THE WILDHEARTS Frontman GINGER On His Cancer Diagnosis: 'I'm Living Every Second In The Moment'

Earlier today (Saturday, June 13) at the Download festival at Donington Park in Castle Donington, United Kingdom, THE WILDHEARTS frontman and founding member Ginger spoke to Mike James Rock Show about his recent revelation that he has been given three years to live following a cancer diagnosis. The singer has "a rare but aggressive strain of cancer", mantle cell lymphoma (MCL),which typically affects the lymph nodes, but it also can affect the blood, bone marrow and other tissues throughout the body.

Regarding his mindset at the moment, Ginger said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "My brain is in a fantastic place at the moment. I'm living every second in the moment. When you live in the moment, you can't be worried about the future, and you can't be worried about the past. It's the only place to be. I learned how to do that about three years before I got the diagnosis. But to practice that now in real time after I found out that is great. 'Cause I would say, 'Oh, good time to find out that I'm gonna die of cancer.' But we're all gonna fucking die. It's about how much you live. And I'm living. And life is working so well in my favor… People wanna fucking write to me and tell me how great I am and how much I've meant to them. I want every one of my friends to have this much joy in their life."

He continued: "There's more than the physical world. It goes on. We go on. Things go on. So make this one matter. People won't remember you when you're gone. All they'll remember is how you made them feel or what your job that you did here as being a human, how that affected them. That's all they're gonna remember."

After the interviewer noted that Ginger has "affected a lot of people with joyous music and positivity", the musician said: "Thank you very much for that. I really appreciate that. And it's true, 'cause I meet them all the time, and I hear from them all the time, and it's a beautiful thing. I've been responsible of a big community of people, and they help themselves out. They've helped themselves way more than just when we're playing or when we're selling something. They help themselves out all the time."

As for how he plans on spending the coming months, Ginger said: " I think what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna do exactly the same as I've always done. I'm just gonna ramp it up a few notches, 'cause I'm not worried about getting sick and ill in my old age. And I wonder how much damage I can do to myself in, like, two to three years. But I'm gonna find out. And I'm gonna party like a motherfucker for the rest of my days, every single day. And so far I haven't had a bad fucking day. It's full on. I wanna fucking drag my burning corpse to the gates of hell and say, 'That was fucking brilliant.'"

Ginger's condition reportedly came to light during THE WILDHEARTS' "More Satanic Rites" tour in December 2025, when he was forced to take short breaks from stage due to severe pain.

"No misery please, positivity all the way," Ginger said this past March in a statement on social media. "I've lived the life of 10 men and will die with dignity."

The 61-year-old added: "Still got 2-3 years to say goodbye to everyone. And I'll be rocking until the very last moment."

THE WILDHEARTS are an English rock band, 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. THE WILDHEARTS achieved several Top 20 singles and two Top 10 albums in Britain, though they also faced difficulties with record companies and many internal problems often relating to drugs and depression. Much of the band's early career was affected by bitter feuds with their record company, East West.

Throughout THE WILDHEARTS' history, members have regularly been replaced, with the only constant member being Ginger. Several band members have appeared in the lineup more than once. The band has also been split up or placed on hiatus by Ginger multiple times. In the 2010s, the band convened occasionally for various anniversary tours. A 2018 anniversary tour by the band's 1995 lineup led to a return to the studio. They released a new album in 2019 after a ten-year hiatus. Their most recent LP, "Satanic Rites Of The Wildhearts", came out in March 2025.