Ginger Wildheart believes he's still alive because Lemmy is too – and he insists the Motorhead mainman is the best icon anyone could want.
Ahead of two Download appearances yesterday Ginger told TeamRock Radio: “I’ll never get used to Lemmy saying hello before I do. That’s the best thing of being the part of this little fraternity of ours. And the fact that I’m still alive – that was never part of the deal. I was going to go around 25 or 30; I’m 49 fucking years old.
“How did that happen? Because Lemmy is my icon, and he did it. If my icon was someone like Sid Vicious or Johnny Thunders I’d already be dead. But my icon is better than your icon. Lemmy’s a good icon to have – he’s indestructible.”
He admitted that, no matter how many of his heroes he met, he always remained amazed when they knew who he was. “I had a tweet from Dee Snider mentioning me. He said, ‘I’m going to be backstage getting ready to go on, but I’ll be singing every word of My Baby Is A Headfuck.’ I was thinking, ‘Wow, that’s another part of my bedroom wall come to life – referencing a song I’ve written.
“I walked by the guys in Status Quo and they said hello; I didn’t have to introduce myself. I’m still surprised that anyone knows or gives a fuck who I am.”
Ginger believes the Wildhearts have a secret weapon when it comes to attracting members of the Download crowd: “Last time we played, our audience doubled then tripled and quadrupled as we were playing the set, because of the amount of singing. I guess it’s because not a lot of metal bands have got singalong sections.
“When you think of singalong sections you think of Chas n’Dave or something. You don’t think of loud guitars, punk rock and chaos.”
