The Len Bright Combo

One of the many fascinating detours in the career of Eric Goulden -- the singer, guitarist, and songwriter best known as <a href="spotify:artist:46mRV6kvhsGvih0dMKktto">Wreckless Eric</a> -- was the Len Bright Combo, a purposefully eccentric garage rock band he formed with the rhythm section from <a href="spotify:artist:02jy0SdsT0bP4Hn0QkQTeG">Thee Milkshakes</a>. In late 1984, Goulden's short-lived band Captains of Industry fell apart shortly after releasing their sole album, and he relocated to Chatham, Kent in Southeast England. The town had a lively music scene, dominated by <a href="spotify:artist:1kZTgpirZqES4wBVk08d2o">Billy Childish</a>'s garage-style beat combo <a href="spotify:artist:02jy0SdsT0bP4Hn0QkQTeG">Thee Milkshakes</a>, and after seeing the band on-stage, the newly sober Goulden was inspired to launch a new project. After approaching <a href="spotify:artist:02jy0SdsT0bP4Hn0QkQTeG">Milkshakes</a> bassist Russ Wilkins, the two agreed for form a new group. Wilkins brought along <a href="spotify:artist:02jy0SdsT0bP4Hn0QkQTeG">Milkshakes</a> drummer <a href="spotify:artist:7LSPkEvlsBiuxfUNbmdRIa">Bruce Brand</a> to complete the lineup, and <a href="spotify:artist:7LSPkEvlsBiuxfUNbmdRIa">Brand</a> coined the name the Len Bright Combo; the fact no one in the band was named Len Bright was meant to be part of the fun.

The Combo took a purposefully low-key approach to their work, touring in a battered van with their own small PA system and deliberately playing small and unfashionable venues, developing a cult following along the way. Turning down offers from major labels, Goulden and company opted to record their debut album (The Len Bright Combo Present the Len Bright Combo by the Len Bright Combo) on their own dime and released it through their own <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Empire+Records%22">Empire Records</a> label. The album, recorded in just two days at the Upchurch Village Hall using a portable recording rig, cost a mere 86 pounds to make, but while its raw sound would become fashionable a few years down the line, a lack of airplay and no record company push prevented it from making a dent in the marketplace. (According to Goulden, the debut moved less than 2,000 copies.)

A second album, It's Combo Time, appeared later the same year, but didn't fare much better, and in September 1986, the group's spirit was broken when, while driving home from a show in Bristol, their van was in an accident that claimed the life of a pedestrian. <a href="spotify:artist:7LSPkEvlsBiuxfUNbmdRIa">Brand</a> soon left the group, and while Goulden and Wilkins played a few shows with a substitute drummer, in 1987 the Len Bright Combo announced their breakup. In 1991, Goulden, Wilkins and <a href="spotify:artist:7LSPkEvlsBiuxfUNbmdRIa">Brand</a> played a handful of gigs backing <a href="spotify:artist:6zCEhRNNWqDu59v8w5DAWH">Phil May</a> and Dick Taylor of <a href="spotify:artist:5U16QlMnlSAhkQxBZpLyLO">the Pretty Things</a>, but Goulden soon resumed his solo career as <a href="spotify:artist:46mRV6kvhsGvih0dMKktto">Wreckless Eric</a>, and after relocating to the United States, began an ongoing collaboration with his wife, <a href="spotify:artist:2MS7obSVxzZaCaycZkCBBY">Amy Rigby</a>. Wilkins played with the bands <a href="spotify:artist:4M2DWCrKQRiRJDie92zzcc">the Prisoners</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:54fu2ovnmyqUzGfnId7uW7">the Wildebeests</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:7LSPkEvlsBiuxfUNbmdRIa">Brand</a> would back up <a href="spotify:artist:3giOet7O2pgPUYOujF4ifa">Holly Golightly</a> and collaborate with <a href="spotify:artist:1kZTgpirZqES4wBVk08d2o">Billy Childish</a>. In 2013, <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Fire+Records%22">Fire Records</a> reissued the two Len Bright Combo albums, and the original lineup reunited for a single show in London. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi