Phil Godden

Phil Godden started playing the cornet at the age of 11 years at school. After two terms of lessons his peripatetic teacher told him to give up as he would never make a brass player. The head of music said to try a larger mouth pieced instrument and changed his peripatetic teacher. From that day on Phil became a Euphonium player. He took the Royal School of Music Grade 3 at the age of 13 years. Grade 5 at 14, and Grade 8 at 16. While studying A levels Phil gained his Associate of the London College of Music (ALCM) diploma before leaving school. While at school Phil learned to play the Bass Guitar in the school dance band. This resulted in him progressing as an adult to make albums with the Jon Bennett Big Band and Forest Fire. Phil has met and played with various artists and musicians including Bonnie Langford, Don Lusher, Larry Adler, Roy Castle and Kenny Baker to name but a few.

As a Euphonium player in his teenage years, Phil joined the Romford Town Band and took over the principal Euphonium seat at 16, where he played until the band folded due to lack of players in the 1990s. He stopped playing and after 7 years Phil received a phone call and was asked if he would be interested in a ‘blow’ with the Rayleigh Band. He went to their rehearsal and it took a good year to ‘get his lip back in.’ Phil was asked to deputise with Northfleet band on one occasion, resulting in him joining them in 2002. He left playing with Rayleigh band around the same time and left playing with Northfleet in 2007. It was during his Northfleet years that Phil felt he really had developed as a player. After another year of no playing, Phil joined the Tilbury Band in 2008 and soon took over the principal seat. In 2012 at the Gloucestershire BBA contest, Phil won the best B section instrumentalist award. Phil moved to Kent from Essex in 2013, as a result of a career change and left Tilbury the same year. Phil Joined Cranbrook Town Band in 2014 where he now enjoys playing and the lure of a pint after rehearsals on Thursdays.