Simon Goddard (born

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

, 21 December 1971) is a British author and music journalist. He was born in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, later moving to

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. Though a writer by profession, Goddard originally went to art school in

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...

, then Hull, and briefly considered a career in visual media. In 1995 he directed his one and only pop promo for

Edwyn Collins Edwyn Stephen Collins (born 23 August 1959) is a Scottish musician, producer and record label owner from Edinburgh, Scotland. Collins was the lead singer for the 1980s post-punk band Orange Juice, which he co-founded. After the group split in ...

(the subject of one of his future books, ''Simply Thrilled''). He started freelance writing the following year and eventually found regular work as a music journalist in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. His first two books, ''Songs That Saved Your Life'' and ''Mozipedia'', established his initial reputation in the ‘00s as an authority on

The Smiths The Smiths were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982. They comprised the singer Morrissey, the guitarist Johnny Marr, the bassist Andy Rourke and the drummer Mike Joyce. They are regarded as one of the most important acts to emerg ...

and their former lead singer

Morrissey Steven Patrick Morrissey (; born 22 May 1959), known professionally as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. Since then ...

. The latter was voted Book Of The Year by readers of ''

Mojo Mojo may refer to: * Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * MOJO HD, an American television network * ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film * ' ...

'' magazine and has since been published in

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

by Plume, and in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

by Leya. Since 2010 Goddard's writing style and choice of subjects has greatly diversified, including the first biography of

Postcard Records Postcard Records is a British, Glasgow-based, independent record label founded by Alan Horne in 1979, as a vehicle for releases by Orange Juice and Josef K. The label's motto was "The Sound of Young Scotland", a parody/tribute to the Motown mot ...

(''Simply Thrilled'', 2014), a picaresque homage to

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

(''Rollaresque'', 2015), and 2018’s novelistic ''The Comeback'' telling the story of

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

and his 1968 Comeback Special. The latter made both '' Q'' and ''Mojo'' magazines' Music Books Of The Year lists. In 2020 he began his ''Bowie Odyssey'' series with

Omnibus Press Omnibus Press is a publisher of music-related books. It publishes around 30 new titles a year to add to a backlist of over 250 titles currently in print. History Omnibus Press was launched in 1972 as a general non-fiction publisher to complem ...

, chronicling the life of

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

against the cultural and social history of the 1970s, year-by-year. The first, ''Bowie Odyssey 70'', was a ''

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

'' Music Book Of The Year. The fourth in the series, ''Bowie Odyssey 73'', will be published in May 2023. As a freelance journalist, his work has appeared in ''

Uncut Uncut may refer to: * ''Uncut'' (film), a 1997 Canadian docudrama film by John Greyson about censorship * ''Uncut'' (magazine), a monthly British magazine with a focus on music, which began publishing in May 1997 * '' BET: Uncut'', a Black Enter ...

'', ''Mojo'', ''

Record Collector ''Record Collector'' is a British monthly music magazine. It was founded in 1980 and distributes worldwide. History The early years The first standalone issue of ''Record Collector'' was published in March 1980, though its history stretches ba ...

'' and newspapers including ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' and ''

The Mail On Sunday ''The Mail on Sunday'' is a British conservative newspaper, published in a tabloid format. It is the biggest-selling Sunday newspaper in the UK and was launched in 1982 by Lord Rothermere. Its sister paper, the '' Daily Mail'', was first pu ...

''. In 2006 he joined ''Q'' magazine where he remained a Contributing Editor until it ceased publication in July 2020. Goddard has also supplied the accompanying essays to rock photographer Tom Sheehan's collection ''The Cure: Pictures Of You'' (a 2022 Rough Trade Book Of The Year) and written sleevenotes for reissues and boxsets by

Orange Juice Orange juice is a liquid extract of the orange (fruit), orange tree fruit, produced by squeezing or reaming oranges. It comes in several different varieties, including blood orange, navel oranges, valencia orange, clementine, and tangerine. A ...

Siouxsie and The Banshees Siouxsie and the Banshees were a British rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. They have been widely influential, both over their contemporaries and with later acts. ''Q'' magazine in ...

,Goddard, Simon (2005). "Siouxsie and the Banshees ''The Scream'' iner notes deluxe edition. Universal Music. 2005.

Nico Naftiran Intertrade Company Société à responsabilité limitée#In Switzerland, limited (NICO) is a Switzerland, Swiss-based subsidiary of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC). NICO is a general contractor for the oil and gas industry. NIOC bu ...

Soft Cell Soft Cell are an English synthpop duo who came to prominence in the early 1980s. The duo consists of vocalist Marc Almond and instrumentalist David Ball. The band are primarily known for their 1981 hit version of "Tainted Love" and their plat ...

and

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

Works

* ''Songs That Saved Your Life'' — ''The Art of The Smiths 1982-87'', (2002; revised edition 2013, Titan Books) * ''Mozipedia'' — ''The Encyclopedia of Morrissey and The Smiths'', (2009, Ebury Press) * ''Ziggyology'' — ''A Brief History of Ziggy Stardust'', (2013, Ebury Press) * ''Simply Thrilled'' — ''The Preposterous Story of Postcard Records'', (2014, Ebury Press) * ''Rollaresque'' — ''(Or) The Rakish Progress of The Rolling Stones'', (2015, Ebury Press) * ''The Comeback'' — ''Elvis and the Story of the 68 Special'', (2018, Omnibus Press) * ''Bowie Odyssey 70'' (2020, Omnibus Press) * ''Bowie Odyssey 71'' (2021, Omnibus Press) * ''Bowie Odyssey 72'' (2022, Omnibus Press) * ''Bowie Odyssey 73'' (2023, Omnibus Press)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goddard, Simon British male journalists Living people 1971 births