Wreckless Eric - worst rock autobiography

If you are reading this thread then you probably know that Wreckless Eric released three albums & a number of singles between 1977 & 1980 on Stiff Records. He was part of the notorious first package tour of Stiff artists along with Nick Lowe, Ian Dury & Elvis Costello.

I had no idea Wreckless Eric (Eric Goulden) had written an autobiography. This ought to be good, the inside scoop on a good pop songwriter who was in the middle of a very interesting time in rock music - the punk / wave scene in the UK.

An odd book to be sure. It took better than 150 pages for him to get to the writing of his first song. It was all about his childhood which was....uneventful. But I stuck it out & finally made it to 1977. He'd signed to Stiff, recorded his first single & was gearing up to go on tour.

I quote: "I can't really begin to describe the time I spent as a Stiff recording artist. If I got started on that I'd have to write a book about Stiff Records. There isn't room in this one, and in any case, this is a book about me..."

Three sentences later the chapter ends. The next chapter begins with "June 1980...."

Yes, he skipped the three most interesting years of his life - completely!

I feel very ripped off having, firstly, paid for this book and then having wasted my time reading it.

It would be funny if it weren't so infuriating.

 

That really is a drag, definitely. I think a lot of us want to read more books about Stiff Records, esp. its early days (because Lord knows that the Bert Muirhead book is hard and expensive to come by). Eric expands on how he ultimately felt mistreated by Stiff on this page... probably much more informative about that period than the autobiography, from your description. And reading this webpage means you don't have to pay for the book, right??

 

I enjoyed the book, great fun. The stiff records part of his life was, I think, an alcoholic blur. Maybe he just didn't want to go there? I thought his writing about the mono mix of Sgt Peppers was terrific..
I'm sorry you feel ripped off. I had no expectations and thoroughly enjoyed this book. Maybe he'll write another which covers Stiff (and hopefully his Captains Of Industry years)

 

Yikes. I'm not surprised he isn't much of a writer, considering he could barely speak (based on the live tapes I've heard). But you'd-a thought he could spin yarn or two, at least. Too bad Ian Dury didn't live to write a proper autobio.

 

It is definitely a quirky book, but I really enjoyed it. He has some good stories of the Stiff years and his sense of humor shines through. I can't imagine a Wreckless Eric fan not getting anything out of it. Maybe you were expecting too much? I think I read he may write a sequel to cover the missing years.

Steve

 

Eric has a pretty poor opinion of that Bert Muirhead book, doesn't he?
I get the impression that he's somewhat resentful that certain other people got all the breaks and went to have fabulous careers.

It's funny, on that page on Eric's website he criticises Elvis Costello for claiming in interview that he (Costello) couldn't even remember being on Stiff, and yet Eric's own autobiography is just as disingenuous.

 

The book is called "A Dysfunctional Success". And the only part of his life he refuses to discuss are the years where he actually was a success. I was expecting at least that. I don't think that's too much.

To dismiss those years with a sentence that essentially says "I can't be bothered", IMO, shows a genuine disrespect for the reader.

 

Got the chance to look at this site, thanks for the link. This is exactly what I'd hoped the book had been.

 

Does anyone remember some 90's indie band that had a song called Wreckless Eric? I remember liking the video when I saw it on MTV Alternative Nation around 1997 but completely forgotten the name of the band.

 

I love Semi Four Signals. For that one song he will always have a place in my heart.

 

I have a suggestion so no one feels ripped off by this or other memoirs - go to the public library, while it still exists. Lot more affordable than shelling out money for a book you may or may not like, and may only read once, in any event.

 

It's odd he kept his mouth shut, so to speak. When he was opening for Marti Jones and Amy Rigby, he could not shut up. He talked more between songs than any other artist I've seen, rambling on about wacky things. He played an hour instead of the 1/2 hour time slot (people were booing and he laughed at them), then came onstage during their set and talked for another 15 minutes. Amy was clearly enthralled and thought he was an erudite scholar. Marti never toured again.

 

Musicians are not necessarily good writers as many of those autobiographies have proven, even the ones who really had a lot to tell. It's always better to have someone at your side, who has a view from the outside. I recently started the Neil Young biography I got as a christmas present.......it may give a good insight how this man thinks jumping from music to electric irons....but I gave up after 50 pages.

 

Well, she married him, so I'm not surprised.