The late ’70s were awash in innovative bands and unique ways of presentation. On the fore of that was a label named Stiff Records. The label was so popular that Columbia Records gave it a lucrative distribution deal with its own label imprint. This ensured that the albums on the label would be widely available. Some of the mates on that label were Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe, Ian Dury, and a bloke known as Wreckless Eric.
Wreckless Eric released two albums on Stiff Records including his The Wonderful World of Wreckless Eric. His first album was a 1978 self-named set that included his best known song – “Whole Wide World”. As New Wave made inroads to mainstream play, bands like Wreckless Eric fell by the wayside. But their musical talent never went south.
The new album, England Screaming, was issued on November 21. It contains eight newly recorded tracks of songs that were originally recorded decades ago but were too good to ignore (as the writing on the cover explains).
England Screaming was released on CD, DD, and vinyl LP. You can hear the album’s first single, “Lifeline”, below.
England Screaming – Wreckless Eric
01 Lifeline
02 Home & Away
03 Playtime Is Over
04 Lady of the Manor
05 Land of the Faint at Heart
06 The Lucky Ones
07 Food Factory
08 Our Neck of the Woods