Would-Be-Goods


Would-Be-Goods are a British indie pop band fronted by singer and songwriter Jessica Griffin, noted for her precise received pronunciation accent when singing. Their name was inspired by the 1901 novel The Wouldbegoods, by children's author E. Nesbit

Career

On her first album, released on the él label, Griffin had no band of her own, and was backed by members of The Monochrome Set. The Camera Loves Me was critically acclaimed in the UK and Japan. In 1992 Griffin worked with the Monochrome Set on a second album, Mondo, produced by Monochrome Set singer Bid and released in 1993 on the Japanese label Polystar. Mondo was later released in the UK on the Cherry Red label.
Peter Momtchiloff, formerly of Talulah Gosh, Heavenly, Marine Research and Scarlet's Well, joined the band as lead guitarist and bassist in 1999. Two EPs, Emmanuelle Béart and Sugar Mummy, were released in 2001, followed by a new album, Brief Lives, a joint release by US label Matinée Recordings and UK-based Fortuna Pop!. Griffin and Momtchiloff began performing live as a duo and soon afterwards two new members joined the band: Deborah Green on drums and Lupe Nuñez-Fernandez on bass. After the band recorded a fourth album, The Morning After, in 2004, Nuñez-Fernandez left to focus on her own band, Pipas, and was replaced by Andy Warren. Would-Be-Goods' fifth album, Eventyr, was released in November 2008.
In October 2020 Griffin began writing and recording a song a day, with a new title provided the previous evening by her partner and bandmate Momtchiloff. Twenty of the songs were released on Bandcamp in 2021 and later compiled on a CD, The Night Life, in 2023
Would-Be-Goods have performed live in the United States, Spain, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and France as well as the UK.

Discography

Singles and EPs

  • Fruit Paradise / "Hanging Gardens of Reigate"
  • The Camera Loves Me / "Cecil Beaton's Scrapbook"
  • Emmanuelle Béart: "Emmanuelle Béart" / "Je lèche les vitrines" / "Everybody Wants My Baby" / "Words"
  • Sugar Mummy: "Sugar Mummy" / "Spanish Tragedy" / "Perfect Dear"
  • From The Depths: "Rafferty" / "Bats In The Belfry" / "The Wind Will Change" / "Cavanagh, Cody and Byrne" / "Ouija Board Romance"
  • Spring Fever: "Charm School" / "The King Of The Moon" / "Temporary Arrangement" / "The Kiss Of Death" / "There's A Star On My Dressing-Room Door"
  • The Violet Hour: "The Love Parade" / "The Night Life" / "Born Bad" / "Wild West" / "It's Such A Shame About Susie"
  • Saturn's Child: "Saturn's Child" / "Foreign Affairs" / "Madame X" / "I've Forgotten Him Now" / "Goodbye To All That"

    Albums

  • The Camera Loves Me
  • Mondo
  • Brief Lives
  • The Morning After
  • Eventyr
  • ''The Night Life''