Jamie was luck enough to be interviewed by Dominic Cotter on BBB Radio Wiltshire on Friday 21st August 2026.
Dominic:
My guest this afternoon has arrived — and he’s brought a very funky T-shirt with him as well!
He’s an amazing musician. His name is Jamie Goddard, frontman of the Wiltshire band The Zoots. They’re playing a whole host of dates, including Salisbury Arts Centre and Cheltenham Playhouse, with their Sounds of the Sixties show.
We’ll catch up with him in a moment.
It’s 11 minutes past two. This is the BBC across Gloucestershire and Wiltshire.
Dominic:
Let’s introduce my guest this afternoon — a hugely talented musician from our part of the world. It’s Jamie Goddard, frontman of The Zoots.
You can look them up online. He’s brought the T-shirts in, he’s got the merchandise, and he’s got all the tour dates in front of us.
And you were enjoying the theme tune to Happy Days, weren’t you?
Jamie:
Absolutely! I love that. I used to watch Happy Days all the time when it was on in the 80s. I loved that programme.
Dominic:
That, The A-Team, The Incredible Hulk, The Flintstones — all of those!
What was it like for you growing up? Did you realise from a young age that you were going to have a career in music?
Jamie:
I think so. My dad was in the music business — he was a drummer — so we always had musical instruments around the house and lots of records and vinyl.
My dad was also a chorister, and my grandad was a chorister too, so singing and music were always in the family. I think it was probably destined to happen.
Dominic:
It’s a funny thing, isn’t it? I remember sitting around Sunday lunch when I was about 16 and saying that I wanted to go into radio.
My mum was an occupational therapist and my dad had his own small business. They weren’t completely against the idea, but back then you often heard, “That’s far too creative — go and work in a bank or do something sensible.”
We’ve recently had GCSE results, so there are lots of young people thinking about their futures.
For you, though, it sounds as though your family were quite supportive of you going into music.
Jamie:
They are now!
At the time, when I was at school, they were saying, “You can’t make a career out of music.”
But 30 years later, I’m still singing, playing music and booking shows, so I think it’s probably too late to try anything else now!
Dominic:
It is so lovely to hear Jamie Goddard and The Zoots performing California Dreamin’.
That was a live performance as well, wasn’t it?
Jamie:
Yes, it’s from our Sounds of the Sixties show.
It doesn’t always sound that good!
Dominic:
It sounds absolutely superb. It sounds as though it could have been recorded in a studio.
Jamie:
I actually prefer recording live because I think you get a nicer atmosphere.
You’re performing to people, and I love the sound and energy you get from a live recording.
Dominic:
How do you record something like that live? Do you need lots of technicians and equipment?
Jamie:
It’s actually quite straightforward. You record from the mixing desk and add a couple of microphones to capture the atmosphere of the room.
Then you just pick the best bits.
Dominic:
I have to say, obviously this is radio, but you look very dapper today.
What you wear on stage is quite important to you, isn’t it?
Jamie:
Well, I’ve been told I’ve got a great face for radio!
But yes, we do try to wear good costumes. We have lots of costume changes during the show.
With Sounds of the Sixties, we want to take people back on a journey and remind them of those great shirts, jackets and outfits from that era.
Dominic:
You’ve been doing this for about 30 years now, and you clearly still love it.
Nobody really starts out in a business thinking, “I’m definitely going to be doing this in 30 years’ time.”
As an independent artist, you have to be incredibly driven, don’t you? If you don’t get the gigs booked, you’re not earning.
Jamie:
Absolutely. It’s very competitive and there are lots of people who want to do what I do.
Luckily, I’ve built up some really good contacts and have some excellent people working with me.
For example, we had a tour cancelled this week. Within about three hours, I’d managed to book another one.
I was very worried for about four hours!
But because we’ve been around for a long time, we’ve got that network.
I’ve also got some really good people in the band at the moment, including local musicians like Neil Hopkins, who has been with me for quite a while and plays bass and guitar, and Harriet Lowther.
We’ve got a good, established team, so if something goes wrong, we’ve usually got some sort of backup.
Dominic:
You just casually said, “I managed to organise another tour within a few hours.”
That’s incredible!
Contacts are clearly very important.
What is touring like these days? Do you stay in hotels, or do you try to come home?
Jamie:
It depends where we are.
We do try to come home whenever possible because it saves on costs. We book most of the shows ourselves.
We’ve also got a really lovely audience. We’re still performing music from the 60s, so naturally a lot of our audience members are people who remember that era.
But the audience is definitely getting younger too. People bring their children and grandchildren along now, so we get all sorts of age groups at our concerts, which is great.
Dominic:
That’s probably partly because so much 60s music is still used in documentaries, on Netflix, on TikTok and in advertising.
It keeps introducing the songs to new generations.
Jamie:
Absolutely. It’s really important.
Dominic:
How do you decide which artists and songs you’re going to perform?
We’ve heard California Dreamin’, and we’re going to hear a little bit of Lazy Sunday Afternoon as well.
Jamie:
I think we’ve done the show so many times that you gradually work out which songs get the best response and which ones are still relevant.
For example, California Dreamin’ is still used in adverts, radio jingles and all sorts of things, so it remains very current.
