Jamie was interviewed by the wonderful Pat Capp. Jamie has known Clive and Pat since Primary School as their children went to the same school.
Jamie Goddard interview on Marlow FM
Jamie’s third time on Marlow FM, and his first time in the new studio.
Host: And that was Move It by Cliff Richard. Welcome to Jamie Goddard from The Zoots. Before we get into everything, why are you called The Zoots?
Jamie: It’s a good story, actually. My dad used to be my manager, and he was speaking to an agent about coming up with a concept for a new show. I was already established in the industry, but we were trying to think of something fresh.
They were talking about doing a 60s show and saying it would be really smart — they’d probably wear suits. The agent on the phone said, “Yeah, that’s a really good name.” My dad said, “What, Zoots?” The agent went quiet because he’d actually said “suits” — but that’s how the name happened. I only found that out last year when my dad told me. So that’s how it came about.
Host: And you’ve kept the name ever since?
Jamie: Yes — that was back in 2009.
Host: Wow, that’s fantastic. Tell me how you started. Has music always been a big part of your childhood and your family?
Jamie: Definitely. My granddad was a chorister — I never met him — and we later found out that he got a scholarship to Eton College as a chorister. My dad was offered the same scholarship too.
Host: Did your dad go?
Jamie: No, he didn’t, because his brother failed the exam and my grandmother wanted them both to go to the same school. My brother Martin also got a music scholarship, and my dad played drums in pop bands in the 60s and 70s.
Host: What bands was your dad in?
Jamie: He was part of a group connected to the band that had a hit with Beach Baby in 1974, called The First Class. Later they became something called Bobby Dazzler. Eventually he got replaced by Zak Starkey — Ringo Starr’s son — who later went on to play with Oasis and The Who.
Host: Does he feel bad about that?
Jamie: I don’t think so. By that point he’d given up music. In fact, he literally buried his drum kit in our garden at our old house in Knowl Hill.
Host: Tell us that story.
Jamie: There was a slight slope at the end of the garden where it backed onto the A4, and he dug a hole there. He’d given up music, so he buried the drum kit almost like a ceremonial end to his career. That’s what happened. If he’d kept it, it would probably be worth tens of thousands now — but instead it’s still buried there somewhere.
Host: I doubt it would be fit for purpose now.
Jamie: Definitely not.
Host: So you went to school locally?
Jamie: Yes. I went to Wye, then St Pirans. I failed the exam for Borlase and ended up at Desborough, which was a lot of fun.
Host: And that’s where you started playing in bands?
Jamie: Yes, in a pop band with my older brother Martin. He was very musical because of his scholarship. Dad still had a drum kit in the loft, and I used to sneak up there and play it. We had a lot of complaints from the neighbours, because if you play drums in a loft, it might as well be outside.
That’s really how I got into music.
Host: Did you have any formal training?
Jamie: At school I was in the choir, and after school I went to music college. That was mainly to learn drums. I also went to Buckinghamshire University for a year to do a music management course, but I was too busy gigging to carry on.
Host: Do you enjoy gigging?
Jamie: I love singing and playing.
Host: You don’t find it exhausting?
Jamie: Not at all. You’re on a high. It’s all the other stuff — the logistics and organising everything — that’s tiring for me.
Host: Do you have a manager?
Jamie: Not really anymore. I ended up doing it all myself. So if there’s anybody out there who wants to help manage The Zoots, I need all the help I can get really.
Host: There you are — Jamie from The Zoots says if anybody out there has management experience, get in touch. What kind of help do you need?
Jamie: Mainly help booking shows, because I book everything myself. Some of them do really well — the Soar Mill show always sells out.
Host: Has it sold out now?
Jamie: Pretty much, yes. It’s on 22 February. I think there are only a couple of individual seats left.
Host: One at the front and one in the middle somewhere, I think.
Jamie: Yes. We are quite a successful group, but the more successful you get, the more gigs you need to do to pay for everything — the van, the musicians, the running costs. You play with better musicians, so you have to pay more, and you have to try to keep hold of them. So really it’s about getting more shows.
Host: Let’s play one of the tracks you very kindly sent through. We’ve got The Sound of Silence, Lazy Sunday Afternoon or Surfin’ USA. Which one would you like?
Jamie: Surfin’ USA. Let’s think about hot weather in California.
