Wreckless Eric

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Wreckless Eric
Birth name Eric Goulden
Born 18 May 1954 (1954-05-18) (age 55)
Origin Newhaven, East Sussex, England
Genre(s) Rock and roll,
new wave
Punk rock
Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter
Label(s) Stiff Records,
Go! Discs Records,
Empire,
New Rose,
Kelt,
Hangman,
Humbug,
Vibrasonic
Website Official website

Wreckless Eric (born Eric Goulden, 18 May 1954, Newhaven, East Sussex, England) is a rock and roll / New Wave singer-songwriter best known for his 1978 single "(I'd Go The) Whole Wide World" on Stiff Records. More than two decades after its release, the song was included in Mojo magazine’s list of the best punk rock singles of all time.[1] It was also acclaimed as one of the ‘top 40 singles of the alternative era 1975 – 2000’.[2] He currently lives in France with his wife, singer-songwriter Amy Rigby.

Contents

[edit] Early history

Wreckless Eric is best known as one of the original members of the late 1970s Stiff Records artist roster, along with Ian Dury, Elvis Costello and Nick Lowe. Eric’s first ever record was the appearance of "Whole Wide World" on the Stiff label sampler A Bunch of Stiff Records in April 1977. The single version of that song was finally released in August. The song was produced by, and featured bass (and most of the other instruments) by Nick Lowe, with Ian Dury on drums. The following month, the song was one of five tracks broadcasted for the first of two sessions Eric recorded for DJ John Peel at BBC Radio 1.[3] The song went on to make number 47 in John Peel’s ‘Festive Fifty’, the so-called ‘lost list’ of 1977;[4] it was number 8 in the Sounds Critics’ singles of the year; and it received an ‘honourable mention’ in the NME critics’ chart. The song’s reputation has grown over the years and numerous bands have covered "Whole Wide World", such as the Lightning Seeds, Mental As Anything, The Monkees (who covered the song on their Pool It! album in 1987), The Proclaimers (who covered it on their 2007 album Life With You), The Prissteens, and Paul Westerberg.

His debut album Wreckless Eric was a Top 50 hit in the UK Albums Chart. But, by the time his second album with Stiff Records The Wonderful World of Wreckless Eric came out, he was pushed by the punk record label to openly display the effect of his alcohol intake.[citation needed] He attempted a more pop music style on his next album, entitled Big Smash!, his last with Stiff. Ironically Cliff Richard's cover of "Broken Doll", from Big Smash!, was the highest one of his songs that ever charted.[citation needed]

[edit] End of Stiff Days

Eric became increasingly unhappy with Stiff Records business ideas and promotion. The label forced Eric to work with songwriting teams and hired backing bands.By 1980, shortly after the release of Big Smash!, he decided to leave Stiff and record music at his home studio. While Eric may have left the music business and the public eye, he has continued writing songs and performing consistently at underground clubs and bars. Throughout the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s Eric has released albums on numerous independent record labels.[5]

[edit] Post Stiff Bands

Eric's post-Stiff bands include: The Captains of Industry, The Len Bright Combo, Le Beat Group Electrique, The Hitsville House Band and one album called "Karaoke" (1997) under his real name, Eric Goulden.[5]

The Wreckless Eric Manual

[edit] Post Stiff Albums

In 1985 he released A Roomful of Monkeys with a new band, Captains of Industry. It was followed in 1986 by a couple of homemade garage albums with "The Len Bright Combo". He always stayed in touch with Ian Dury and the Blockheads - two Blockheads, Norman Watt-Roy and Mick Gallagher, were in the Captains of Industry.

In 1989, he signed to New Rose Records as Eric Goulden, released the homemade Le Beat Group Electrique with bassist André Barreau and drummer Catfish Truton. This same year he moved to France, in a quiet countryside corner where he stayed for about ten years. By the time he made this move to the vineyard country, he had already ended his "career of full-time alcoholic."[citation needed]

Eric toured Eastern Europe in a 1960s Peugeot car, both solo and with his band. In 1990, he released a second Le Beat Group Electrique album, recorded live in a New Rose record shop in Paris, entitled At the Shop with Eduardo Leal de la Gala and Fabrice Bertran on the drums. Together they formed the Hitsville House Band.

Eric returned to the UK in 1998, wrote his autobiography A Dysfunctional Success - The Wreckless Eric Manual about his life in England in the punk rock years and the music industry, ending at his departure for France. A second part is expected. Eric contributed his version of "Clevor Trever" (sic) to the Ian Dury tribute album Brand New Boots and Panties released in 2001. His latest album Bungalow Hi was home recorded, produced and released in 2004.

In late 2005 Eric toured the UK (also playing Dublin) supporting fellow ex-Stiff artists The Damned.

A tribute album to Wreckless Eric is currently being recorded, featuring cover versions of his songs performed by upcoming bands like The Crimea, plus established acts, such as The Wedding Present, among others.

In the 2006 film, Stranger Than Fiction, starring Will Ferrell, Ferrell sings "Whole Wide World" while playing the guitar, until the original Wreckless Eric version takes over.

In 2008 Wreckless Eric & Amy Rigby was released. The album has a sound that is described as including "lots of strummed acoustic guitars, insistent and melodic bass lines and atmospherics created by vintage keyboards, synthesizers, processed electric guitars and electronic effects". Goulden wrote two songs while his wife Amy Rigby wrote five songs and the couple collaborated on three songs. They are touring to support the album.[6]

Wreckless Eric joined The Proclaimers onstage at Edinburgh Castle in Scotland, on 19 July 2008, to perform his song, "(I'd Go The) Whole Wide World" which they covered on their album, Life With You.[citation needed]

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

As Wreckless Eric

With Captains of Industry

  • Roomful of Monkeys (1984)

With The Len Bright Combo

  • The Len Bright Combo Presents... (1985)
  • Combo Time (1986)

(The two Len Bright Combo albums were re-released on a single CD on Eric's Southern Domestic label in 2004).

With Le Beat Group Electrique

  • Le Beat Group Electrique (1989)
  • At the Shop (1990)
  • The Donovan of Trash (1991)

With Hitsville House Band

  • 12 o'Clock Stereo (1996)

As Eric Goulden

  • Karaoke (1997)

[edit] Various artists compilation album appearances

  • A Bunch of Stiff Records (1977)
  • Stiffs Live (1978: Stiff Records, GET 1) # 28 UK Albums Chart[7]
  • Heroes & Cowards (1978)
  • Can't Start Dancing (1978)
  • "Whole Wide World" featured on the That Summer! compilation album (June 1979) UK # 36
  • The Last Compilation Album (1980)
  • The Stiff Records Box Set (1991)
  • DiY 3: Teenage Kicks - UK Pop I (1976-79) (1993)
  • Stranger Than Fiction Soundtrack (2006)
  • The Sandinista! Project (2007)
  • Wreckless Eric and Amy Rigby (2008)

[edit] Singles

Band name / Release date 'A' side 'B' side Label Catalogue Number
Wreckless Eric: Aug. 1977 "(I'd Go The) Whole Wide World" "Semaphore Signals" Stiff BUY 16
Wreckless Eric: February 1978 "Reconnez Cherie" "Rags And Tatters" Stiff BUY 25
Wreckless Eric: October 1978 "Take The K.A.S.H." "Girlfriend" Stiff BUY 34
Wreckless Eric: December 1978 "Crying, Waiting, Hoping" "I Wish It Would Rain" Stiff BUY 40
Wreckless Eric: October 1979 "Hit And Miss Judy" "Let’s Go To The Pictures" Stiff BUY 49
Wreckless Eric: January 1980 "A Popsong" "Reconnez Cherie" Stiff BUY 64
Wreckless Eric: March 1980 "Broken Doll" "I Need A Situation" Stiff BUYIT 75
Captains of Industry: November 1984 "Lifeline" "A Girl In A Million" Go! Discs Records GOD 6
Len Bright Combo: April 1986 "Someone Must’ve Nailed Us Together" "Mona" Empire LEN 1
Wreckless Eric: October 1989 "It’s A Sick World" "Reconnez Cherie" New Rose NEW 100
Wreckless Eric: May 1990 "Haunted House" "Depression (version Francaise)" New Rose NEW 136
Wreckless Eric: December 1990 "Yuletide Forty-Five" Kelt
Wreckless Eric: February 1993 "Joe Meek" "Tell Me I’m The Only One" Hangman SFTRI 226
The Hitsville House Band: 1996 "The Girl with the Wandering Eye" "Palace Of Tears" / "Laurence Of Arabia On Ice" Humbug
Wreckless Eric: 2002 "Sweet Jane" "Continuity Girl" Vibrasonic

[edit] See also

[edit] Bibliography

  • "Wreckless Eric" Goulden: A Dysfunctional Success - The Wreckless Eric Manual Do Not Press (2004), ISBN 1-904316-18-2 [8]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Mojo (October 2001) - 100 Punk Scorchers , Issue 95, London;
  2. ^ Thompson, Dave (2000). Alternative Rock. San Francisco: Miller Freeman Books. p. 818. ;
  3. ^ Wreckless Eric’s John Peel Sessions on BBC Radio 1;
  4. ^ John Peel’s Festive Fifty on Rock List Net;
  5. ^ a b Turnit-down.blogspot.com
  6. ^ Wreckless Eric & Amy Rigby: The underground royal couple take to Thee Parkside stage San Francisco Chronicle 4 September, 2008
  7. ^ a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. ISBN 1-904994-10-5. 
  8. ^ Book Homepage

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wreckless_Eric"
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