The Would-Be-Goods

Jessica Griffin, whose early years were divided between England and Singapore, first connected with Mike Alway of the Monochrome Set in the late 1980s, an encounter that quickly led her to compose commissioned songs and liner notes for El Records. That association soon granted her the chance to cut her own collection of sharp, distinctly British pop tales, backed by the Monochrome Set under the Would-Be-Goods name. The 1988 appearance of their landmark album The Camera Loves Me thrust Griffin and her group—featuring her sister Miranda—into the emerging twee pop scene, despite scant promotional support and the band’s complete absence from live stages. As a result, she slipped from view and waited five years before issuing another record, Mondo, in 1992. Following a period spent in the fashion industry, Griffin reassembled the Would-Be-Goods with a fresh lineup that included Peter Momtchiloff, the seminal twee pop guitarist previously in Heavenly, and delivered Brief Lives in 2002 along with several concert appearances that marked a striking artistic resurgence. Drummer Debbie Green, late of Thee Headcoatees, and bassist Lupe Nunez-Fernández from Pipas joined for the 2004 release The Morning After. When Nunez-Fernández later left, Andy Warren, who had performed with the Would-Be-Goods during his Monochrome Set tenure, stepped in and assisted the band on their strong 2008 album Eventyr.