| Wreckless Eric |
| Background information |
| Birth name |
Eric Goulden |
| Born |
May 18, 1954 |
| Origin |
Newhaven,
East Sussex, England |
| Genre(s) |
Rock and roll |
| Occupation(s) |
Singer-songwriter |
| Label(s) |
Stiff Records |
| Website |
Official
website |
Wreckless Eric (born Eric Goulden
on May
18, 1954 in Newhaven,
East Sussex, England)
is a rock
and roll singer-songwriter.
|
Contents
- 1 History
- 2 Discography
- 3 Bibliography
- 4 External
links
|
History
Wreckless Eric is best known as one of the original members of
the Stiff
Records artist roster, along with Ian Dury, Elvis
Costello and Nick Lowe, and his biggest hit record
was "Whole Wide World". This, his debut single,
was produced by, and featured bass (and most of the other instruments)
by Nick
Lowe, with Ian Dury on drums. Eighteen
bands have covered "Whole Wide World", such as The
Monkees, who covered the song on their Pool It!
album in 1987.
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 label to
display his spectacular alcoholism. He attempted a more pop music
style on the (either dryly or optimistically) titled Big Smash
album, his last with Stiff Records. Ironically Cliff
Richard's cover of "Broken Doll" from Big
Smash was the highest one of his songs that ever charted.
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 Mickey
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."
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 Galla
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 crazy
punk years and music business, 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 and Belfast)
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, he sings "Whole Wide
World" while playing the guitar, until the Wreckless Eric version takes
over.
In Early 2007, Wreckless Eric began working with his
girlfriend Amy
Rigby, who relocated to France.
Discography
As Wreckless Eric
- Wreckless Eric
(1978) [album]
- The Wonderful World of Wreckless Eric
(1978) [album]
- The Whole Wide World (1979) [album]
- Big Smash (1980) [album]
- "Yuletide Forty-Five" (1990) [single]
- "Sweet Jane" (2002) [single]
- Almost a Jubilee: 25 Years at the BBC (with Gaps)
(2003) [album]
- Bungalow Hi (2004) [album]
With Captains of Industry
- Roomful of Monkeys (1984) [album]
With The Len Bright Combo
- The Len Bright Combo Presents... (1985)
[album]
- Combo Time (1986) [album]
(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) [album]
- At the Shop (1990) [album]
- The Donovan of Trash (1991) [album]
With Hitsville House Band
- 12 o'Clock Stereo (1996) [album]
- "The Girl with the Wandering Eye" (1996) [single]
As Eric Goulden
Compilation appearances
- Bunch of Stiffs (1977) [album]
- Live Stiffs Live (1978) [album]
- Heroes & Cowards (1978) [album]
- Can't Start Dancing (1978) [album]
- The Last Compilation Album (1980) [album]
- The Stiff Records Box Set (1991) [album]
- DiY 3: Teenage Kicks - UK Pop I (1976-79)
(1993) [album]
- Stranger Than Fiction Soundtrack (2006)
[album]
- The Sandinista! Project (2007) [album]
Bibliography
- "Wreckless Eric" Goulden: A Dysfunctional Success
- The Wreckless Eric Manual Do Not Press (2004), ISBN 1-904316-18-2 Book Homepage
External links
