The Len Bright Combo
 'Wreckless'
Eric Goulden scored a huge hit in 1977 with Whole Wide World which,
if anything, simply compounded his insecurity which in turn led to
increased drinking which in turn compounded his insecurity etc etc
etc . . .
By the mid-80s, unfamous and uncertain, he relocated to Kent
where he bumped into The Milkshakes' bass player Russ Wilkins
(then working in an electrical shop) in 1985 and asked him if he'd
like to join Eric's new band.
Wilkins agreed, suggesting that fellow former Milkshake Bruce
Brand would make a suitably unhinged drummer to complete the trio.
Following a few gigs - including a particularly drunken foray
to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival which convinced Goulden to give
up the sauce - the three-piece band settled on the name The Len
Bright Combo (at the suggestion of Brand) and found a venue in
which to record their first album: Upchurch Village Hall.
The hall had a wooden floor, a metal roof and loads of windows
(ergo copious reverb) and the two-day session ended up sounding
like Joe Meek recording The Kinks in a cave.
Costing the princely sum of £86 - including the artwork
featuring the band playing on the remains of a burnt-out caravan
on the Isle of Sheppey - the self-titled album showcased Goulden's
caustically English brand of song writing, such as on the
anti-Yuppie anthem Young, Upwardly Mobile . . . And Stupid.
Released in February 1986 on Wilkins' own Empire label, the
album's "juvenile sense of fun" carried through to the
gigs that followed. One such gig ended with "a skinhead
throwing a hippy at us onstage".
Despite favourable reviews and good airplay (notably Andy
Kershaw on Radio 1), the album sold less than 2,000 copies. But
the combo soldiered on and recorded a second album - It's
Combo Time.
Then, when driving home on the M25 from a gig in Bristol, their
van struck a "party-goer on pills walking down the motorway
in the pouring rain", according to Eric, killing him
instantly.
Goulden tells the story: "Russ and Bruce were asleep in
the back of the van, I'd just closed my eyes. The next thing I
knew the driver sounds like he's having a hysterical fit, there
was this glass shower and the van was spinning until the wheels
ended up in the storm drain. It was like ending up in one of my
songs at the time."
The trauma marked the beginning of the end for The Len Bright
Combo. They split in January 1987.
"We couldn't carry on after that. We almost didn't even
like each other any more. Of course, we do now" ponders
Goulden. "Maybe it's time to re-form the Combo".
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