An Interview with Robert John Godfrey of The Enid

Having been assigned the job of interviewing Robert John Godfrey, I was filled with a sense of excitement and anticipation. I knew that The Lodge Recording Studio was his baby and I also knew that he was the founding member and keyboard maestro behind legendary eclectic prog-rockers The Enid, but not a great deal about the man himself. I had vague visions of a reclusive Syd Barrett type - mysterious, aloof, wizard-like. I was looking forward to hearing what he had to say about the town, tunes and trends. He did not disappoint.

On arrival, I was lead to a studio room upstairs above The Lodge where I found Robert playing a beautiful ebony grand piano that looked like it had been fashioned from Kubrick's monolith. It was the perfect start.

He indicated for me to sit down, and before I'd really finished asking my first question about his upbringing, he very succinctly summed up twenty years or so in about twenty seconds:

'I was born in a castle and brought up by Indian servants. I came from a rich, aristocratic background of the late 40s/early 50s. I er, went to boarding school. Fucked up there. Was put into care. Learnt to play the piano. Went to the Royal College Of Music to learn to be a concert pianist... I then discovered acid and The Beatles.' Phew.

By the age of fifteen he had already performed the Brahms concerto. At RCOM he went on to establish a close relationship with German composer Hans Werner Henze, Michael Tippett and Benjamin Britten, whilst studying under concert pianist Malcolm Binns. Next, he worked with Barclay James Harvest after hearing them at the Roundhouse in London:

'I was with them for two years and that's where I learnt everything about recording (which is still relevant today) at Abbey Road Studios, where I did two albums with Pink Floyd producer Norman Smith - with whom I went on to have a long association with.'

The Enid was born in June 1973 and they released their debut album 'In The Region Of Summer Stars' on EMI in 1976. They've been described as the biggest cult band in Europe; banned by Glastonbury; investigated by MI5; and dubbed leftists and anarchists.

More recently, Time Out described them as 'The Orb meets Pink Floyd meets The Berlin Philarmonic.' The fatty-boombatty fraternity are twitching with exitement. These are the kind of comments that you yearn for as a group. A mythology that eventually writes itself. The band have notched up several albums and line-up changes since, but throughout their entire history Robert John Godfrey has remained the focal point:

'I formed The Enid in '73, which was the ragtag of the remnants of my care-home. When it closed I thought right, I'm a musician, let's have a band. So I formed the band with the lads there. We hadn't got homes to go to and had to do something with our lives. And I've been doing that one way or another ever since.' They intend to get back out onto the concert platform very soon.

The Enid currently features Robert, original drummer David Storey and a crop of younger musicians. They have a record deal with the Gerald Palmer Organisation (responsible for Spiritualized).

One of Robert's other passions is The Lodge Recording Studio on Abington Square in Northampton, which he runs with Chief Engineer Max Read. It offers excellent facilities, with the latest technology and digital recording techniques sat neatly beside classic equipment. The studio was moved to Northampton in 1993 after being relocated from the outskirts of the town. It was originally established in the Suffolk countryside in 1979 and seen artists ranging from Kim Wilde to New Model Army to Paradise Lost pass through its soundproof doors (plus local bands including The Departure, Orwell Music, Cave, et al).

Current residents in the living quarters of The Lodge are upcoming local band The Operatives, and they're causing more than a ripple of excitement in the local music scene at the moment. Robert's praise for the recent Seen Magazine feature band couldn't be higher:

'They came into our lives about five years ago, really as unmanageables. They were chaotic but brilliantly gifted. They have the spirit of Frank Zappa, but from a punky-indie background, with all the imaginative stuff. They need the freedom to develop. They've almost finished recording their first album... They will be massive.'

Robert inspires confidence. It was good to hear such a candid and articulate speaker on issues ranging from his own fascinating past to his in-depth knowledge of the town's history (just not enough room to print it all here), but he speaks most passionately about music and the scene in Northampton:

'I've got to the point now where I believe that this town is bloody brimming with talent but there's absolutely no interfacing whatsoever with the music industry. The town needs a place like The Square in Harlow, which is council-run. They've got a video suite, a recording studio and can stage high profile bands. We've got nothing like that in this town and it's a great pity. I want to do something about it... I would like to send a message to the musical community of Northampton to have more self-belief. There's a cracking potential in this town and it's really happening now.'


I insist you check out more @ http://www.theenid.com/ and http://www.lodgerecording.co.uk/