Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios is a recording studio located at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England.[1] It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music company EMI, its present owner. Abbey Road Studios is most notable as being the venue in the 1960s for innovative recording techniques adopted by The Beatles, Pink Floyd, The Hollies, Badfinger and others.
Towards the end of 2009, the studio came under threat of sale to property developers. However, the British Government protected the site, granting it English Heritage Grade II listed status in 2010, thereby preventing the building from any major alterations.[2]
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History [edit]
Originally a nine-bedroom Georgian townhouse built in the 1830s on the footpath leading to Kilburn Abbey, the building was later converted to apartments where the most flamboyant resident was Maundy Gregory. The premises were acquired by the Gramophone Company in 1931 and converted into studios. Pathé filmed the opening of the studios, when Sir Edward Elgar conducted the London Symphony Orchestra in recording sessions of his music.[3][4] The neighbouring house is also owned by the studio and used to house musicians. During the mid 20th century the studio was extensively used by leading British conductor Sir Malcolm Sargent, whose house was just around the corner from the studio building.[5]
It was not until 1970 that the name Abbey Road Studios became official. The Gramophone Company amalgamated with Columbia Graphophone Company to form EMI, which took over the studios and dubbed them EMI Studios. It was under this name that in 1936 cellist Pablo Casals became the first to record Johann Sebastian Bach's Cello Suites No. 1 & 2 at the behest of EMI head Fred Gaisberg. The recordings went on to spur a revolution amongst Bach aficionados and cellists alike. [6]
Studio Two at Abbey Road became a centre of rock music in 1958 when Cliff Richard and the Drifters (later Cliff Richard and The Shadows) recorded "Move It" there, arguably the first European rock and roll single.
Abbey Road Studios is most closely associated with the Beatles, who recorded almost all of their albums and singles there between 1962 and 1970. The Beatles named their 1969 album, Abbey Road, after the street where the studio is located (the recording studio would only be named Abbey Road after the Beatles record in 1970). The cover photo for that album was taken by Iain Macmillan outside Abbey Road Studios with the result that the pedestrian zebra crossing outside the studio has become a place of pilgrimage for Beatles fans from all over the world. It has been a long-standing tradition for visitors to pay homage to the band by writing on the wall in front of the building, although it is painted over monthly. In December 2010 the zebra crossing at Abbey Road was given a Grade II listed status.[7]
Pink Floyd recorded most of their late 1960s to mid-1970s albums, returning only in 1988 for mixing and overdubbing subsequent albums.
The Shadows named their Live At Abbey Road album after the studio, with the cover spoofing The Beatles' album.
Notable producers and sound engineers who have worked at Abbey Road include Sir George Martin, Geoff Emerick, Norman "Hurricane" Smith, Ken Scott, Mike Stone, Alan Parsons, Peter Vince, Malcolm Addey, Peter Brown, Richard Langham, Phil McDonald, John Kurlander, Richard Lush and Ken Townsend, who invented the groundbreaking studio effect known as automatic double tracking (ADT). The chief mastering engineer at Abbey Road was Chris "Vinyl" Blair, who started his career early on as a tape deck operator.
In 1979, EMI commissioned the British jazz fusion band Morrissey–Mullen to record "Britain's first digitally-recorded single record" at Abbey Road Studios.[8][9]
From 18 July to 11 September 1983, the public had a rare opportunity to see inside the legendary Studio Two where The Beatles made most of their records. While a new mixing console was being installed in the control room, the studio was used to host a video presentation called "The Beatles At Abbey Road". The soundtrack to the video contained a number of recordings that were not made commercially available until The Beatles Anthology project over a decade later.[10]
The Red Hot Chili Peppers included a photograph of themselves walking across the zebra crossing naked, except for the infamous socks, on the front of The Abbey Road E.P., released in 1988.
In November 2011, Australian recording artist Kylie Minogue recorded some of her most famous songs with a full orchestra at Abbey Road Studios. The album called The Abbey Road Sessions was released in October 2012
Location [edit]
Abbey Road Studios is a five-to-ten minute walk away from St John's Wood tube station. From central London, it is accessible using the Jubilee line. When exiting the station, the visitor faces south at the intersection of A41 (Finchley Rd./Wellington Rd.) and Acacia Road (to the left)/Grove End Road (to the right). The studio is along Grove End Road, passing Waverley Place and Loudon St. on the right; addresses decrease in number along the way. As Grove End Road veers sharply to the left, Abbey Road is to the immediate right. The first pedestrian crossing is the crossing featured on the album. The studio, at 3 Abbey Road, is the unaddressed white building across the street between Hill Road and Garden Road.
Recording and mixing consoles [edit]
- Studio One: 72 Fader AMS Neve 88RS
- Studio Two: 60 Fader AMS Neve 88RS
- Studio Three: 96 Fader Solid State Logic 9000 J
- Penthouse: 48 Fader AMS Neve DFC Gemini
Film scores [edit]
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This section does not cite any references or sources. (January 2011) |
Abbey Road Studios got its start in the film scoring business in 1980, when Anvil Post Production formed a partnership with the studio, called Anvil-Abbey Road Screen Sound. The partnership started when Anvil was left without a scoring stage when Korda Studios were demolished. It ended in 1984, when EMI merged with THORN Electrical Industries to become Thorn EMI.
