John Goodison

Coventry-born Johnny Goodison started his career as a singer, before turning to songwriting (for which he used the pseudonym Peter Simons). He started singing professionally in the early '60s, and in 1964 released a single of his own, "Acapulco" b/w "You'll Never Leave Him." Later that same year, he was back in the music marketplace, this time fronting an outfit credited as Johnny B Great & the Goodmen, with a single of "School Is In" b/w "She's a Much Better Lover Than You." Later on, leading a group called Johnny B Great & the Quotations, his gigs included playing backup to the Walker Brothers. During the second half of the '60s, Goodison collaborated on a song called "Love One Another" with producer/composer Tony Hiller, and became part of the studio ensemble assembled by Hiller to cut a record of it -- that group, christened the Brotherhood of Man, became one of the most successful pop/rock outfits of its era, though not with that first record, which failed to catch on with the public. The group succeeded with their second record, "United We Stand," selling millions of records far beyond the boundaries of the United Kingdom. And though the original lineup didn't stay together -- Goodison was among the first to leave -- he and fellow group member Roger Greenaway, along with session singers Tony Burrows, Sue Glover, and Sunny Leslie, all ended up working within each other's orbits over the next few years, appearing together in various studio ensembles, such as the Currant Kraze (an attempt to emulate the Brotherhood of Man sound under another name). Goodison also turned to producing during the late '60s and in 1968 helmed the hit single "Race with the Devil," cut by Gun. He produced singles by the Love Affair, Johnny & Russell, and Sue & Sunny, the latter comprised of Glover and Leslie. In 1970 he saw another single, "One Mistake" b/w "A Little Understanding," released under his own name; but most of his subsequent recordings were credited to various group aliases, including "Lady Love" and "When Will You Be Mine," which were officially the work of "Big John's Rock & Roll Circus," a name under which he also got to release a complete LP, on the DJM label during the mid-'70s. Goodison was a member of the James Last orchestra later in his career, and his successes as songwriter include the Bay City Rollers' "Give a Little Love." He died in 1995. ~ Bruce Eder