The Enid
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The Enid is a British rock band founded in 1975 by Robert John Godfrey, Stephen Stewart and Francis Lickerish. Another early member was William Gilmour, who subsequently founded his own band Craft.
The Enid's membership has since undergone several changes, always with Godfrey firmly at the helm, and its creativity seems to come in fits and starts. Godfrey is a diabetic, and has also described bouts of depression which possibly suggests bipolar disorder.
He also has an unfortunate tendency to dismiss some of his ideas, such as a brief flirtation with dance music in the early 1990s, as juvenile or misguided, a view that is not always shared by the band's fans. Now more than 30 years old, the band is still recording sporadically although there have been no full-length album releases since 1997.
The Enid began recording at about the same time as punk rock burst upon the scene. Godfrey has said that he always regarded The Enid's ironic takes on classical music as being just as anarchic as anything by the Sex Pistols, but at least in terms of sales it seems that the public did not see it that way. After some unpleasant experiences with major record labels, which initially welcomed the band with open arms and then dumped them after failing to promote their records, the band relied on self-publishing and promotion, which was helped by the fact that their settlement with one of the labels included some recording equipment. The band used this equipment to establish The Lodge Recording Studio, hiring its facilities to other bands in between their own projects.
Robert John Godfrey has said that he does not regard The Enid as a progressive rock band and would rather not be associated with the term, but that has not stopped prog rock fanzines and websites from promoting the band. He has also been quite scathing in his criticism of "neo-progressive" bands like Marillion and Pendragon, accusing them of lacking charm, talent and originality.
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[edit] Something Wicked This Way Comes
Something Wicked This Way Comes, released in 1983, was the first Enid album to feature lyrics, written by drummer Chris North and sung in a mock-operatic style by founder and keyboardist Robert John Godfrey. It deals with the threat of nuclear warfare and the various ways in which people respond to it. The album has been released in three different CD versions, each with different bonus tracks.
[edit] Discography
- In the Region of the Summer Stars (1976)
- Aerie Faerie Nonsense (1977)
- Touch Me (1979)
- Six Pieces (1980)
- Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983)
- Live at Hammersmith (1984)
- In the Region of the Summer Stars (remixed and partly re-recorded) (1984)
- The Spell (originally released as a double-45 rpm album) (1985)
- Salome (1986)
- The Seed and the Sower (originally released as by Godfrey and Stewart for contractual reasons, but always regarded by fans as an Enid album and subsequently reissued under the band's name) (1988)
- Final Noise (live) (1988)
- Tripping the Light Fantastic (1994)
- Sundialer (remixes) (1995)
- Anarchy on 45 (singles compilation) (1996)
- White Goddess (1997)
- Tears of the Sun (compilation) (1999)
Some albums have been issued on CD two or three times, sometimes with different bonus tracks and cover artwork.
In addition to traditional vinyl and CD releases, in the late 1990s the band also pioneered the production of "Bespoke CDs" - mail-order custom compilation CD-Rs containing rare tracks chosen by listeners from a catalogue. This service was discontinued after a couple of years.
[edit] The Enid Catalog Goes Online?
In March 2005 Godfrey announced on the band's website that he would shortly be making its entire back catalogue available for free download on high-quality mp3s. This apparently includes all of the rarities previously available on Bespoke CDs.
Godfrey went on to write: "The purpose of this is to make sure that The Enid's music reaches as many people as possible and does not entirely disappear when I am dead. The Enid represents my life's work and I want it and what it contains to live on in those who warm to it. Having taken this decision it may well influence the way I think about The Enid and may drive me to do some more."
As of July 2006, only samples of four albums are available online.
