Wreckless Eric

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Wreckless Eric bigraphy, stories - English rock and roll and new wave singer-songwriter

Wreckless Eric : biography

18 May 1954 –

Wreckless Eric (born Eric Goulden, 18 May 1954, Newhaven, East Sussex, England) is an English rock and roll/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’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". After some years living in France with his wife and co-performer, singer-songwriter Amy Rigby, Goulden moved with her to the United States in 2011. As of November 2011 they live in upstate New York, and continue to tour together.

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.

Discography

Albums

As Wreckless Eric

  • Wreckless Eric (March 1978: Stiff Records, SEEZ 6) No. 46 UK Albums Chart
  • 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] No. 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 CD on Eric’s Southern Domestic label in 2004).

With Le Beat Group Electrique

  • Le Beat Group Electrique (1989)
  • At the Shop (1990)

With Hitsville House Band

  • 12 o’Clock Stereo (1996)

As Eric Goulden

  • Karaoke (1997)

With Amy Rigby

  • Wreckless Eric & Amy Rigby (2008)
  • Two-Way Family Favourites (2010)
  • A Working Museum (2012)

Various artists compilation album appearances

  • A Bunch of Stiff Records (1977)
  • Stiffs Live (1978: Stiff Records, GET 1) No. 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 No. 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)

Singles

Band name / Release date ‘A’ side ‘B’ side Label Catalogue Number
Wreckless Eric: August 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" Vibroscope
Wreckless Eric: 2007 "Whole Wide World 4 England" "Wayne Rooney’s Foot" Firerce Panda