Wreckless Eric

Wreckless Eric
Wreckless Eric, Chicago, 2013
Background information
Birth name	Eric Goulden
Born	(1954-05-18) 18 May 1954 (age 62) Newhaven, East Sussex, England
Genres	Rock, new wave, punk rock
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter
Years active	1974–present
Labels	Stiff Records, Go! Discs Records Empire New Rose Kelt Hangman Humbug Vibroscope
Associated acts	Amy Rigby
Website	Official website

Eric Goulden (born 18 May 1954), known as Wreckless Eric, is an English rock/new wave singer-songwriter, best known for his 1977 single "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. It was also acclaimed as one of the "top 40 singles of the alternative era 1975–2000".

Wreckless Eric was born in Newhaven, East Sussex. He is a cousin of actress Gemma Arterton through her mother. He 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 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 Steve Goulding 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. The song went on to make number 47 in John Peel's 'Festive Fifty', the so-called 'lost list' of 1977; 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), and Paul Westerberg.