Geoff Goddard

Born in 1937 in Reading, Berkshire, England, and passing away on 15 May 2000 in England, Goddard trained on piano at London’s Royal Academy of Music. There he crossed paths with record producer Joe Meek, who cast him in the role of an exotic cabaret-style pianist during the early 1960s. As a songwriter Goddard frequently teamed with Meek and contributed performances to several releases on Meek’s RGM Records label, appearing on tracks that included “Sky Men” and the major success “Telstar.” Their joint efforts also yielded “Tribute To Buddy Holly,” cut by Mike Berry, along with “Johnny Remember Me,” which became a hit for John Leyton; Leyton further recorded “Lone Ranger,” “Wild Wind” and “Son, This Is She.” Reports circulated that the pair’s promotional choices were guided by the spirit of Buddy Holly, summoned in séances held at Meek’s Holloway Road flat—the same premises where much of the recording occurred and where Meek would murder his landlady before taking his own life in 1967. Persistent disputes over authorship clouded the Goddard/Meek partnership. Goddard additionally supplied the Eddie Cochran tribute “Just Like Eddie,” a 1963 hit for Meek protégé Heinz. The association ended amid lawsuits concerning Meek’s “Have I The Right,” recorded by the Honeycombs, which Goddard maintained was taken directly from his own “Give Me The Chance.”

Although he composed “My Head Goes Round” for Cliff Richard, Goddard slipped into obscurity, a path he reportedly chose. In the mid-1980s “Johnny Remember Me” surfaced on an album by Bronski Beat and Marc Almond, furnishing royalties that augmented his earnings as a kitchen assistant at Reading University. He succumbed to a heart attack in 2000.