Geoff Stephens was born October 1, 1934 in New Southgate, North London, England. He started out writing songs for amateur theatricals while working as a school teacher, air traffic controller and silk screen printer. His first hit was in 1964, “Tell Me When”, co-written with Les Reed, a Top 10 hit for The Applejacks. Later that same year, with Peter Eden, he discovered and managed Donovan.