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Godfrey started his career on piano as a semi-pro with The Bumblies, a five piece vocal harmony band in the style of the Moody Blues back in 1963.
Jonathan King joined the band in 1964 renamed Terry Ward and The Bumblies. He wrote the song Gotta Tell for the band and this was released in 1965. Many hours were then spent recording with Joe Meek, well-known for his production of such favourites as Telstar only for the project to come to an abrupt halt following Meek’s sudden death.
Godfrey, or ‘Goff’ as he is now nicknamed, moved on and joined Phil Goodhand-Tait and the Stormsville Shakers. This was a hectic time with a very full programme of gigs around the London clubs such as the Pink Flamingo, Blazes, and the famous Cromwellian. Distances travelled grew in line with the Shakers’ reputation and very soon the band was performing at key venues stretching ever further north on and beyond the Midlands.
In 1966, Goff joined the reformed Bumblies and toured France. It was a great success and included many leading venues including Paris’s St Hilaire Club. Within six short months, Goff was approached to join a top French band called the Les Sunlights, a then three-strong harmonising group. More successes followed as every record released reached No.1 in the French and the Belgian charts.
Some two and a half years later, Goff’s singing and composing abilities were even more fully recognised with his promotion not only to perform as a solo singer but also to record his own songs. Now a regular songwriter as well as performer, Goff’s work was also published and performed by three other French artists. His last single to be released reached number fifteen when the hectic schedule and growing family responsibilities brought Goff back to these shores.
Touring has always been a very demanding occupation and Goff has had more than his share with such artists as Sacha Distel, Johnny Halliday, Françoise Hardy and Jacques Dutronc.
In 1985, he started again with a covers band called Down to Earth. Changes in the original line-up developed new musical relationships and led in the course of time to joining The Tamla Tigers. The piano went many years ago and now you will see Goff tickling an array of some very expensive electronic ivory in the form of a Hammond organ, a Viscount DB3 organ and an Alesis QS6 synthesizer.
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