Ginger Wildheart (born David Leslie Walls; 17 December 1964 in South Shields, England), sometimes known simply as Ginger, is an English rock guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career as a guitarist in The Quireboys, but is best known as the founder and leader of The Wildhearts. In addition, he has released numerous solo albums and has been involved in many other musical projects.
In addition to leading The Wildhearts and maintaining a solo career under his own name, Ginger has participated in numerous side projects and collaborations:
Super$hit 666, with Dregen of Backyard Babies and Nicke Andersson of The Hellacopters, releasing the EP Super$hit 666 (1999).
Clam Abuse, with Alex Kane, releasing Stop Thinking (1999).
Silver Ginger 5, releasing Black Leather Mojo (2000). This album was originally intended as Ginger's first solo album, but was released under the name Silver Ginger 5. A short-lived band of that name was formed to perform the album live.
Brides of Destruction: Ginger was briefly a member of this supergroup in 2005 but did not play on any recordings. He co-wrote some songs for the band's album Runaway Brides and played guitar for part of a tour, but then left the band due to an inability to make a full commitment.
Ginger & the Sonic Circus, a short-lived collective formed in 2005 for live appearances; various members performed on the Ginger solo album Valor Del Corazon.
Howling Willie Cunt, releasing World of Filth (2006). Ginger for many years refused to confirm that he was Howling Willie, instead insisting that this was another person who was signed to Ginger's record label, Round Records. Ginger later admitted that he was in fact Howling Willie.
In 2010–2011, Ginger joined the backing band for former Hanoi Rocks lead singer Michael Monroe. He appeared on Monroe's live album Another Night in the Sun: Live in Helsinki and the studio album Sensory Overdrive, which reached #1 on Finnish albums chart and #13 on the UK rock albums chart.
Hey! Hello!, a classic rock-oriented project with singer Victoria Liedtke. Ginger played all instruments for this project, including drums for the first time. This project gained robust media notice, with articles in The Metro and BBC Radio 1's Newsbeat. The album Hey! Hello! reached Number 37 in the UK album charts and Number 1 in the UK rock charts in 2013. This project was revived in 2015, with Liedtke being replaced by singer Hollis Mahady. The album Hey! Hello! Too! was released in 2016.
Mutation, an industrial rock/noise project formed in 2012 with Mark E. Smith and members of Napalm Death, Exit International, The Sisters of Mercy, Hawkeyes, and Cardiacs. This group simultaneously released the albums The Frankenstein Effect and Error 500.
Ginger Wildheart & The Sinners, a Rootsy, Rock n' Roll, Country flavoured band formed in 2019 with members of Stone Mountain Sinners. The eponymous debut album reached #8 in the UK Independent Album Charts.