People are often surprised when they bring their grandchildren to the show and say, “They knew the songs better than I did!”
That’s because the music is still being used everywhere.
There’s something about that retro sound that keeps it alive. The 60s were such an exciting time, and I think you can still feel that energy in the records.
Dominic:
You’re going to be sticking around for a little while, which is good because I’m looking through your tour dates here and there are loads of them.
You’re at Melksham Assembly Hall on 27 November, Salisbury Arts Centre on 22 October, and Cheltenham Playhouse on 17 October.
We’ll run through some more of those shortly.
Thanks for coming in.
Jamie:
Thank you for having me. I’m thoroughly enjoying my Friday afternoon in the studio with you!
Dominic:
More from my guest this afternoon, Wiltshire-based Jamie Goddard, frontman of The Zoots, coming up shortly.
We’ll get to more of the tour dates after The Beatles.
Dominic:
We’ve got a wonderful guest in this afternoon — Wiltshire-based Jamie Goddard, frontman of The Zoots.
Their Sounds of the Sixties show is heading to venues including Salisbury Arts Centre in October, Melksham Assembly Hall in November, and Cheltenham Playhouse on 17 October.
We’ll mention some more dates in a moment, but first — tell us your Beatles story.
Jamie:
I once did a gig at London Guildhall for the 50th anniversary of the Toyota Corolla.
Toyota asked me to sing All You Need Is Corolla instead of All You Need Is Love.
I said, “But it doesn’t even rhyme!”
And they said, “We don’t care.”
So I had to sing it.
Dominic:
Was that a little awkward?
Jamie:
Yes, but I did it!
Dominic:
You went along with it.
The things we do for art and the things we do for money are sometimes two different things!
Dominic:
You clearly love performing on stage.
Do you prefer a smaller, more intimate venue, or a big festival?
I can see you’ve played places like Goodwood Festival. Festivals obviously bring bigger crowds, but it’s not just about the money, is it?
Jamie:
No.
The thing I love most is seeing how the music affects people.
Particularly with our 60s show, people come along who remember that era. Afterwards, they’ll say, “Your Zoots gig made me feel like a teenager again.”
You can actually see the music energising them.
I completely understand it because, for example, when you played Queen earlier, that does the same thing for me. It reminds me of being a child and hearing those songs when they first came out.
Music is incredibly powerful.
So I think my favourite thing is seeing how it makes other people feel — the reaction and the energy the music creates.
Dominic:
How has the summer been for you? We’ve had droughts and all sorts of extreme weather. Has that affected any festivals or shows?
Jamie:
We’ve been quite lucky.
We did Ramsbury Festival at the beginning of the summer, and that was brilliant.
For the first time ever, we’ve actually been doing outdoor gigs without constantly worrying about rain!
There have obviously been ups and downs because of the heat, but overall it’s been great for us.
It has been very hot — but I don’t mind that.
Dominic:
Especially when you’re performing something like Lazy Sunday Afternoon!
That energy is incredible.
Of course, it was originally by Small Faces, wasn’t it?
Jamie:
Absolutely.
My mum always tells me off for putting on a Cockney accent when I sing it.
Dominic:
What do you say to her?
Jamie:
It’s just an act!
She’s only joking with me.
Dominic:
What’s it like when you’re performing something like that on stage and everybody is going wild?
Jamie:
I love it.
That particular song always makes me think about my neighbours.
I’ve actually got brilliant neighbours in Chiseldon, and I’m very lucky. So when I sing the line about getting on with the neighbours, it’s a bit of a joke because I genuinely spend loads of time at my neighbours’ houses whenever I get a day off.
Dominic:
We’ve mentioned some of your gigs already: Salisbury Arts Centre on 22 October, Melksham Assembly Hall on 27 November, and Cheltenham Playhouse on 17 October.
But you’ve got a few more local dates too.
Jamie:
Yes. We’re doing the 50th anniversary of Kennet Valley Hall in Lockeridge, just outside Marlborough, on 4 September.
We used to rehearse there about 10 years ago. We’d practise all our dance steps in that big hall, so it will be really nice to go back.
We’re also returning to Marlborough for the first time in seven years for our Halloween show.
That’s on 31 October at St Peter’s in Marlborough.
It’s an amazing converted church, so it’s absolutely perfect for Halloween.
We used to do a Marlborough Halloween show every year, and this time we’ve also got dancers from Marlborough Academy of Dance and Drama joining us.
It’s always a brilliant night.
Dominic:
I imagine there’ll be plenty of costumes!
Jamie:
Definitely!
Dominic:
We’ll remind everyone about that nearer the time.
Jamie, thank you so much for coming in.
Jamie:
Thanks very much for having me.
Dominic:
How can people find out more about you? You’re on Instagram, Facebook and everything else?
Jamie:
Yes. You can find us on Facebook and social media by searching for The Zoots.
Our website is thezoots.com, and all our dates and details are there.
If anyone wants to book us for a private party or buy tickets for one of our shows, just search for The Zoots.
Dominic:
Jamie Goddard, you’ve really added to our Friday afternoon, so thank you very much.
Jamie:
Thank you very much for having me.
Dominic:
Lovely to see you.
