C. J. Wildheart

Christopher Paul Persaud-Jagdhar (born 27 December 1967), known professionally as C. J. Wildheart is an English musician of Guyanese and Seychellois descent. He is a solo artist and also a founding member of the UK rock band The Wildhearts.[1]

C. J. Wildheart
Birth nameChristopher Paul Persaud-Jagdhar
Born (1967-12-27) 27 December 1967
OriginColchester, Essex, England
GenresRock
Occupation(s)Singer, guitarist, songwriter
InstrumentsGuitar, vocals
Years active1988–present
LabelsVarious
Associated actsThe Wildhearts
Honeycrack
The Jellys
WebsiteCJ Wildheart

He was born in Colchester, and his early childhood was spent living in various military bases in Malaysia and Europe whilst his father and mother served in the British army. The family eventually moved back to the UK during his teens.

Early bands

CJ was involved with several local bands including Medusa, before achieving his first notable success in the late 1980s as the guitarist for London-based hair rockers Tattooed Love Boys. The band released their debut album Bleeding Hearts and Needle Marks in 1988 before splitting up shortly afterwards.[2]

The Wildhearts

In 1989 CJ formed The Wildhearts with ex-The Quireboys guitarist Ginger (David Walls). Despite being plagued by widely reported drug and alcohol problems, the band enjoyed considerable mainstream success during the early 1990s, including two UK top 20 hits.[3] In 1994, at their commercial peak, CJ was unexpectedly kicked out during the recording of the P.H.U.Q. album due to personal differences between himself and Ginger.

Interim bands

CJ joined former Grip frontman Willie Dowling to form Honeycrack in 1995 who were signed to Epic Records. The band released one album Prozaic in 1996 which charted at number 34 in the UK.[4] Honeycrack toured with the likes of Alanis Morissette, Weezer,[5] and Skunk Anansie throughout 1995 and 1996 as well as appearances at the Phoenix Festival and T in The Park.[6] The band broke away from Epic in late 1996 and eventually disbanded. In 1998 CJ formed The Jellys with ex-Wildhearts drummer Stidi and former Wolfsbane bass player Jeff Hately. They released two studio albums and one live album between 1998 and 2001.

Solo career

CJ released his first solo album Thirteen in 2007 under the moniker CJ & The Satellites. The album was supported with live dates in the UK and China but were quickly put on hiatus due to the reformation of The Wildhearts in 2009. The album was reissued on CD and vinyl in 2014.[7]

Also in 2014, CJ released the album Mable, which was funded through the Pledgemusic platform[7] and was named after his favourite chicken.[8] Mable reached number 23[9] in the UK album chart; it also reached number 2 in the Official UK Rock Chart[10] and number 2 in the Independent Album Breakers Chart, CJ's highest chart positions as a solo artist. Reviews were very positive across the board with The Sun newspaper commenting "CJ unleashes a scorching summer rock treat" and awarding it four out of five stars.[8] Uber Rock commented "Not many albums will touch 'Mable' this year".[11] The albums scored highly in end of year poll lists including number 2 the Pure Rawk album of the year list,[12] number 6 in the Uber Rock album of the year list,[13] and number 1 in the Rock 'n' Roll Geek Show album of the year list.[14] On 6 March 2015 Mable received the Album of The Year award at the Pure Rawk Awards held in London.[15]

CJ released two more albums funded by pledge campaigns: Robot in 2015[16] and Blood in 2017.[17] He has also launched his own brand of hot sauce called "Devilspit".[18]

Return to The Wildhearts

The Jellys disbanded when CJ and Stidi both re-joined The Wildhearts in 2001 and recorded The Wildhearts Must Be Destroyed album. CJ would remain a permanent fixture in the band recording the eponymous album The Wildhearts in 2007 and Chutzpah! in 2009. The Wildhearts then went on hiatus before releasing their first new album in a decade, Renaissance Men, in 2019.

Discography

EPs

Albums

DVDs

  • Live at The Castle - The Wildhearts (Secret, 2005)
  • In the Studio - The Wildhearts (Round, 2008)
  • Live at the Bush - The Wildhearts (2010)

References
  1. "The Wildhearts - History". Thewildhearts.com. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  2. "Tattooed Love Boys | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  3. "WILDHEARTS | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  4. "HONEYCRACK | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 4 March 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. "HONEYCRACK - TOUR DATES INDEX". Oocities.org. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  7. "CJ's PledgeMusic Campaign Goes Live". 31 January 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  8. "The World of CJ Wildheart: Photo". Cjwildheart.tumblr.com. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  10. "The World of CJ Wildheart: Photo". Ccjwildheart.tumblr.com. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  11. "CJ Wildheart - 'Mable' (Self Released)". Uberrock.co.uk. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  12. "Best 40 Albums of 2014: 10 – 1 | PureRawk.com". Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  13. "Uber Rock's Albums of the Year 2014". Uberrock.co.uk. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  14. "Best (and worst) Albums of 2014 - Rock and Roll Geek Show 603 | The Rock and Roll Geek Show". Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  15. "Pure Rawk Awards 2015 winners announced!". PureRawk.com. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  18. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 4 March 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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