Jamie Goddard interviewed on BBC Radio Berkshire from 6th February 2025
Jamie was delighted to go back to his roots with The Zoots to talk about his up and coming shows in Berkshire
Kirsten O’Brien
BBC Radio Berkshire Steelers, well it’s Kirsten O’Brien with you and I want to talk to Jamie Goddard from Maidenhead next because he formed covers band The Zoots in 2009. They were asked to play a show of 60s classics like this. (Plays California Dreamin)
Sounding really good and playing along on not quite air guitar. What are we calling that? It’s an air guitar. Inflatable guitar. Well, yeah. It’s both, I guess. Welcome, welcome Jamie.
Jamie
Thanks for having me.
Kirsten O’Brien
Still going strong. Nearly 3, 000 shows later, 35 different countries playing those hits throughout the ages, but you’re back.
You’re coming home. It’s the return gig.
Jamie
Yeah, I’m back home. I started telling people that I’ve actually done less gigs now because it sounds like I’ve done too many.
Kirsten O’Brien
You’re dialing it back. How did you get going there originally?
Jamie
My dad was a drummer and he had a drum kit in the loft and after school I used to sneak up there and play the drums.And, residents of Maidenhead, I’m really sorry, it must have been very loud up there. And, um, mum found out because one of the neighbours said, I don’t know, I keep hearing a drum kit but I don’t know where it’s coming from. So that’s how, so it’s my dad’s fault and me sneaking up. Sneaking into the loft thinking you wouldn’t get heard on a drum kit.
Kirsten O’Brien
Yeah, yeah. What I like about the name is it’s one of those names you feel like you straight away know, don’t you? Yeah. The Zoots.
Jamie
Well, it’s an interesting story because my dad used to be my agent and he was speaking to somebody who books theatres and stuff and he said we want to come up with a new name for the group and a show.
My dad actually suggested The Suits, but because the line was bad, he thought he said Zoots, and it was like, that’s a great name. Ah, so you became Yeah, but I only found that out recently, my dad told me, and I was like, why didn’t you tell me before?
Kirsten O’Brien
From a miss hear? Yeah. I think I prefer The Zoots. Yeah, definitely.
Actually, you’d have been committed to a suit, I feel, if you were The Suits. Do you wear a suit when you’re on anyway?
Jamie
We do, we do sometimes. Yeah, I guess that’s how we started, just being like a, a suited and booted type, type band and, um, but yeah, and, and playing our guitars. Um, this one’s a little bit bent, actually, this one.
Kirsten O’Brien
You’ve brought in an inflatable Union Jack guitar. I mean, we had yodelling yesterday. Anything can happen on this show. I just roll with whoever walks through that door. What was your first gig like? Why did you decide particularly on the music that you play, the 60s sound?
Jamie
That’s a really good question. Uh, mum and dad had a lot of 60s records lying around the house when I was growing up, which is quite a long time ago now, but I, I grew up in, um, Noel Hill and then in Maidenhead. So very, very close to the studio. And dad, um, mum just had a lot of records like The Who, The Beatles, and then stuff like that. David Bowie, and that was just that was just all all we had lying around the house So that’s what I used to listen to so that’s how I got into this kind of retro 1960s shows and stuff like that .
Kirsten O’Brien
Also you very much got the Phil Collins vibe going on then because you do the drumming Yeah Singing thing.
Jamie
Well, I started off on drums, but actually now as you can see I play the guitar and Professional yes, yeah, I like that Guitar,
Kirsten O’Brien
so how did it sort of mushroom out from those beginnings with your dad going? Oh, yeah My son plays a bit, too you know,
Jamie
I’ve played probably every level of venue that there that there is and Um, it’s hard to remember now, but literally I’d start playing at school. I went to Desborough School in Maidenhead. I played gigs there. I played gigs at First Platt School in Maidenhead. So I started off doing schools, um, because we were too young to play anywhere else. And then, um, I started playing pubs and I was playing pubs when I was like 13. And like, I don’t know how I got away with it, but I was playing my brother’s band.
Um, so I literally played every single level of gig and just slowly working my way. Up, you know up the ladder kind of thing. So that’s how it’s worked. I’ve played everywhere
Kirsten O’Brien
You know what? I’d be interested in your take on because we were running a story earlier in the week about you know Venues are closing all the time and getting to those venues. So um, I want your view on that. We’ll talk about that next I’ll play a bit of lady gaga bruno mars. Here’s Die With A Smile on BBC Radio Berkshire, and then more chat with Jamie next.
BBC Radio Berkshire, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, Die With A Smile, whenever that comes on on the radio at home, it gets stuck in our minds all day, it’s a real. earworm of a song. Now I’m talking to Jamie Goddard who is here from the Zoots and I was just saying I wanted your take on, because earlier on the week we had the purple turtle on about how venues are closing and how they’re trying to evolve and stay alive and they’re doing like YouTube gigs, they’ve got Arts Council funding.
Jamie
When you’re trying to tour around the UK, are you finding every time you come at it, oh well that venue doesn’t exist anymore? It’s really, really hard. When I was lucky, when I started, there was a lot of venues around this area that would give you a chance. They, sadly, a lot of them don’t exist anymore, but it was a good place for me to basically be rubbish.
Kirsten O’Brien
Well, that’s what it’s there for, isn’t it? Because you get out as a punter, it’s the same with comedy, and you see someone starting out and you feel like you’re a part of it, and then you can catch them next time around in the bit. But that’s sort of going, that level, isn’t it?
