My first thought on reading just the title of this thread was
Gooseberry !!
Certainly if you want spikes, Gooseberry sports some pretty nasty ones!
As for it's growing preferences, I'd say it isn't too fussy if mine is anything to go by. It appears to have self-seeded near the door to my largest garden shed. It never grows very high though as it is trimmed back regularly due to it's location. Originally I tried cutting it down to the ground, (as it's roots go under the shed) but it kept on coming back! It gets creosote substitute spilt on it every year when the shed gets treated, but this does not seem to hinder it's growth either. In fact, yesterday I noticed next door seems to have one sprung up in her garden too, whether that came from ours or not I cannot say, but she did not plant it herself.
Maybe a tad accademic given how resilient my plant seems to be, but the garden soil is heavy clay and the Gooseberry plant itself faces South West, straight into the prevailing wind from the sea.
This is my only experience of the Gooseberry plant, but 'hope it helps
D.