Simon Goddard

Simon Goddard (born Cardiff, 21 December 1971) is a British author and music journalist.

Though a writer by profession, Goddard originally trained at art college and briefly considered a career in visual media. In 1995 he directed his one and only pop promo for Edwyn Collins^[1] (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.

His first two books, Songs That Saved Your Life and Mozipedia, established his initial reputation as an authority on The Smiths and their former lead singer Morrissey. Since the latter’s publication in 2009, Goddard’s writing style and choice of subjects has broadened considerably, taking a frequently unorthodox approach to popular music subjects. Ziggyology (2013) presented an evolutionary history of David Bowie’s extraterrestrial Ziggy Stardust persona, taking as its starting point the creation of the universe itself.^[2] Simply Thrilled (2014) was the first biography of the influential Scottish indie label Postcard Records written as a whimsical post-punk comedy of manners.^[3] Goddard’s most recent book, Rollaresque (2015), documents the early adventures of The Rolling Stones in the form of a picaresque novel.^[4]

He is related to the Huguenot Victorian textile designer George Haité (Goddard’s great-great-great grandfather) and namesake son, the late Victorian designer, artist, illustrator and art critic George Charles Haité, both of whose archives are housed in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Goddard’s own art designs include illustrated maps for Simply Thrilled (as part of a limited number Record Store Day giveaway) and Rollaresque (printed as the endpapers in the hardback edition).

He is published in the United Kingdom by Ebury Press, part of the Penguin Random House group. Mozipedia has also been published in America by Plume, and in Brazil by Leya.

Works

References