No doubting The Wildhearts' sincerity at The Brook, Southampton | Review

But you’d be unwise to doubt the sincerity of Ginger Wildheart when he says it repeatedly throughout this gig.

In March this year The Wildhearts’ frontman announced he had a rare form of blood cancer, but he would keep performing and recording for as long as possible.

Since then the outpouring of affection from fans has been unstinting – and as tonight demonstrates, that’s very much a two-way street.

In a career spanning more than three decades, the hard-rocking band have become infamous for their bad luck and self-sabotage, with Ginger the sole continuous member.

However, this current line-up already has one album under its belt, and one in the can (due in October), and they are seriously cooking live.

Opening with Failure Is The Mother of Success from last year’s The Satanic Rites of The Wildhearts, they follow it with one of their earliest, Nothing Ever Changes But The Shoes. While 30-something years may separate the songs, there’s a clear through-line – singalong choruses, catchy riffs by the truckload, and more time changes than your average prog band – all key characteristics of a certain type of Wildhearts track.

But at the other end of the scale, there’s a song like Vanilla Radio (not on the setlist but played after the crowd start chanting its hook, and the band are in obliging mood) – a neat three minute slice of pop-rock.

Ginger is plied with a steady stream of whiskies from the side of the stage for the first half. So when he takes a tumble mid-song who knows if he trips on a cable or it’s the booze – regardless, he keeps going and apologises afterwards for his guitar “being drunk” to big cheers.

Then there’s their audience-pleasing cover of the Where Everybody Knows Your Name, aka the Cheers theme, but the set’s centre-piece is an epic 20 minute medley of several songs. It’s hypnotically pummelling, and so, so loud. It’s transcendent stuff.

We also get a number from the forthcoming album – Spider Beach, which makes good use of keys player Carol Hodge, and is a promising hint for the new material.

By penultimate main set number Diagnosis, there’s a swirling moshpit in the packed Brook, and the glee on Ginger’s face is a sight to behold.

The playful camaraderie between the band’s members, too, is clear. It may be Ginger’s creation, but the joy on stage is obvious.

Drummer Charles Evans is an Animal-esque dynamo, all hair and limbs. Guitarist Ben Marsden is an excellent foil to Ginger. Tonight’s bassist is Chris Catalyst, standing in for regular four-stringer Jon Poole – but he has his own lengthy association with the band, so slots in nicely. And Hodge as the first ever full-time keys player brings welcome texture to the sound and a feminine presence to harmonies.

They encore with the ripping one-two of I Wanna Go Where The People Go and My Baby is a Head… bringing things to a close after nearly two hours.

When Ginger bids us farewell and tells us to live every day like it’s your last, you better believe he’s taking his own advice.

It’s all rather, in its own way, wholesome. That’s something I never thought I’d say about a Wildhearts gig, but I am glad that I am.