Robert John Godfrey is a British composer, pianist and founder member of The Enid

The Enid

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 and now plays keyboards in Lickerish's band Secret Green....

.

Born on the Leeds Castle

Leeds Castle

Leeds Castle, southeast of Maidstone, Kent, England, dates back to 1119, though a Saxon fort stood on the same site from the 9th century. The castle is built on islands in a lake formed by the River Len to the east of the village of Leeds....

 estate in Kent, England, Godfrey was educated at Finchden Manor in Tenterden

Tenterden

Tenterden is a Cinque Port town in the Ashford District of Kent, England. It stands on the edge of the Weald, overlooking the valley of the River Rother....

, which was described by its founder George Lyward as a "therapeutic community for adolescents", other alumni of which included Alexis Korner

Alexis Korner

Alexis Korner was a blues musician and radio broadcaster, who has sometimes been referred to as "a Founding Father of British Blues"...

 and Tom Robinson

Tom Robinson

Tom Robinson is an English singer-songwriter, bassist and radio presenter, better known for the hits "Glad to Be Gay", "2-4-6-8 Motorway", and "Don't Take No for an Answer", with his Tom Robinson Band...

. Although he didn't start to play the piano until the age of twelve, Godfrey's talent was prodigious enough to gain him admission to both the Royal College of Music

Royal College of Music

The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire founded by Royal Charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, England.-Background:The first director was Sir George Grove and he was followed by Sir Hubert Parry...

, then the Royal Academy of Music

Royal Academy of Music

The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...

. He studied under concert pianist Malcolm Binns, and those around him included Sir Michael Tippett, Benjamin Britten

Benjamin Britten

Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...

 and Hans Werner Henze

Hans Werner Henze

Hans Werner Henze is a German composer of prodigious output best known for "his consistent cultivation of music for the theatre throughout his life"...

.

From 1968 to 1971 Godfrey became resident musical director with Barclay James Harvest

Barclay James Harvest

Barclay James Harvest are an English progressive rock band. They were founded in Saddleworth, Lancashire, in September 1966 by John Lees, Les Holroyd, Stuart "Woolly" Wolstenholme , and Mel Pritchard .-History:...

, making musical contributions to early recordings which established their full, orchestral style of rock music. The relationship fell apart and accounts differ as to why. For a short time after this, Godfrey played in the band Siddartha. In 1974 the Charisma Records

Charisma Records

Charisma was a record label founded by former journalist Tony Stratton-Smith in 1969. Manager for The Nice, the Bonzo Dog Band and Van der Graaf Generator at the time, Stratton-Smith was unable to find a record company willing to release an album by one of his favourite groups so he founded his own...

 label released his first solo work, Fall of Hyperion. Although not a commercial success at the time, this work has since become collectable.

He then went on to form The Enid

The Enid

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 and now plays keyboards in Lickerish's band Secret Green....

, a band that is still performing and recording today.

Track listing of his solo album

1. The Raven (8:46)
2. Mountains (6:56)
3. Water Song (5:57)
4. End of Side 1 (0:04)
5. Isault (5:10)
6. The Daemon Of The World (14:44)
   1. The Arrival Of The Phoenix
   2. Across The Abyss
   3. The Daemon
   4. The Wanderer
   5. IHS
   6. Tuba Mirum

Musicians:

• Robert John Godfrey - keyboards
• Christopher Lewis - vocals
• Neil Tetlow - bass
• Jim Scott
  James Honeyman-Scott
  James Honeyman-Scott , commonly referred to as "Jimmy", was an English rock guitarist, songwriter and founding member of the band The Pretenders....
  
   - guitars
• Tristan Fry
  Tristan Fry
  Tristan Fry is a British drummer and percussionist. Fry began his career by joining the London Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of 17. He was a founder member of a number of ensembles, such as the Nash, Fires of London and the London Sinfonietta...
  
  - percussion
• Ronnie McCrea - percussion
• Nigel Morton - Hammond organ

Released as Charisma Records CAS 1084