A Dysfunctional Success

In »A Dysfunctional Success« Eric Goulden writes with an acute eye for detail about growing up in the 60s and 70s in suburban South East England, discovering music and girls; life as an art student in the frozen north eastern town of Hull; the formation and dissolution of bands with desperate equipment, a homemade ethos and not much idea; his move to London in 1976 and subsequent recording debut on the newly formed Stiff Record label. This is an honest coming of age story from both sides of instant pop success: bands, squalid flats, menial jobs, making records, the rise to the point of fame and falling off into poverty and alcoholism in Thatcher's Britain, where Goulden ultimately survived the 1980's to achieve his own kind of success. Twenty-one years after its original publication, in a time when pop stars telling their own hard stories was a comparative rarity, A Dysfunctional Success rings truer than ever, reminding readers how we all come from somewhere, pay a high price for our dreams, and enjoy modest glories in return for staying the course. »I think I was hoping for insight into the early Stiff Records days, which I didn't get. What I got was much better, and a great deal more interesting: a shambling, acutely observed, very funny-sad-true-sharp autobiography ...« - Neil Gaiman

Eric Goulden first came to prominence in 1977 with the release of his debut 45, the enduring Whole Wide World. He was originally given the name Wreckless Eric to hide behind. Eventually he realised he was stuck with it. He sidestepped the mechanics of stardom to become Britain's biggest underground household name, much loved and often misunderstood. He overcame struggles with alcoholism and depression, and has continued to record and tour for over forty-five years. Goulden is married to the American musician and writer Amy Rigby. For the past twelve years they have lived in bohemian splendour in upstate New York.