The Enid (Part 2 1980-2000)
page 3

written by: Nigel Camilleri

chapter	page
A Brief History	3
Album Reviews	4
Related Websites	4

A Brief History

With the advent of the eighties, it seemed that any future that The Enid could have aspired to seemed very bleak. Their signing to Pye Records had gone disastrously wrong, through no fault of their own. The original trio of Godfrey, Stewart and Lickerish had been reduced to a duo with Lickerish having gone his own way. The group also faced problems with EMI Records who were refusing to re-release their first two albums, In The Region of Summer Stars and Aerire Faerie Nonsense or even give the band rights to the music.

Godfrey and Stewart relocated to Clare in Suffolk where they set up their own recording studio, The Lodge which hosted a number of musicians amongst whom Kim Wilde who used The Enid as backing band on her first albums until the album Cambodia.

Late 81 saw Martin Russell leave the group amicably, with Chris North (who had replace Robbie Dobson in 1980) following in 1982. The two would form the only off-shoot group from The Enid, Craft (another Forgotten Sons tale!), while the group was reduced to just Godfrey and Stewart. Following a bout of illness and more legal wrangling, Godfrey and Stewart decided to face the future as an independent band with their own record label. The result would be another trip to the studio and another album, their most successful one, Something Wicked This Way Comes. Three years had elapsed since their last album, and the new release would be the first new material to be released on their own label titled simply The Enid. Funnily enough, at the height of punk, it would be the least punk and the least indie of all bands to take the bold step of embracing the ideals of those musical cultures and go totally independent!

However, the first releases on The Enid label were to be a set of live concerts, two volumes in all that had been recorded on 3rd March 1979 by the BBC. They were originally intended for release by the Pye Records yet had been shelved due to the problems the label was facing. In fact no one was thinking of releasing these tapes until Tommy Vance, presenter of the Friday Night Rock Show (now working with VH1) played all thirty minutes of the track Fand on his show in 1982 declaring RJG as "one of the greatest composers this country has ever had". This garnered an amount of interest in the band and since The Enid had the tapes, the result was the release in 1984 of Live At Hammersmith Volumes I (The Enid ENID 1, 5,500 copies only, BS15.00) and II (The Enid ENID 2, 2000 copies only, BS15.00). The albums manage to capture what The Enid were probably best at doing and that was playing live.

For some reasons during this interim period there were a spate of singles released under The Enid moniker from different record labels. The group still kept up with their "tradition" of including relatively weird A-sides yet the B-sides included tracks at times from their new album which would be released years later, a sign that the band were still working and functioning. In 1981 we had When You Wish Upon A Star/Jessica (Bronze BRO 127, picture sleeve, 6.00) and Heigh Ho/ Twinkle Little Star (Bronze BRO 134, picture sleeve, 8.00).
In 1982 there was the release of the first 7" single with both tracks taken from the new album, And Then There Were None/Letter From America (Rak RAK 349, picture sleeve, 7.00). A 12" version of this same single would be released in 1984 with Raindown added to the B-side (EMI 12EMI, picture sleeve, 10.00).

Thus in 1983, the group released their first independent album, Something Wicked This Way Comes (The Enid ENID 3, BS 12.00). The group that recorded this album was trimmed down to just the duo of Godfrey and Stewart aided by Chris North on drums and percussion. This was also the first album to feature vocals by the group. But as they say, when it rains it pours. The company responsible for the distribution of their records also started to face financial problems and the group had to sell everything they owned, even their studio, and go on tour to promote the album. The 156 date tour was a storming success which allowed the group to recoup their money and even buy back the studio they had sold. Suddenly things started to look a bit more brighter.

