IN: The Wildhearts are an English rock group, formed in 1989 in Newcastle upon Tyne. The band's sound is a mixture of hard rock and melodic pop music, often described in the music press as combining influences as diverse as The Beatles and 1980s-era Metallica. However, this characterization is denied by the band, who see their influences as being far broader, as shown in the song "29 X The Pain", which lists many of group leader Ginger's influences. Despite several top 20 singles and one top 10 album in Britain, the Wildhearts have not achieved major commercial success, owing in part to difficulties with record companies and many internal problems often relating to recreational drugs and depression.

In 2010 Ginger joined as the guitarist for former Hanoi Rocks frontman Michael Monroe, who played the Download Festival on 12 June 2010. Ginger also performed as a solo act at the festival, arriving with a large band of acoustic guitar players dubbed "Guitarmageddon." Only Wildhearts songs were performed, as was the case for the Ginger & Friends December 2010 tour of the UK. The Michael Monroe album Sensory Overdrive, featuring Ginger, was released in 2011.  In December 2010, Ginger stated that he is unsure if the Wildhearts will ever reform. It would appear that the departure of Scott Sorry and retirement of Ritch Battersby led to the hiatus. Following this particularly with his renewed solo career, Ginger publicly stated a number of times on Formspring that he had absolutely no desire to revisit the Wildhearts and considered that period of his life over. Despite this, Ginger announced in August 2012 that the most recent Wildhearts line-up will reform for a one-off appearance in December. The Wildhearts' songs "Geordie in Wonderland" and "Dreaming in A" appeared in the 2012 UK feature film Life Just Is.  On 10 December 2012, it was announced that Scott Sorry had left The Wildhearts due to family commitments. He was replaced by former bassist Jon Poole for the December 2012 reunion show. The band went on to play a number of shows in early 2013 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the release of Earth vs the Wildhearts, playing the album in its entirety for the first half of the concert and allowing fans to choose the rest of the set list by means of voting between a choice of two songs at a time for the extended encore. Such was the anniversary tour's success that a second leg took place in June of the same year. The Nottingham Rock City performance would subsequently be released as the 2014 live album Rock City vs The Wildhearts. Another UK tour took place in April 2014, this time with Scott Sorry back on bass. 2015 saw the 20th Anniversary of the release of P.H.U.Q. and another successful tour, this time with Jon Poole on bass duties.  Prior to their Christmas tour in 2016 (supported by Dirt Box Disco, Danny's new band The Main Grains and JAW$ featuring Ginger's son) Ginger stated in an interview that the band would be recording a new album in 2017. Proceeds from the album will go towards assisting Danny's recuperation after the amputation of his lower right leg.

Did the band tour to support the album?

OUT: Ginger & Friends December 2010 tour of the UK.


IN: Mogwai () are a Scottish post-rock band, formed in 1995 in Glasgow. The band consists of Stuart Braithwaite (guitar, vocals), Barry Burns (guitar, piano, synthesizer, vocals), Dominic Aitchison (bass guitar), and Martin Bulloch (drums). The band typically compose lengthy guitar-based instrumental pieces that feature dynamic contrast, melodic bass guitar lines, and heavy use of distortion and effects. The band were for several years signed to Glasgow label Chemikal Underground, and have been distributed by different labels such as Matador in the US and Play It

In July 2013, Mogwai performed their soundtrack to Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait for the first time at dates across the UK. An announcement of new live dates followed, including two nights at the Royal Festival Hall, and an appearance closing the final holiday camp edition of the "All Tomorrow's Parties" festival in Camber Sands, England.  They announced their eighth studio album Rave Tapes on 28 October 2013. The album was released on 20 January 2014 on Rock Action in the UK, Spunk in Australia and Hostess in Japan and South-east Asia, while Sub Pop released the album in the US on 21 January. Rave Tapes was produced by Mogwai and Paul Savage, and the song "Remurdered" was uploaded to the Rock Action and Sub Pop SoundCloud pages at the time of the announcement. The album entered the UK album charts at No.10 and as of April 2014 was the best selling UK album released in 2014 in terms of vinyl sales.  An EP titled Music Industry 3. Fitness Industry 1. on Rock Action was released on 1 December 2014 featuring three new tracks from the Rave Tapes sessions, along with three remixes of tracks from that album by Blanck Mass, Pye Corner Audio and Nils Frahm. The EP was recorded in Glasgow with Paul Savage.  In June 2015 Mogwai played a series of high-profile shows in the UK and Ireland, climaxing with two nights at the Camden Roundhouse, to celebrate the band's 20th anniversary. At the same time, in association with ATP, they curated a series of shows at the London venue featuring acts that have "challenged, intrigued and inspired" them, including The Jesus and Mary Chain, Public Enemy, and Godspeed! You Black Emperor. A career retrospective album comprising three CDs or six LPs, Central Belters, was released on 23 October.  On 15 November 2015, the band announced that guitarist John Cummings had left to pursue his own projects.

What else did they do during this time?

OUT:
An EP titled Music Industry 3. Fitness Industry 1. on Rock Action was released on 1 December 2014