Abbey Road's success in the scoring business continued after the partnership ended.
John Williams and the London Symphony Orchestra used the studios to record the scores for 5 films from the Star Wars franchise beginning with The Empire Strikes Back in 1980.
All three film scores for The Lord of the Rings film trilogy (The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of the King), composed by Howard Shore and performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, were mixed at Abbey Road Studios, although the recordings themselves were done at Watford Town Hall.
James Horner has also frequently used Abbey Road Studios as his recording base when recording scores in England. Abbey Road sound engineer Simon Rhodes has for over a decade served as his scoring mixer, both when recording in England and in the U.S.
Apple's iMovie'11's soundtracks for their trailers were recorded here in early 2010.
Controversy [edit]
On 17 February 2010, it was reported that the studio's owners, EMI had put the world-famous studios up for sale because of increasing debts. There was reported interest by property developers in redeveloping the site into luxury apartments.[11] It has also been reported that there is a possibility that the studios could be purchased by the National Trust[12] in an effort to preserve what in effect is a historical building. Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber was reported to have put in a bid of £30 million to purchase the studios but this was turned down by EMI.[13] The Save Abbey Road Studios campaign has also been mounted to ensure that the premises remain working studios and do not become a museum.[14] EMI has released a statement saying that it plans on keeping the studio under its ownership and is actually looking for an investor to help with a "revitalisation" project.[15] Meanwhile, the British government has declared Abbey Road Studios a Grade II listed building, as it is an historic site, which protects the site from major alterations.[16]
Paul McCartney, speaking to BBC Newsnight on 16 February 2010, said that there have been efforts to save Abbey Road by "a few people who have been associated with the studio for a long time", although he did not name those people or include himself among them. "I have so many memories there with the Beatles", he added. "It still is a great studio. So it would be lovely for someone to get a thing together to save it".[17]
Interior [edit]
The interior of Abbey Road contains many different works of art, the latest by Birmingham based artist Annemarie Wright, which features a handwritten list of all artists that have recorded at the historic venue.[18]
See also [edit]
- List of recordings made at Abbey Road Studios
- List of artists who have recorded at Abbey Road Studios
- List of film scores recorded at Abbey Road Studios.
Notes [edit]
- ^ UK. "Studio One - The Largest Recording Studio in the World - Abbey Road Studios". Abbeyroad.com. Archived from the original on 14 July 2011. Retrieved 2011-08-19.
- ^ "Abbey Road studios given listed building status". BBC News. 2010-02-23. Retrieved 2011-08-19.
- ^ "Recording the Star Wars Saga" Retrieved 2012-08-04.
- ^ Sir Edward Elgar, 1931 "Land of hope & glory" THE MASTER OF THE KING'S MUSIC
- ^ Discography in Sir Malcolm Sargent: a Tribute
- ^ http://www.ericsiblin.com/pages/cello.html
- ^ Matthew Taylor (2011-01-02). "Housing minister tries to save Ringo Starr's childhood home". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 2011-08-19.
- ^ Gramophone AUDIO NEWS: "EMI digital recording" July 1979. Retrieved 19 August 2010.
- ^ "EMI Enters Digital Race with System", 26 May 1979 Billboard. At Google Books. Retrieved 23rd April 2013.
- ^ The Beatles Book July & August 1983.
- ^ Smyth, Chris; Power, Helen (17 February 2010). "End for Abbey Road? EMI puts Beatles' studios up for sale at £30m". London: The Times Online. Retrieved 19 February 2010.
- ^ TJ. "Should the National Trust save Abbey Road Studios". Nationaltrust.org.uk. Archived from the original on 17 August 2010. Retrieved 2010-09-19.
- ^ Sara Nathan; Ben Todd (19 February 2010). "I'll save Abbey Road: Andrew Lloyd Webber promises £30m-plus to buy studios". London: Daily Mail. Archived from the original on 20 February 2010. Retrieved 19 February 2010.
- ^ "Save Abbey Road Studios!". Save Abbey Road Studios!. Retrieved 2010-09-19.
- ^ "Abbey Road studios 'not for sale', says EMI". BBC News Channel. 21 February 2010. Archived from the original on 22 February 2010. Retrieved 20 February 2010.
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ Sisario, Ben (18 February 2010). "McCartney Expresses Hopes for Abbey Road". New York Times. Retrieved 27 March 2010.
- ^ "Annemarie Wright creates Abbey Road art". Abbey Road Studios. 12 January 2011. Archived from the original on 15 January 2011. Retrieved 18 January 2011.
Coordinates: 51°31′54.93″N 0°10′42.07″W / 51.5319250°N 0.1783528°W
References [edit]
- Discography in Sir Malcolm Sargent: a tribute (1967). London: Daily Mirror Newspapers.
- All You Need Is Ears, by George Martin (with Jeremy Hornsby)
- The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions, by Mark Lewisohn
- Abbey Road, by Brian Southall, Peter Vince and Allan Rouse
External links [edit]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Abbey Road Studios |