One thing The Enid could definitely count on was the undying support of their fans who were affectionately called The Stand. Originally they were The Enid Society with the motto "To all members one of another". The Stand was officially created in 1984 and brought together people from all walks of life, yet the creation of this underground popular group of people also brought unwanted attention to the group. At that time the group were trying to put pressure on EMI to pass on the rights to their first albums. Thorn EMI were actively involved in the production of the guided missile weapons carrying nuclear warheads and RJG though it appropriate to use this theme as an excuse to put more pressure on the record label which denied any involvement with nuclear armaments. The Enid set out to expose this and thus cause embarrassment to company executives among which were Bruce Kent and EMI boss Peter Jamieson. The aim was to cause an upset within EMI as well as disrupt the artist roster within the company as many of the artists on the company books were decisively anti-nuclear. The next step for the group was to put pressure on Michael Eavis, organiser of the Glastonbury Festival, to ban all EMI acts. This was done but the next year EMI leaned heavily on Eavis resulting in The Enid being banned from Glastonbury! This anti-nuclear stance also drew unwanted attention from MI5 who feared that The Stand was actually the formation of an underground private army, however this did not last long when they realised that it was all about music. The Stand also had its own record label which released fan-club only recordings of the band as well as recordings by artists such as Glen Baker and William Arkle. Examples of releases on The Stand label were The Liverpool Album (The Stand LE1,1984, untitled, sold at gigs, 800 copies only, 30.00), The Stand (The Stand THE STAND 1, fan club issue, 5000 only, some autographed, +40.00/30.00) and The Stand 12985-1986 (The Stand THE STAND 2, fan club issue, 2000 only, some autographed, +25.00,20.00)

The group managed to reacquire the rights to their back catalogue, which saw the albums re-released on The Enid label. Unfortunately they were unable to obtain side two of In The Region Of Summer Stars so in 1984 they re-entered the studio to re-record this piece. Thus 1984 saw the release of Six Pieces (The Enid ENID 4, enhanced version, 3,500 only, 15.00), Touch Me (The Enid ENID 5, enhanced version, 4000 copies only, 15.00), Aerie Faerie Nonsense (The Enid ENID 6, remixed/re-recorded version, 10.00) and In The Region Of Summer Stars (The Enid ENID 7, remastered and re-recorded version, 10.00). In The Region Of Summer Stars was also released with a different sleeve designed by William Arkle.

During the Summer/Autumn of 1984, the group went to The Lodge to record their sixth studio album The Spell (The Enid ENID 8 , 2-LP, 45rpm, gatefold sleeve, 15.00). Godfrey and Stewart were aided by Dave Storey on drums and percussion and once again the group returned to the concept album. Based on the thought that everything is life is cyclical, the album was released in 45rpm as opposed to the normal 33rpm because there would be "more volume, less surface noise, better transient response and a wider frequency response." Furthermore The Stand also released a re-recorded version of Fand (The Enid ENID 9, 3000 copies only, 15.00).

By the time the album as released in 1985, The Enid albums were releasing their albums on compact disc (all of which would be available over the next 5 years) and had achieved exposure not only by their successful tours but also via the television medium. The television arts programme Folio, for which the band had recorded the theme tune broadcasted an entire programme dedicated to The Enid focussing on their music and their approach to the music business.

1985 also saw RJG opening a court case against his old bandmates Barclay James Harvest. The fan club newsletters had long been claiming that he had a hand in writing some of the band's original numbers such as Mocking Bird, yet he had not received any royalties nor credits. Thus that year two separate writs were opened against the band members of Barclay James Harvest and their record companies claiming damages for breach of contract. Furthermore he claimed joint authorship and royalties from ten songs found on the first two albums of BJH. This legal wrangle would drag on for an additional ten years.

The band's seventh studio album and last album with Godfrey and Stewart working together under The Enid banner was recorded between October 1985 and February 1986. Dave Storey once again played drums together with Chris North who played on the track Sheets Of Blue. The album was called Salome (The Enid ENID 10, 12.00) and was actually conceived by Godfrey as a ballet and performed as such at the Hammersmith Odeon in autumn of 1986. Once again this was a concept album which dealt with the story of John The Baptist and his relationship with Salome. That year, Radio One went on to call the band as "the biggest cult band in Europe".

Once again the obligatory "novelty" single was released which had the Small Faces hit track Itchycoo Park on the A-side with Sheets Of Blue on the B-side (picture sleeve, Sedition EDIT 3314, 5.00) a 12" blue vinyl version was also released (Sedition EDITL 3314). Four years later, in 1990, Salome/Salomee was released as a 7" version (Enid ENID 7999, picture sleeve, 4.00) and a 12" version (Enid ENID 6999, picture sleeve, 7.00).

By this time Godfrey and Stewart were also acknowledged as independent musicians and recruited for working on various albums from diverse musical genres. Godfrey acted as a consultant on Russian composer Alexei Rhynikov's opera Juno And Avos as well as several New Age Projects. Furthermore the duo collaborated with diverse acts such as New Model Army, Christian Death and Conflict who even wrote a eulogy to The Enid in the liner notes to their last album The Final Conflict.

