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.
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WRECKLESS ERIC TICKETS
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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. 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.
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]
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.
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."
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]
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
. Eric and Amy Rigby joined
John Wesley Harding onstage at Wiggins Park in
Camden,
New Jersey on 25 July 2009, to perform Goulden's song, "(I'd Go The) Whole Wide World".
Discography
Albums
''As
Wreckless Eric
- Wreckless Eric
(March 1978: Stiff Records, SEEZ 6) # 46 UK Albums Chart [7]
- The Wonderful World of Wreckless Eric
(October 1978: Stiff, SEEZ 9)
- The Whole Wide World
(December 1979) [compilation album] US release
- Big Smash!
(February 1980: Stiff, SEEZ 21) [double compilation album] # 30 UK
- Almost a Jubilee: 25 Years at the BBC (with Gaps)
(2003)
- Bungalow Hi
(2004)
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
As
Eric Goulden
Various artists compilation album appearances
- A Bunch of Stiff Records
(1977)
- Stiffs Live
(1978: Stiff Records, GET 1) # 28 UK Albums Chart
- 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)
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
|
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See also
- List of New Wave bands and artists
- List of Peel sessions
- Music of the United Kingdom (1970s)
Bibliography
- "Wreckless Eric" Goulden: A Dysfunctional Success - The Wreckless Eric Manual
Do Not Press (2004), ISBN 1-904316-18-2 [8]
References
- Mojo (October 2001) - ''100 Punk Scorchers '', Issue 95, London;
- ''Alternative Rock''
- Wreckless Eric’s John Peel Sessions on BBC Radio 1;
- John Peel’s Festive Fifty on Rock List Net;
- Turnit-down.blogspot.com
- Wreckless Eric & Amy Rigby: The underground royal couple take to Thee Parkside stage San Francisco Chronicle 4 September, 2008
- British Hit Singles & Albums
- Book Homepage