CJ Wildheart

Christopher Paul Persaud-Jagdhar (CJ) (born 27 December 1967) is a British musician of Guyanese and Seychellois descent. He is a solo artist and also a founding member of the UK rock band The Wildhearts.^[1]

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 90s, including 2 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.

Honeycrack

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 charts ^[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.

The Jellys

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.

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.

Solo career

Thirteen

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. The album was reissued on CD and vinyl in 2014.^[7]

Mable

On January 31st 2014 CJ announced the preorder for his first solo album in 7 years, which was initially available through the Pledgemusic platform^[8] The album was named after his favourite chicken.^[9]

Achieving 377% of his initial target the album was commercially released on August 4th 2014 peaking at number 23^[10]in the UK album chart and debuting at Number 2 in the Official UK Rock Chart^[11]and Number 2 in Independent Album Breakers Chart, his 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 4/5.^[12] Uber Rock commented "Not many albums will touch 'Mable' this year" ^[13] 'Mable' scored highly in end of year poll lists including Number 2 in Pure Rawk Album of the year List,^[14] Number 6 in the Uber Rock Album of the year list,^[15] and Number 1 in the Rock 'n' Roll Geek Show album of the year list^[16]

On the 6th March 2015 Mable received the "Album of The Year" award at the Pure Rawk Awards held in London^[17]

Robot

Following the success of Mable, CJ launched a second pledge campaign in September 2015 for the follow up album Robot. ^[18]

Additional Appearances

CJ appeared on Ginger's 555% triple album in 2012. He recorded vocals and guitars on the tracks "Silence", "Deep In The Arms Of Morpheus" and "Baby Skies"

CJ appeared at Ginger Wildhearts birthday gigs in December 2011, 2012^[19]and 2013^[20](the latter two both with The Wildhearts).

In 2014 CJ created a line of hot sauce called "Devilspit"^[21]

Discography

EPs

• Mondo Akimbo a-Go-Go - The Wildhearts (Bronze, 1992)
• Don't Be Happy... Just Worry - The Wildhearts (East West, 1992)
• Fishing For Luckies - The Wildhearts (East West, 1994)

Albums

• Bleeding Hearts and Needle Marks - The Tattooed Love Boys (1989)
• Earth Vs The Wildhearts - The Wildhearts (East West, 1993)
• P.H.U.Q. - The Wildhearts (East West, 1994)
• Prozaic - Honeycrack (Epic 1996)
• Welcome to Our World - The Jellys (Mir, 1998)
• Doctored for Supersound - The Jellys (2000)
• Disco Suxx - The Mau-Maus (2001)
• The Wildhearts Must Be Destroyed - The Wildhearts (Gut, 2003)
• The Wildhearts Strike Back (live) - The Wildhearts (Gut, 2004)
• The Wildhearts - The Wildhearts (Cargo, 2007)
• Thirteen - C.J & The Satellites (Cargo, 2007)
• Stop Us If You've Heard This One Before, Vol 1. - The Wildhearts (2008)
• ¡Chutzpah! - The Wildhearts (2009)
• Mable - CJ Wildheart (Devilspit Records, 2014)
• Robot - CJ Wildheart (Devilspit Records, 2015)
• Blood - CJ Wildheart (Devilspit Records, 2017)

DVDs

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

References

External links

• Interview with CJ in Glasgow, Scotland, 2009
• Interview with CJ