Jamie
Oh, um, we Predominantly do theatres, but, now, but, I’ve, if, if a band was starting out now, it’s very, very hard to get people to come to venues.
Whereas when I was starting out, you could play a venue and there’d already be an audience that would, could maybe give it, I, I used to go to the Old Trout in Windsor, and that’s, that’s been gone for ages, but you could play there, and people would just, a few people would just go and watch whatever was on.
We used to just go, didn’t know who was on, we saw, I think we saw L7 and, Blur and people like that in there and um, but bands like the stones played there in back in the day Um, and people would often go there at the start of their tour Uh, but yeah, it’s but purple turtle is is great. I actually played there Um fairly fairly recently just for a bit of a laugh with my brother’s group It’s great what they’re doing and I read the article and and it’s great that they’re that they’re that they’re providing this kind of service because I’m not not so much that venue but there is important that musicians get to play somewhere and to kind of learn their trade
Kirsten O’Brien
Mmm, and in terms of the music we touched before on the fact that you do 60 stuff that I suppose the advantage there is That people just want that stuff all the time.
We never tire of it. Do we?
Jamie
Yeah, it’s interesting I was just watching TV the other day, which I don’t do very often but loads of the adverts still got Sixties songs that there was, um, uh, California Dreaming, um, there’s like a newer version of it, um, that’s on an advert and, um, and there’s just loads of songs that are just, and when we play, people often bring their grandchildren, and of all ages, and they all know all the songs.
They actually know them better than I do. Yeah, it does go right across the generations.
Kirsten O’Brien
What is your absolute favourite song to play?
Jamie
Oh, I don’t know. I’m working on, I’m doing something. I’m actually mad actually, but I’m doing a song. I’m trying to sing 20 songs in five minutes, and actually that’s my favorite song at the moment.
Kirsten O’Brien
Megamix. Absolutely, Megamix. How do you remember it all?
Jamie
Oh, that’s a really good question actually. I, because I’m not, I wouldn’t say I’m a proper musician, more of a sort of an entertainer. Uh, but yeah, just, I don’t know. I don’t know how I remember these songs. If I learned it when I was young That’s great.
Or if I’ve done a tour with that song, I can just remember it forever. So like a tour would be, I don’t know, 50 performances. So ones I’ve done or ones I’ve done on them, I’ll never forget. I don’t know. It’s just, it’s crazy. I could never teach somebody else to learn it. It’s just, just repetitive. I listen to the songs constantly, like when I’m asleep and stuff like that.
Kirsten O’Brien
Can you do join in if you know the words, if you’ve forgotten them and just throw it out to the audience.
Jamie
Yeah, I’ve done that. Usually there’s always somebody in the audience that knows. the words and then you can sort of read them and so if you’re, if you’re stuck on one song you can just tell um, but, but if they forget the words, you’re stuffed.
Kirsten O’Brien
Reading your bio, the fascinating thing that I’ve got to ask you about is the fact that you’ve ended up on the Chinese educational curriculum. What’s going on? What’s happening there, Jamie?
Jamie
Well, if, if there were copyright rules in China, which there isn’t. I would be, um, I’d probably earn some money out of it, but there isn’t, so there’s people listening to my music trying to learn English, um, in China, but, um, they’ve probably got, A, no idea who it is, or, or B, who wrote the song, and C, no one cares because they don’t generate any money.
Kirsten O’Brien
So how do you know it’s come about then? They’re, they’re listening to you to learn English is, is what’s going on. Jamie
When I wrote, I wrote, I used to be a singer songwriter with Warner Brothers and some of my songs got used for a child star of the time, an English guy called Declan Galbraith, and he was, he was really famous in China, and he needed songs, so his songs, he, they used his songs to teach people, well.
They were songs that I’ve written, um, but they used them to teach people how to speak English because they knew his songs.
Kirsten O’Brien
What a weird state of affairs, right? We know that you’re coming to Norden Farm Arts Centre in Maidenhead, and also you’ve got this gig at, uh, Glastonbury Festival. Not Glastonbury, don’t get confused, uh, coming up as well. Tell us about these.
Jamie
That’s on the 12th of July, uh, but it’s really, really nice out. Outdoor festival and there’s all sorts of bands. We’re, um, we’re playing in the, in the afternoon. So, but it’s brilliant. We replayed it a couple of years ago and it’s one of my favorite festivals that we played at. And it’s, it’s kind of near Newbury, um, between Newbury and Lambourne, um, but Garstonbury festival and tickets are on sale from our website, which is thezoots.com. All of our other dates are on, on the zoots. com as well. So yeah, really looking forward to that. We’re really looking forward to Norden Farm because we haven’t played there. Um, since I last came in here, which was before COVID. Um, and actually that recording from that you just played earlier is actually from the last time we played there.
We released an album, uh, Sounds of the sixties album, which is on Spotify. Um, and Apple music and stuff, but that’s, we recorded the gig and that was a sellout as well, but it’s taken me like. I don’t know, six years or something to get another gig there. To get back home again. Well, I’m so pleased it’s still going so well.
Kirsten O’Brien
Oh, Do check out the Zoots if you want to catch them somewhere. And I’m sure we’ll have you in again at some point.
Jamie
Yeah, brilliant. I’ll bring my guitar. Yeah. Because I was going to give this away actually, because I’m going to give away one of my guitars at the show. Um, because I’m generous like that.
Kirsten O’Brien
Sling it into the crowd.
Well, I mean, I might, I’ll see what happens. Just say I’m on the night. Excellent. Thanks for coming in, Jamie.
Jamie
Thank you very much for having me.