Host: And that was Jamie Goddard with Surfin’ USA. So you started with you and your brother?
Jamie: Yes.
Host: When did you think, “We need more people”?
Jamie: Well, I had a band at school when I was really young.
Host: You were still at school then?
Jamie: Yes — I was probably only 11 or 12 when I did my first gig.
Host: Good lord.
Jamie: I played drums in the band. It’s quite funny — we used to play all the pubs around here, and I had this huge drum kit that I’d hide behind. You’d never get away with it these days, being 12 or 13 in pubs with all these older guys, who were probably 17 or 18.
Host: That’s quite something at that age. Were you not nervous? You seem very confident.
Jamie: I loved it, but I hid behind the drum kit because it was intimidating. It was different in those days. But it was a great experience, and we played everywhere locally. Then my brother and I joined another band based in London, and we started playing more pubs outside Marlow, around Maidenhead, Reading and West London.
Eventually I thought, “I need to start making a living from this.”
Host: So you weren’t really earning much at first?
Jamie: Not really. When you’re a teenager it doesn’t matter, but as I got older — with a girlfriend and thoughts of moving out — I realised I had no money. Looking back, the money pub musicians were paid in the 90s hasn’t really changed.
So then I started playing on my own more, as a singer. Most of the time before that I’d been a drummer. I could get away with being a drummer in a pub as a teenager, but as a singer it would have been too obvious.
I could always sing, and eventually I started doing pub gigs solo, then moving on to parties and weddings.
Host: How did you find the other members of your band? Who is in it now?
Jamie: That’s a good question. The band has changed over the years and I’ve used lots of different people. You have to gel, and once people start settling down or having families, touring doesn’t always suit their lifestyle.
So it’s about finding the right people. In some ways it’s easier to get younger people with fewer ties, because they’re still hungry to do it.
Host: How do you find them? Do you advertise?
Jamie: A lot of it is word of mouth. These days it’s easier because you can also find people online. You just keep looking for people who are not only good musicians, but entertaining performers.
Because we’re selling tickets now, you can’t just be a good musician — you’ve got to be a good performer, and reliable too. The stakes are higher. If people are paying £25 or more for a ticket, they want a proper show.
Host: Yes, you can’t just stand there and play. You’re quite a dynamic band. Who choreographs all that?
Jamie: To begin with we had a choreographer, a long time ago, who showed us a few things — simple Shadows-style moves. Once we had that starting point, we could think about what would work for each song.
But it depends who’s in the band. Some people have lead feet, so you think, “Maybe only two of us should do this bit.” It’s really about working out what suits each person and adding little touches.
Host: Is your band complete at the moment?
Jamie: We’re in a bit of a transition because we’ve got a couple of new people. We’ve got a really great drummer called Charlie Gregory. He’s like an internet sensation, and he’s only 21. Every time people see him play, they say he’s the best drummer they’ve ever seen.
Host: So the rest of you are superfluous!
Jamie: No, but it helps to have a mix. Having an entertaining 21-year-old drummer takes some of the pressure off me and Harriet to be “on” all the time.
Host: How did you meet Harriet? Was she your girlfriend first?
Jamie: I was singing on Independence of the Seas, a Royal Caribbean cruise ship. Harriet was there with a group of friends. We stopped in Cobh, in Ireland, and I got chatting to this group of girls — they were all dressed as pirates.
The night before, we’d been doing a gig in Devon and then drove straight to Heathrow and got on a plane with no sleep. All the guys in the band stayed on the ship to sleep, but I thought, “I might never come back here, so I’m going out.”
I met this group in a pub. Harriet was there on a hen party, but I actually first spoke to her twin sister and her friend. I invited them all to the theatre the next day and said I’d give their friend Rachel a shout-out.
Host: That’s quite a chat-up line.
Jamie: It really wasn’t — it was innocent! I just thought it would be nice to get people involved in the show. There were about 20 or 30 of them. Harriet was part of that group, and later on the cruise I got to know her better.
She wasn’t a singer, but she started helping me run the band and eventually began performing with us. At one point we had a young drummer who played like an old man, and I said to Harriet, “Can you gee him up?” I gave her a tambourine, and that’s how it started.
At first she played behind the curtain, but I said, “Come up here.” She’s very attractive and has a really unique performance style. She was ill in the summer, and trying to replace her was really difficult because she’s not a trained singer, but she’s a performer — part dancer, part percussionist, part crowd motivator.
