Goddard was born in Reading, Berkshire, England. He sang in choir in a local church before going on to study the viola and piano at the Royal Academy of Music in London. Following national service, he sought to move into popular music, and met Meek. He initially attempted to establish himself as a Russ Conway/Liberace styled singer-pianist under the stage-name "Anton Hollywood". Meek promoted him, but he was unable to achieve success. Eventually he released his solo records under his real name. He recorded four singles as solo artist, produced by Meek, on which he sang with his distinctive regional accent:
"My Little Girl's Come Home" / "Try Once More" HMV POP 1068 September 1962
"Saturday Dance" / "Come Back To Me" HMV POP 1160 May 1963
"Sky Men" / "Walk With Me My Angel" HMV POP 1213 October 1963
The Oxford label CD also featured seven of the above named tracks, plus Goddard's demo of his song, "My Friend Bobby". His best known efforts were as a songwriter. The first project he worked on for Meek was the instrumental "Lone Riders" for The Flee-Rekkers. He then penned "Johnny Remember Me" for John Leyton. It became a number one hit single in the UK Singles Chart. Goddard also played keyboards on various of Meek's productions, most notably another chart-topper, The Tornados', "Telstar", and wrote and performed on the hit single's flip side, "Jungle Fever." Despite his considerable track record as a songwriter, Goddard withdrew from the music industry after falling out with Meek. He brought a breach of copyright case in 1965 against Meek concerning The Honeycombs' hit "Have I The Right?", written by Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley. Goddard claimed that it borrowed from his earlier song "Give Me The Chance". Goddard was unwilling to testify personally and lost the case. Subsequently, Goddard returned to his home town and worked for many years in the catering department of the University of Reading. In 1985, the royalties and the platinum disc from the Marc Almond/Bronski Beat cover version of "Johnny Remember Me", having sold over 300,000 copies, came as a complete surprise to him. Goddard died from a heart attack in May 2000, at the age of 62. In the 2009 film, , Goddard was portrayed by Tom Burke.
Releases as songwriter (RGM productions)
The Flee-Rekkers – "Lone Rider" – Pye 7N35006 A-side
John Leyton – "Johnny Remember Me" – Top Rank JAR577 A
Mike Berry & The Outlaws – "Tribute to Buddy Holly" – HMV POP 912 A
John Leyton – "Wild Wind" – Top Rank JAR585 A
Gerry Temple – "Seventeen Come Sunday" – HMV POP 939 A
John Leyton – "Voodoo Woman" – HMV CLP1497 Album
John Leyton – "Oh Lover" – HMV CLP1497 LP
John Leyton – "Son This Is She" – HMV POP 956 A
Mike Berry & The Outlaws – "Little Boy Blue" – HMV POP 979 B side
John Leyton – "Lone Rider" – HMV POP 992 A
John Leyton – "Lonely City" – HMV POP 1014 A
The Tornados – "Jungle Fever" – Decca F11494 B
John Leyton – "Lonely Johnny" – HMV POP 1076 A
Kenny Hollywood – "The Wonderful Story of Love" – Decca F11546 B
Mike Berry & The Outlaws – "Don't You Think It's Time" – HMV POP 1105 A
The Outlaws – "Texan Spiritual" – HMV POP 1124 B
Toby Ventura – "If My Heart Were A Storybook" – Decca F11581 A
Mike Berry & The Outlaws – "My Little Baby" – HMV POP 1142 A
Freddie Starr & The Midnighters – "Who Told You" – Decca F11663 A
Heinz – "Just Like Eddie" – Decca F11693 A
John Leyton – "On Lover's Hill" – HMV POP 1204 LP
Screaming Lord Sutch – "Monster in Black Tights" – Decca F11747 B
Pamela Blue – "My Friend Bobby" – Decca F11761 A
Heinz – "Country Boy" – Decca F11768 A
The Ramblers – "Dodge City" – Decca F11775 A
Heinz – "You Were There" – Decca F11831 A
Heinz – "Hush-A-Bye" – Decca LK4599 LP
Cliff Richard – "My Head Goes Round" - EMI Columbia SCX6435 LP Tracks 'n Grooves
