the local Morrisons and got Yvonne and me a trolley of shopping. We are now receiving charity parcels from the local food bank, but yesterday when they tried to deliver I was asleep and missed it. We sometimes can't even afford to put the heating on, so we moved the mattress from the bedroom into our small lounge where the fire was made a little den and slept fully clothed. I still smoke and now buy bootleg rolling tobacco, which is half the price (and half the quality) of my regular Amber Leaf. My father dropped me off a bottle of Jack Daniels for my 50th birthday, but I had no Coca-Cola, oh, and my beloved cocker spaniel Shadow has a huge cancerous lump on his testicle. We don't have the funds to get him treatment. Hand on heart, I was done; I have felt like ending my life so many times. I’m not sure what honestly keeps me going. This is not me asking for your sympathy or faux Facebook compassion, but this is my book, and in February 2022, this is my day to day reality. I'm a one-legged bassist with no money, no employment prospects away from music and a hole in his shoe, and yes, the spot is in the good foot. A lovely man called David Bagley set up a Go Fund Me site after reading Guy’s post about me selling the bass on ‘The All Things Wildhearts’ Facebook page to raise some money and help me out. I was very touched and a little embarrassed that my life had come to this. There is rock bottom, and this is it. My teeth are rotten, and I now need glasses, which I haven't got, so I struggle to read anything. God knows what is going on with the band. Ginger did ring me and said he wouldn't do any shows without me, which was much appreciated. However, if life has taught me anything, it’s that when it comes to The Wildhearts, anything, and I mean anything, can happen. Hopefully, I’ll receive some income from album sales soon and maybe a payoff from the company accounts, but I doubt it. I have always trusted people around me to do their best for me as I would for them, but this is rarely the case. In fact, the longer I live, the more I discover that it’s the opposite and kindness is now viewed as a weakness and something to be gleefully exploited. As I near the big 5-0, I have never felt so depressed. I cannot thank you all enough for the patience and understanding you’ve shown me, and the lyric sheets are now being done. Guy has twenty-five ‘Anthems’ which he’ll post out once I send him the addresses. I’ll do this after receiving his old iPhone-S, which Guy is kindly posting up here for me. The screen on mine is flooded and fucked. I know I have begged, borrowed and asked alot of people, and I sincerely hope that this book/Patreon project will help explain my situation and give everyone an open and honest insight into my past and present life. When I last spoke to Guy, he asked me what, if anything, I would change about my life. Nothing, not a damn thing. The highs have been truly unique, and I’ve seen and experienced things I never would have if I hadn’t hooked up with Ginger & Co. The Wildhearts, The Yo Yo’s, The Main Grains. World tours, Top Of The Pops, Festivals, Japan, America, and getting to meet all of you and hearing your lovely stories. What a fucking ride it’s been! Can I go round again, please? Danny x