Host: Did you manage to find someone?
Jamie: Yes, but you can find a singer, or a dancer, or a percussionist — it’s harder to find someone who can do all three. Harriet does all of that.
Host: Is she better now?
Jamie: Yes, she’s back and doing most of the gigs again.
Host: Let’s play Lazy Sunday Afternoon. Before we do, how do you choose your music?
Jamie: Sometimes it’s trial and error. When we started, we did a lot of holiday resorts, where you’re playing 60 songs and trying to win over a family audience. So we had to learn very quickly which songs worked well.
Host: Do you find 60s music is especially good at bringing people together?
Jamie: Absolutely. Probably better than most genres. But it’s about finding the 60s songs that are still relevant today — and there are still loads of them.
The great thing now is that we get all the generations in the audience: grandparents, their children, and their grandchildren. Sometimes three or even four generations all enjoying the same music.
Host: I do wonder how much of today’s music will still be around in 10 years’ time.
Jamie: Honestly, not much. Maybe one or two songs. Music just doesn’t generate the same money anymore. If you think about how much a single used to cost compared to now, there used to be real money in record sales. That meant labels could invest in new acts and promotion — TV, radio, magazines.
Now the money is mostly in live music, which is fine for me because that’s what I do.
Host: I bought myself a record player at Christmas, so I’m very into vinyl at the moment. I found my first-ever 45 — Satisfaction by The Rolling Stones. It cost seven and six.
Jamie: Wow.
Host: We’ve found loads of vinyl in the loft. My father loved Glenn Miller, and I was brought up on that. Vinyl seems to be making a comeback.
Jamie: It is, but it’s not cheap now. It’s nostalgic. Sometimes we bring old LPs and 60s records to our shows — mostly not even to sell, but just for people to look through and remember those times. We do a meet-and-greet after the show, and it triggers so many memories.
Even though I wasn’t alive in the 60s, it reminds me of the music my parents listened to. They had all the Beatles, Stones, The Who, The Kinks — all of that. That’s how I got into it.
Host: And that was Lazy Sunday Afternoon by The Zoots. We’ve had a couple of messages in. John says, “What a fantastic band.” He first saw The Zoots on a cruise ship.
Jamie: Fantastic.
Host: So you’ve got Harriet in the band, a strong line-up, and you just need somebody to help manage the bookings?
Jamie: Yes. There’s a lot of work involved. And we do a lot of private events too — weddings and parties — so it’s about reminding people that although we play big festivals and theatre shows, we’re also available for private bookings.
I occasionally sing solo as well, especially for smaller events or special occasions.
Host: So you don’t discount anything. How far will you travel?
Jamie: We’ll travel anywhere, really. In June we’re doing a wedding reception in Menorca.
Host: That’s not a bad trip.
Jamie: Not at all. We’ve played all around here too — places like the Crowne Plaza. I think when people see you doing big tours, they assume you won’t want to do smaller events, but we absolutely still do.
Host: What have you got coming up locally?
Jamie: There are a couple of tickets left for the Sounds of the Sixties show on 22 February. It’s at The Soar Mill.
Host: Only single seats left though!
Jamie: Yes. It’s a lovely venue, great food, and I absolutely love playing there. I was born in Knowl Hill, so it feels local to me.
We’re also doing our first-ever show at the Kenton Theatre in Henley on 29 May. It’s a new show called The Sixties Talent Show.
Host: What’s that?
Jamie: We have a compère who comes on and takes votes. We dress up as different bands — say The Beatles, then The Kinks — and play a song by each. The audience votes for who they preferred, and the winner goes through to the next round.
So throughout the night we become different bands: The Beach Boys, The Beatles, The Kinks, Small Faces, The Who, The Monkees and others. In between, the compère sings while we frantically get changed and find wigs and costumes.
Host: That sounds stressful.
Jamie: It is! But it’s really fun, and the audience laughs a lot. We’ve done it about four times so far, and it’s always different because the audience decides what happens in the second half.
Host: Which band tends to win?
Jamie: I won’t spoil it — and it depends on the audience in the room.
Host: And what else is coming up?
Jamie: We’re back at Norden Farm, where those songs were recorded, on 5 September. That’s a great venue and it will definitely sell out.
Host: You’ve got a really good local following.
