Wreckless Eric in Whitmore Reans

Strangly, none of my local newspapers as well as neither MOJO or NME found this concert review to be of public interest. However, Whitmore Reans Gazette finds it imperative to add it to the public sphere in its entirety:

Wreckless Eric
The Newhampton, Wolverhampton
Friday 9^th December 2005

The legendary Punk / New Wave artist Wreckless Eric played at The Newhampton, Wolverhampton, Friday 9^th December 2005

Eric Goulden, as his real name is, shared stage and record label with Nick Lowe, Ian Dury and Elvis Costello in the late 70s, but went into obscurity by spending the better part of the 80s hitting the bottle. Sober now, he is on the road with new songs. Having spent last month touring with The Damned, he told us he enjoyed the intimate atmosphere at The Newhampton, far away from security guards and metal barricades. Playing solo, only him and his electric guitar, he delivered a string of honest, intelligent and moving songs. We got an energetic version of his massive hit from 1977, “The Whole Wide World”, as well as a beautiful acoustical version of “The Final Taxi.” But the really stunning songs were the new ones. Despite his songs being covered worldwide, Wreckless Eric is still an underestimated songwriter. On the night, he showed us his talent throughout the two-hour long set. “I keep looking back, but I can‘t see a thing,” he sang in one about his hazy past. “It‘s like waking up and trying to remember a dream”. He also read from his recent autobiography, “A Dysfunctional Success”, which sounds a very good read. His latest album is called “Bungalow Hi” (2004). Next stop for the Wreckless Eric faithful is at The 100 Club, London, 23^rd December.