Danny McCormack

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Danny McCormack
Born (1972-02-28) 28 February 1972 (age 53)
South Shields, Tyne & Wear, England
Origin Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne & Wear, England
Instrument Bass guitar
Years active1991–present

Danny McCormack (born 28 February 1972) is an English rock musician, best known for several tenures as the bassist and backing vocalist for The Wildhearts.

Contents

Biography

McCormack became the bass player for The Wildhearts at age 19 in 1991, [1] enjoying success during their commercial peak, until the band split in 1997. McCormack went on to form The Yo-Yos with Tom Spencer (formerly of The Lurkers), and the band released an album on Sub Pop Records [2] before splitting in 2000. [3]

He re-joined The Wildhearts when they reformed in 2001, but only played with the band sporadically due to drug abuse, and left again in 2003. At the time the group's frontman Ginger Wildheart penned an open letter to Kerrang! magazine documenting McCormack's drug problems and wished him a complete recovery. [4] McCormack briefly played with Dogs D'Amour before re-forming The Yo-Yos in 2005. That band released the EP Given Up Giving Up. [5] He subsequently supported his younger brother Chris McCormack's band, 3 Colours Red, on tours of Germany and the UK, but that band fired him following further drug problems. [6]

After a prolonged absence from the music scene for a number of years, McCormack returned to live guest performances with various bands in 2012. In 2015 he formed a new band called The Main Grains, which released an EP called Don't Believe Everything You Think. [7] Later that year, McCormack nearly died after suffering an aneurysm, which later culminated in the amputation of his lower leg. [8]

After many years of a contentious relationship, McCormack and Ginger Wildheart reconciled in 2018 and reformed the mid-1990s lineup of The Wildhearts. The band released new albums in 2019 and 2021. [9] [10] The band again split acrimoniously in 2022, [11] with Ginger continuing with yet another lineup. The following year, McCormack released his autobiography I Danny McCormack, Once a Wildheart, Always a Wildheart. Written with journalist Guy Shankland, the book was self-published and printed by B&B Press. The book's release was delayed due to the threat of legal action from one of McCormack's former bandmates. [12]

UK albums

UK Mini-albums & EPs

UK Compilations

Live albums

International releases

DVDs

References

  1. Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Biography: The Wildhearts". AllMusic . Retrieved 5 May 2010.
  2. Ankeny, Jason. "Biography: The Yo-Yo's". AllMusic . Retrieved 5 May 2010.
  3. "The Yo-Yo's Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More..." AllMusic. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  4. "THE WILDHEARTS Bassist Back In Rehab". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. 7 April 2003. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  5. "Get Ready to ROCK! Review of CD album by rock band The Yo-Yos called Given Up Giving Up". www.getreadytorock.com. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  6. "Three Colours Red – London Camden Underworld". www.punktastic.com. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  7. Lewry, Fraser (19 June 2016). "The Main Grains launch We're Happy Round Here video". louder. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  8. Lach, Stef (31 October 2016). "Wildhearts ex Danny McCormack has leg amputated". loudersound. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
  9. "THE WILDHEARTS To Release First Full-Length Studio Album In 10 Years, 'Renaissance Men'". Blabbermouth. 18 January 2019. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  10. April 2021, Classic Rock19 (19 April 2021). "The Wildhearts announce new album, 21st Century Love Songs, and UK tour". Classic Rock Magazine. Retrieved 21 April 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  11. Wilding, Philip (30 October 2024). "Ginger Wildheart on friendship, the fans and the return of The Wildhearts". louder. Retrieved 28 February 2025.
  12. Eruptor, Alex (26 June 2023). "I, Danny McCormack / Once A Wildheart Always A Wildheart". www.metaltalk.net. Retrieved 2 January 2024.