Wreckless Eric
England Screaming
Tapete Records
It’s been a long and twisted career for Wreckless Eric. He had a flash of success on the early punk scene with “Whole Wide World” on Stiff Records. His labelmates at the time included Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe, Ian Drury, and Larry Wallis. After his time on Stiff, Eric changed his public persona many times, putting out records as The Len Bright Combo, Le Beat Group Electrique, The Donovan Of Trash, and The Hitsville House Band, to name a few. In 1985 Eric Goulden released an album entitled A Roomful Of Monkeys on the Go! Discs label under the name Captains Of Industry. The record would haunt Eric. The songs were solid, but the execution was “insipid.” The critical reaction was universally harsh, and the record slipped into merciful obscurity.
In 2025, Eric decided to revisit these 40-year-old songs as the basis for a new album, England Screaming.“That album has always been a regret to me, because I think these songs mark my coming of age as a songwriter, but not, alas, as a recording artist.” Eric said. For the new record, Eric played most of the instruments himself, with help from Sam Sheppard on drums and Eric’s wife, Amy Rigby, on vocals and piano.
England Screaming is a successful reclamation project. Eric comes on strong with “Lifeline,” which sounds as rough-and-tumble as anything he did with Stiff Records. Musically the sound is crisp and slashing, and the lyrics are cutting observations. “Lady of the Manor” is a prickly examination of homeowners’ pride and domestic dynamics. The songs paint an image of bleak, everyday life in Thatcher’s England as the small towns were in economic decline and the people were just hanging on. Eric captures this in words and the ferocious mood of his playing. You can hear the desperation in “Lifeline” underscored with “London Calling” guitar scraping. The words may have been written 40 years ago, but they sound current in 2025.
A Roomful Of Monkeys may have been one of Eric’s worst albums, yet with the wisdom of 40 years of hard living, Wreckless Eric has turned those songs into one of his best albums ever. It just goes to show it’s never too late to realize your vision.
