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Biography
Infobox musical artist || name = Wreckless Eric| image =| caption =| background = solo_singer| birth_name = Eric Goulden| birth_date = Birth date and age|1954|5|18|df=y| death_date =| origin = Newhaven, East Sussex|Newhaven , East Sussex , England | genre = Rock and roll , New wave music|new wave Punk rock | occupation = Singer-songwriter | years_active =| label = Stiff Records , Go& #33; Discs Records , Empire, New Rose, Kelt, Hangman, Humbug, Vibroscope| associated_acts = Amy Rigby | website = http://www.wrecklesseric.com/ Official website Wreckless Eric (born Eric Goulden , 18 May 1954, Newhaven, East Sussex|Newhaven , East Sussex , England) is an English rock and roll / New wave music|new wave singer-songwriter, best known for his 1977 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)|Mojo magazine’s list of the best punk rock singles of all time.Mojo (October 2001) - 100 Punk Scorchers , Issue 95, London; It was also acclaimed as one of the "top 40 singles of the alternative era 1975–2000".Cite book|title= Alternative Rock |last= Thompson|first= Dave|year= 2000|publisher= Miller Freeman Books|location= San Francisco|page= 818; After some years living in France with his wife and co-performer, singer-songwriter Amy Rigby , Goulden moved with her to the USA in the autumn of 2011. As of November 2011 they live in upstate New York and continue to tour together.
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 appearance on music record|record was "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 guitar (and most of the other instruments) by Nick Lowe, with Ian Dury on drums. The following month, the song was one of five tracks broadcast for the first of two sessions Eric recorded for DJ John Peel at BBC Radio 1 . http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/johnpeel/artists/w/wrecklesseric/ Wreckless Eric’s John Peel Sessions on BBC Radio 1; The song went on to make number 47 in John Peel’s ‘ Festive Fifty ’, the so-called ‘lost list’ of 1977; http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/festive50lists.htm John Peel’s Festive Fifty on Rock List Net; it was number 8 in the Sounds (magazine)|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 LightningSeeds , 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 ), 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|date=September 2007 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 that one of his songs ever charted.Citation needed|date=August 2008
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. http://turnit-down.blogspot.com/2008/01/wreckless-eric-interview.html Turnit-down.blogspot.com
Post-Stiff bands
Eric's post-Stiff bands include: The Captains of Industry (band)|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 Ian Dury and the Blockheads|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|date=February 2007 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 " Gala & the Muzer " 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.
Recent times
The soundtrack to the 2002 film, Heartlands (film)|Heartlands , contained "(I'd Go The) Whole Wide World".
In late 2005 Eric toured the UK (also playing Dublin ) supporting fellow ex-Stiff artists The Damned (band)|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 (band)|The Crimea , plus established acts, such as The Wedding Present , among others.
In the 2006 film, Stranger than Fiction (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 had 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". They are touring to support the album. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi? f=/g/a/2008/09/04/derk.DTL Wreckless Eric & Amy Rigby: The underground royal couple take to Thee Parkside stage San Francisco Chronicle 4 September, 2008
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|date=September 2008 Eric and Amy Rigby joined John Wesley Harding (singer)|John Wesley Harding onstage at Wiggins Park in Camden, New Jersey|Camden , New Jersey on 25 July 2009, to perform "(I'd Go The) Whole Wide World".
In September 2010, Eric and Rigby offered a track for the compilation album, Daddy Rockin Strong: A Tribute to Nolan Strong & The Diablos . They recorded a cover of the 1950s doo-wop song, "I Want To Be Your Happiness." The Wind Records, along with Norton Records , released the album. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2010/09/new-tribute-album-celebrates-forgotten-detroit-rb-star-nolan-strong.html Latimesblogs.latimes.com
In 2012 Wreckless Eric & Amy Rigby recorded a version of the Bread song " The Guitar Man " for a fund raising cd titled "Super Hits Of The Seventies" for radio station WFMU . http://michaelshelley.net/2012/ Super Hits Of The 70's
Discography
Albums
As Wreckless Eric
Wreckless Eric (album)|Wreckless Eric (March 1978: Stiff Records, SEEZ 6) #46 UK Albums Chart Cite book
| first= David | last= Roberts | year= 2006 | title= British Hit Singles & Albums | edition= 19th | publisher= Guinness World Records Limited | location= London | pages= | isbn= 1-904994-10-5
The Wonderful World of Wreckless Eric (October 1978: Stiff, SEEZ 9)
The Whole Wide World (album)|The Whole Wide World (December 1979) compilation album US release
Big Smash! (February 1980: Stiff, SEEZ 21) double compilation album #30 UK
The Donovan of Trash (1991)
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 Compact disc|CD on Eric's Southern Domestic label in 2004).
"Wreckless Eric" Goulden: A Dysfunctional Success - The Wreckless Eric Manual Do Not Press (2004), ISBN 1-904316-18-2 http://www.thedonotpress.com/titles/dysfunctionalsuccess.html Book Homepage
References
Reflist
External links
http://www.wrecklesseric.com/ Official website
Allmusic|class=artist|id=p21499|label=Wreckless Eric
http://www.punk77.co.uk/groups/wreckless_eric.htm Wreckless Eric on www.punk77.co.uk
http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=DSjwl8lHEVE Wreckless Eric-Whole Wide World haroldturkeypants, YouTube, 2006-07-13
http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=u76_YFFgtC8 Wreckless Eric - A Pop Song k8fan, YouTube, 2006-11-01
http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=pDf3bFCxpIE Wreckless Eric, Just For You, Belgian TV 1986 BruSweeney, YouTube, 2007-02-20
http://theyshootmusic.at/posts/Wreckless_Eric_And_Amy_Rigby Video session with 'They Shoot Music - Don't They', 2009-02-06
Persondata | NAME =Eric, Wreckless | ALTERNATIVE NAMES =Goulden, Eric | SHORT DESCRIPTION =English rock and roll and New wave music|new wave singer-songwriter | DATE OF BIRTH =18 May 1954 | PLACE OF BIRTH = Newhaven, East Sussex|Newhaven , East Sussex , England | DATE OF DEATH = | PLACE OF DEATH = DEFAULTSORT:Wreckless Eric Category:1954 births Category:Living people Category:English male singers Category:English songwriters Category:English New Wave musicians Category:People from Newhaven, East Sussex Category:The Minus 5 members Category:Stiff Records artists
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