Geoff Goddard - Biography

Biography

Goddard was born in Reading, Berkshire, England. He sang in choir in a local church before going on to study the viola and piano at the Royal Academy of Music in London. Following national service, he sought to move into popular music, and met Meek. He initially attempted to establish himself as a Russ Conway/Liberace styled singer-pianist under the stage-name "Anton Hollywood". Meek promoted him, but he was unable to achieve success.

Eventually he released his solo records under his real name. He recorded four singles as solo artist, produced by Joe Meek, on which he sang with his distinctive regional accent:

• "Girl Bride" / "For Eternity" HMV POP 938 October 1961
• "My Little Girl's Come Home" / "Try Once More" HMV POP 1068 September 1962
• "Saturday Dance" / "Come Back To Me" HMV POP 1160 May 1963
• "Sky Men" / "Walk With Me My Angel" HMV POP 1213 October 1963

It is probable that a fifth single "Don't You Make My Baby Cry", credited to Percy Evanston, was a Geoff Goddard single released, for reasons unknown, under an assumed name. This US record is rare but can be heard on The Exceptional Joe Meek - The Missing Recordings & Rarities - There's Lots More Where This Came From album. The Oxford label CD also featured seven of the above named tracks ("Sky Men" being the exception) plus Goddard's demo of his song, "My Friend Bobby".

His best known efforts were as a songwriter. His first work for Meek was the instrumental "Lone Riders" for The Flee-Rekkers. He then penned "Johnny Remember Me" for John Leyton. It became a 1 hit single in the UK Singles Chart. Goddard also played keyboards on various of Meek's productions, most notably another chart-topper, The Tornados', "Telstar".

Despite his considerable track record as a songwriter, Goddard withdrew from the music industry after falling out with Meek. He brought a breach of copyright case in 1965 against Meek concerning the The Honeycombs' hit "Have I The Right?", written by Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley. Goddard claimed that it borrowed from his earlier song "Give Me The Chance". Goddard was unwilling to testify personally and lost the case.

Subsequently, Goddard returned to his home town and worked for many years in the catering department of the University of Reading. In 1985, the royalties from the Marc Almond and Bronski Beat cover version of "Johnny Remember Me" came as a complete surprise to him.

Goddard died from a heart attack in May 2000, at the age of 62. In the 2009 film, Telstar: The Joe Meek Story, Goddard was portrayed by Tom Burke.