THE WILDHEARTS frontman Ginger has issued the following tour diary entry:

Tour Diary Day 9: Leeds And Glasgow:

"Wow, what a couple of days. Leeds Cockpit was, quite possibly, the best show of the tour. The audience were incredible and the band played a stormer. The resulting high followed everyone back to the bus where we proceeded to party like we were the Rolling Stones or something.

Come morning I woke up with the kind of hangover that more resembles still being drunk.

Hot Steve met me on the stairs armed with with an ice cold bottle of Magners he was enjoying. One sip made me want one myself, but on closer inspection the closest thing to cider in the fridge was champagne, presented to me by No Americana a few days ago. I don't usually drink the stuff but one glass went down so well that it was followed by first another, and soon the whole bottle was gone. It's not even midday and I was drunk beyond belief.

No problem, I'll sleep it off.

On being awoke, around 7:00pm I realised that I was still drunk. So drunk, in fact, that I accepted the offer of a few drags of a spliff. I'm no smoker and have an incredibly low tolerance to the stuff. Already disorientated and spinning the pot hit me like a well aimed uppercut.

Once I eventually found the dressing room I realised that my bag was back on the bus, so, on leaving by the side entrance I heard the door slam shut behind me. Banging on the door proved useless due to the level of volume inside the venue.

It is now 8:25 and I'm due onstage in five minutes.

The phone, typically, died as I continued leaving messages on everyone's answer phones due to the zero reception within the venue.

Now I'm stoned, drunk, confused, and my paranoia is growing due to the amount of Wildhearts fans outside having a cigarette.

Fuck it, I'm just going to have to slope in undercover of the fans. I manage to squeeze myself into the packed Garage where a security guard recognises me and allows me access to the dressing room.

Fortunately we are running late, gear problems forcing a late start to the set. Just enough time to get my stage clothes on.

It takes me a full song to realise that I'm not wearing an ear plug and the band are so deafeningly loud that I can't pitch. I eventually righted myself and began the longest gig of my life.

I will never play a show stoned again in my life. It was the most terrifying thing imaginable. What really struck me, through the hazy paranoia, was how fucking good this band are. How dynamic Ritch plays the drums. How amazing our sound man is. How great our crew is. And how incredible our audience is.

Glasgow, thank God it was to you that I played the scariest show I've ever played. You made me feel like I was home. You calmed me down and allowed me to, occasionally, enjoy the thrilling spectacle of a rammed Glasgow show with the best band I could possibly experience it with."

Gx

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