Most of 1987 was spent by Godfrey and Stewart working away on their new album which would be titled The Seed And The Sower which was released in 1988 (The Enid ENID 11, 15.00). The line-up would be radically different to previous albums and would also feature an expanded setup including apart from Godfrey and Stewart, Niall Feldman (bass), Damian Risdon (drums, percussion), Troy Donockley (low whistles) and Geraldine Connor (vocals). The original aim of the album was it to be produced as a musical with the concept based on Laurens van der Post's book of the same name. Production went ahead in full knowledge that it was to be the last album with Stewart who had long wanted to branch off in a more commercial direction.

November 1988 saw the band performing what were believed to be the farewell concerts of the band with two sell-out nights at the London Dominion Theatre in Tottenham Court Road. A farewell album recorded on these nights would be released as Final Noise (Enid12). Even Francis Lickerish joined the band on stage as they bid their devoted fans farewell.

Stephen Stewart devoted his time to studio engineering (working mainly with Katrina And The Waves) while RJG decided to pursue his musical career by branching out into as many diverse musical genres as possible. The following year The Lodge was closed down and relocated to Northampshire under the name of Longhome Studio where RJG started working on a new project with seven young new musicians. Musically the style was completely different from what The Enid was known to have produced and a tour under the moniker Enid was met with disdain and anger from traditional The Enid fans. The tour also included Peter Lazonby who would perform acid house versions of classical Enid tracks!

By 1991, the group changed name to Come September and RJG no longer appeared on stage with the band though he continued to support them and write material. A mini-album titled Half An Hour In The Jungle was released and though the band toured to promote the album, the group broke up amidst internal wrangling.

1993 saw RJG move the studio into a warehouse calling it The Lodge (once again!) and set about reforming a band under the name of The Enid. Rumours had already been spreading about this happening especially since RJG had been performing a number of low key performances under the name of Aerire Faerie Nonsense. The lineup of RJG together with Nick May (guitar) and Steve Hughes (drums) released Tripping The Light Fantastic (Mantella, MNTLCD11) in 1994 while in 1995, Sundialer ( Mantella, MNTLCD12) was released. This album featured both new and classical material from The Enid back-catalogue, remixed to appeal to a new and younger audience.

Apart from renewed interest in The Enid, 1995 was an important year for RJG. On March 21st the lengthy court saga with Barclay James Harvest finally came to an end. In summary the judge declared that
There was no common understanding, much less an enforceable agreement, that Godfrey was entitled to a share in the band's earnings.
Robert Godfrey did establish that he was a joint author, albeit to varying degrees, in the original arrangements of six songs: Dark Now My Sky, When The World Was Woken, Mocking Bird ("a substantial contribution"), Galadriel ("sufficient in importance and originality"), Song For Dying ("very borderline"), The Sun Will Never Shine ("very borderline")
However, the judge went on to say, "...the success which the band later achieved and which led the plaintiff to decide that it was at last worth his while to pursue his claims was the result of many years of hard work, considerable self-sacrifice and much expenditure. It would be against all conscience if, in these circumstances, the plaintiff should be permitted to step in and reap for himself a share of the band's hard earned success. In my judgement the plaintiff is stopped from claiming any relief to which he might otherwise have been entitled."
The final outcome was that RJG received no compensation at all since he effectively left it too late to make his claims. BJH also lost a lot of money in fighting this case with Woolly Woolstenholme suffering a nervous breakdown as a result
Should anyone wish to view RJG's views on the overall court case, these are expressed at the following site.

The band passed through a variety of line-up changes with various tours promoted and plans were set in motion for the band to play at the Royal Albert Hall. However these plans were shelved as the band re-entered the studio to record the album White Goddess (Mantella, MNTLCD15) which was completed on 20th November 1997. The Royal Albert Hall was instead replaced by one held at Demgate, and was a resounding success which included a three hour gig and performances from two sets of dancers. The new album was also played out in its entirety alongside Enid favourites. Following the release of the compilation Tears Of The Sun (HTD Records, HTDCD89), RJG returned to composing as a solo artists. In fact his last release has been Legend For Piano And Orchestra which is a piano concerto based on Enid melodies. Though all has been quiet on The Enid front, judging from their past history, one never knows!

Nigel Camilleri