The Enid

Event information

"The Orb Meets Pink Floyd Meets The Berlin Philharmonic" - Time Out


"The only band on the planet to have successfully fused rock based music with the power, dynamics and scale of symphonic classical music. They are the absolute masters of their art and their achievements over more than twenty years of creative work set them apart from everything else which calls itself progressive"
The Guardian

"The Orb Meets Pink Floyd Meets The Berlin Philharmonic"
Time Out
"One of the greatest composers this country has ever had."
Tommy Vance

UK LIVE DATES

In 1988 after nearly ten years of continuous touring, Robert John Godfrey called an official halt to The Enid with two back to back sold-out shows at The Dominion Theatre, London and the band dissolved.

Except for a few one-off adventures during the nineties, the band lay dormant whilst Godfrey fought his demons.

In 2002, Robert John Godfrey met by chance a young guitarist, Jason Ducker. For the following years Jason and Robert have been working on The Enid's music. Now he is ready to step into the unique role left vacant by Steve Stewart.

The original drummer, Dave Storey together with Jason Ducker and Max Read (member since 1995), join Robert John Godfrey, founding member and driving force within the band for a succession of live shows in support of their new album entitled Journey's End.

Said Godfrey in a recent letter to his fans; "I haven't been entirely idle over these years of inactivity. I have developed both as a composer and a person. I think you will all love these new interpretations of some of our most famous tracks."

In Jason, I have found the guitarist I so missed after Steve Stewart left in 1988. Dave is in magnificent form and Max is, as ever, a stalwart in all things."

***

NEW RECORDINGS

"Arise & Shine"
Now completed is a special recording featuring the new line up performing all the music which was performed at The Bush Hall, London on May 29th.

This special CD is not intended for general release and will only be available at gigs, festivals and mail order through the band's fan club, The Enidi.

"Journeys End"
The end of this year will see the completion of what may be Godfrey's last major work, aptly called, Journey's End.

In a recent radio interview Godfrey said, "I believe that if I am finally able to get this task done, I will have surpassed myself; and if that turns out to be true, then my struggles will be over and I will have nothing left to do."

***

THE ENID – BRIEF HISTORY
The Enid emerged in the latter half of the seventies as a radical answer to all those young people who couldn't identify with punk but were nevertheless as tired and fed with the current music scene as nearly everyone else.

By 1983, Tommy Vance on Radio One had dubbed them "The biggest cult band in Europe". Not because they were, but because the main radio station in the UK assumed they must be!

Record companies feared them; Glastonbury banned them. The band was even investigated by MI5. By the mid eighties, just about everybody in the UK had heard of The Enid; and the amount of misinformation, which surrounded them, was staggering.

They've been called "fascists" (by people who had been told of, but obviously had never actually experienced at first hand, their sacrilegious on-stage renditions of "Land of Hope and Glory"), "leftists" (because of RJG's vociferous insistence that "all people are interdependent whether they know it or not and that individuality has no fundamental meaning"), and "anarchists" (some truth in that).

Many people assumed that they were some sort of insane punk band. That particular assumption could scarcely have been further from the mark. In fact they were probably the most enigmatic and intellectually challenging of any band to have emerged in the UK.

Quotes

NEARFest 2010, USA

“I was completely stunned by their performance at NEARFest.”

“I thought they were awesome!”

“Seems they were the runaway fave of the weekend from the looks of the reviews. I would consider this a triumph for them and their fans.”

“The performance was so intense I do not think listening to the CD would even come close (as others seem to be alluding to). In particular, there was a full tympani set, a huge bass drum and a drum set on stage, and when the music was building into loud intense moments it really felt like the theatre was going to explode. It was a sensation unlike any other rock show I've ever heard - not simply a matter of volume, but overall dynamics, playing intensity and orchestration.”

“…the runaway (and unexpected) hit with me was most definitely The Enid, whose performance was so powerful, emotional, and sonically rich and beautiful...it drew me (and several others with whom I spoke) to tears.”

“It was definitely an incredible experience, and quite unexpected. They almost lost me during the opener, but then something clicked and I was totally mesmerized by the last two songs. The dynamics and intensity were indeed unmatched.”

“I had no familiarity with The Enid but was floored by the performance- not just the elaborate nature of the music but by how amazing the mix/dynamics were.”

“…a dynamic mix of bombastic symphonic rock and quieter more melodic sections. The music was in a word, stunning and contained so much power that at times I thought I was going to be blown out of my chair. I was literally mesmerized through parts of the performance. The Enid were the surprise for me this weekend and I was thoroughly taken on a journey by these guys and enjoyed every minute of it.”

"Well, I finally got to see The Enid and that made the weekend."

“+1! The Enid absolutely floored me”

“THE ENID - Definitely the surprise hit of the festival for me, and many others it would seem. Majestic, sweeping, impressive...the list of adjectives is long. The older guys in the band are masters and the young guys brought tons of fire, enthusiasm and skill to the table. Superb. A+!

“Enid - WOW! I expected something big from these guys, but this show was truly an experience.”

“The Enid should have been a headline act. Blew me away.”

“At some point I did start floating around the theatre...I was gob smacked.”

“They were THE band for me this weekend and I could have left the venue being completely satisfied without seeing the headliner”

“…the most symphonic group I've ever heard. Literally classical music performed with rock instruments. Great keyboard samples used, and awesome percussion.”

“The Enid - last saw them in '82, they are some much better live than on album, they excelled.”

“Enid ruled!”

“(The) Enid -one of the best live experiences ever Jewell perfect in every way. PHENOMENAL!!”

“Just an incredible set!!”

“Discovery of the weekend: (The) Enid”

“Big Highlights were seeing The Enid live for the first time in decades. (Reading Festival 76 or was 77?) Journey's end was incredible and the end of the main set "Dark Hydraulic" blew me away...”

“The Enid just floored me!!”

“It seemed to me that The Enid got the biggest response from the crowd”

“THE ENID - The surprise of the weekend for me. I was enthralled from start to finish and enjoyed every note...it just got better and better. The kind of show that makes the weekend a success in my opinion. Great performance, great selection by the organizers. Made my weekend!”

“I was not really expecting a lot from this set. Boy was I wrong…….I predict that once the smoke has cleared The Enid's performance is going to go down in NEARFest history as one of those "special" events that people remember for a long time, especially for a non headliner.”

“Seeing the Enid was a 30 year dream come true for me and they didn't let me down.”

“The guitarist was outstanding...he had a fluid grace to his playing that reminded me quite distinctly of Mike Oldfield. In fact I said to someone following the set that this might be the closest I'd ever get to seeing Mike Oldfield play live, and apparently he'd had that exact same thought.”

“…the dynamics and mix were nearly flawless to my ears.”

“We were blown away by the Enid. They should have been a headline act.”

“By the end of the show, it felt to me like the Enid had been a breath of fresh air for this year's fest.”

“…it was spectacular. Powerful, beautiful, and exceeded expectations.”

“…the big dynamic bits were epic.”

“I hadn't heard The Enid before and they were my favs of the weekend.”

“…for me The Enid stole the show.”

“Judging by the audience reaction during the speeches later in the evening, I would say Enid was the weekend favourite for most people.”

“The Enid: Count me in as one of the ones that was amazed by them pulling off the impossible.”