Jamie: The nice thing about Maidenhead is that I recognise almost everyone in the audience — friends, family, old school friends, people I know from Sainsbury’s or Waitrose. It’s very local.
Host: So people can go to thezoots.com for details?
Jamie: Yes — www.thezoots.com. All the links are there. The Kenton Theatre tickets are sold through them directly, but they haven’t gone live yet.
Host: You’re going to play something live for us now. Are you warmed up enough?
Jamie: It’s warm in here, so yes. I’m not sure what I’m going to play yet though.
Host: We’ll leave it up to you.
Host: That was amazing. Thank you so much. What about the future — what are you hoping to do?
Jamie: My plan is just to keep playing as long as I can. We’ve got some cruise ship gigs this year, hopefully. I’ve got three booked at the moment, including one involving Germany, although I haven’t fully looked through it all yet.
Host: You do need some help, don’t you?
Jamie: I do! We’ve got some cruises booked with Saga, so that gives you an idea of the age group. I’m also hoping to do more touring. I’ve been touring Belgium and Holland for the last four years in another show called The Bootleg Sixties.
Host: How did that happen?
Jamie: I’m part of that show, and it’s been very successful. We’ve sold over 100,000 tickets over there.
Host: Good lord, really?
Jamie: Yes, it’s done very well.
Host: We’ve had a request in from Barbara and Andy — they’d like Daydream Believer. And Sarah has asked for The Everly Brothers.
Jamie: Brilliant.
Host: So you’ve got cruises coming up, but you’re also available for weddings and parties?
Jamie: Absolutely.
Host: And again, how far would you travel?
Jamie: Anywhere, really. Barbara and Andy’s 60th was near Harleston in Norfolk, I think. So as long as it’s the right event, we’ll travel. As I said, we’re doing Menorca too.
In total, we’ve played in 35 countries.
Host: Really? What’s the biggest venue you’ve played?
Jamie: We headlined Twinwood Festival and played the main arena there, which is meant to be around 10,000 people.
Host: How does that feel?
Jamie: It makes all the hard work worthwhile. At a festival you can usually see the crowd better than in a theatre. It’s just a great energy — everyone’s having fun, and I know exactly what to do to make the crowd happy. That’s one of the reasons I do it: seeing people happy and enjoying the music.
Host: We had someone on here who works with people with dementia, and he said music is so powerful for bringing back memories.
Jamie: Definitely. If I’m not touring, I’ve done a few care homes between tours. If I’m available, I’d happily do more. All I need is a guitar — I don’t need the full crew and all the gear.
Host: Talking of the crew, who else is involved? Who does your lighting and sound?
Jamie: It depends on the show and the venue. We usually have our own sound engineer, but we use a few different freelance people depending on availability. Sometimes the venue has its own lighting engineer.
It’s not always the same people, but we’ve got a really good handful of regulars, and it’s always a strong team.
Host: And the band members?
Jamie: As I said, Charlie Gregory is our drummer at the moment and he’s fantastic. Harriet also runs her own art business, Made by Harriet. She’s just released a book and mainly draws cats and dogs. She’s built a huge following on social media and is very successful in her own right.
That actually brings extra people to the shows — sometimes people come up afterwards with tattoos of her artwork.
We also have Jamie Cook playing with us on some shows. I toured with him in The Bootleg Sixties. He’s an amazing guitarist and has played with Elton John, backed Lionel Richie, played with Peter Noone, and appeared on TV with Robin Gibb. He lives in Essex, so he can’t do every show, but he’s incredible.
Host: We’re going to play your last track, Wonderful World. If you haven’t booked to see The Zoots yet, I strongly suggest you do. Just go to www.thezoots.com. They’re also on Facebook and Instagram.
If you’ve got a wedding coming up — or frankly even a funeral and you want something lively — Jamie might be your man.
Jamie: Let me know!
Host: Thank you so much for coming in tonight. It’s been absolutely lovely to have you here. You’ve come all the way up from Wiltshire, so take it easy on the drive back.
Jamie: Thank you for having me.
Host: I’ve known Jamie since he was very young, which makes me feel rather old. But thank you all for listening. This is Pat Cap saying I’ll be back in a couple of weeks, and a very big thank you to my guest Jamie Goddard for joining us on Marlow FM.
You can listen again on the Marlow FM website. Take care of yourselves, and mind the roads.
