Francis Monkman - The Long Good Friday 1979 Francis Monkman (born 9 June 1949, in Hampstead, North London, England) is an English rock, classical and film score composer, and a founder member of the progressive rock band Curved Air He was a student at Westminster School where he studied organ and harpsichord, later studying at the Royal College of Music, winning the Raymond Rusel prize for virtuosity on the harpsichord and becoming a member of the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields. In the late 1960s he founded the rock band Sisyphus, which evolved into Curved Air. He played on their first three albums, leaving after the release of Phantasmagoria (1972) and returning briefly for the tour which resulted in the release of the album Live (1975). He contributed to the Renaissance album Prologue (1972), worked with Al Stewart including contributing to the album Past, Present and Future (1973) and toured with The Shadows (1977). Also in 1977 he collaborated with Brian Eno in the project 801. In the late 1970s he recorded the dazzling theme music for Granada TV's local football programme "Kick Off". In 1978, together with guitarist and composer John Williams he worked to form the rock band called Sky with whom he stayed until 1980. In the 1980s he resumed classical performances and recordings. His later work includes the soundtrack to the British film, The Long Good Friday, and the memorable The Achievements Of Man taken from his album Energism, which was used as the theme to the BBC children's programme Think Again presented by Johnny Ball.