Simon Goddard


Simon Goddard is a British author and music journalist.
He was born in Wales, later moving to Scotland. Though a writer by profession, Goddard originally went to art school in Carlisle, then Hull, and briefly considered a career in visual media. In 1995 he directed his one and only pop promo for Edwyn Collins. He started freelance writing the following year and eventually found regular work as a music journalist in London. He has written for various magazines and newspapers including Uncut, The Guardian and Record Collector. In 2006 he joined Q magazine where he is currently listed among its Contributing Editors.
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. The latter was voted Book Of The Year by readers of Mojo magazine and has since been published in America by Plume, and in Brazil by Leya.
In the wake of Mozipedia, Goddard’s writing style and choice of subjects has broadened considerably, adopting a frequently unorthodox approach to popular music narratives. Ziggyology presented an evolutionary history of David Bowie’s extraterrestrial Ziggy Stardust persona, taking as its starting point the creation of the universe itself. Simply Thrilled was the first biography of the influential Scottish indie label Postcard Records written as a whimsical post-punk comedy of manners. His 2015 Rollaresque was a "mock-picaresque biographical novel" documenting the early adventures of The Rolling Stones as if it had been written in the 19th century. His most recent book is The Comeback, telling the story of Elvis Presley and his 1968 Comeback Special which made both Q and Mojo magazines' 2018 Music Books Of The Year lists, described as "a genre-busting modernist rock'n'roll fable".
Goddard has also supplied the accompanying essays to two deluxe collections by esteemed rock photographer Tom Sheehan and written several sleevenotes including reissues by Orange Juice, Siouxsie & The Banshees, Nico and Soft Cell.

Works