Trident Studios
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Trident Studios was a British recording facility, originally located at 17 St. Anne's Court in London's Soho district. It was constructed in 1967 by brothers Barry and Norman Sheffield. The first major hit recorded at Trident was "My Name's Jack" by Manfred Mann in March 1968, which launched its reputation. One of the many famous albums recorded at Trident was Lou Reed's Transformer, produced by David Bowie, who in turn recorded many albums there including The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust. Rick Wakeman was the in-house session keyboard player at the time and can be heard on many recordings, including the classics "Life on Mars?" and "Changes".
The Sheffield brothers' relaxed attitude to audio engineering and the studio's state-of-the-art recording equipment encouraged many artists to record there. In other studios, such as EMI/Abbey Road Studios, the engineers still did most things "by the book".
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[edit] The Legendary Trident 'A' Range Console
The legendary Trident 'A' Range consoles were originally built by and for Trident Studios. When word spread about this revolutionary new multi-track recording console design, other studios placed their orders and Trident Audio Developments was formed. Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles was one of the early recipients of one of the first production models, and ultimately purchased three new from Trident and one from a broker at a later time. David Bowie, Rod Stewart, and Frank Sinatra are among the early artists who first recorded hit records on Cherokee’s first 'A' Range console. With only 13 consoles ever built of this model, the Trident A Range has attained a near mythical status in the professional recording industry.
“Though it had a very limited run, the Trident A Range console gained a reputation for its very distinct and pleasant sound with a very “musical” EQ section. Along with channel strips from early Neve and Helios consoles, original Trident A Range modules have kept a healthy resale value and are much sought after by engineers who like to combine old-school analog gear with bleeding-edge digital recording technology.” [1]
Trident also gained a reputation for the sound of its piano, which can be heard on The Beatles' "Hey Jude", Elton John's "Your Song", and many other tracks. It was a handmade C. Bechstein concert-sized instrument that was over one hundred years old. Its classic sound was much sought after, but after being restrung toward the end of Trident's history, the piano sounded 'brighter' and was not to everyone's taste.
[edit] The Beatles and Apple Records
Trident Studios were the first studio in the UK to use Dolby noise reduction, and employ an eight-track reel to reel recording deck. Whereas other studios might spend months testing a new device, the Sheffield brothers believed that if it had been manufactured in the first place, then it was good enough for studio use. While Abbey Road still only used four-track, Trident's Ampex eight-track machine drew The Beatles on 31 July 1968 to record "Hey Jude" (although Abbey Road had taken delivery of a 3M eight-track machine it was not suitable for over-dubbing and had to be modified before use). The White Album tracks "Dear Prudence", "Honey Pie", "Savoy Truffle" and "Martha My Dear" were also recorded there. On 22 February 1969, The Beatles first recorded "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" for the album Abbey Road. John Lennon and Yoko Ono later returned with The Plastic Ono Band to record "Cold Turkey" featuring Eric Clapton on lead guitar.
Many Apple Records artists used Trident Studios, including Billy Preston, Mary Hopkin, and James Taylor. Some of George Harrison's triple album, All Things Must Pass, containing the hit "My Sweet Lord", and Ringo Starr's "It Don't Come Easy", were also recorded there. Harry Nilsson recorded "Without You" at Trident, and portions of several of his 1970s albums.
Other artists who were sent from Apple Records to Trident, considering the limitation of the Apple studios at the time, were Harry Nilsson, Billy Preston, Mary Hopkin and James Taylor, as well as the four members of the Beatles for their solo projects. Apparently, it was during these days that Paul McCartney decided to support a new promising band called Queen by letting them use the booked hours at the studio that he was intentionally not using.
[edit] Other recordings
In March 1968 Manfred Mann recorded Trident's very first number one at the studio, the single "My Name's Jack", launching Trident as a top professional studio. During the early 70s, some of the most reputed artists used the studios for their recordings, including Elton John, Marc Bolan/T.Rex, Carly Simon, Frank Zappa, The Rolling Stones, Free, The Plastic Ono Band, Lindisfarne , Dusty Springfield, The Mahavishnu Orchestra, Krisma, Jeff Beck/Rod Stewart.
This period coincided with the incorporation of a young engineer called Ken Scott, who would become one of the most reputed engineers and producers in the history of rock music with his involvement in David Bowie's albums Hunky Dory (1971) and The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust (1972). Scott later gained an international reputation with numerous works, including Supertramp's Crime of the Century (1974), Lou Reed's Transformer (1972), Devo's Duty Now for the Future (1980) and Jeff Beck's There and Back (1980).
Tony Stratton-Smith's Charisma Records was also one of the most regular clients of the studios during the 70s. Genesis recorded at Trident several of their most renowned albums there, including Trespass (1970), Nursery Cryme (1971) and A Trick Of The Tail (1976). Other artists from the label who recorded at Trident were Van Der Graaf Generator, Peter Hammill, Lindisfarne and Peter Gabriel. Charisma's first Van Der Graaf Generator release The Least We Can Do Is Wave To Each Other was recorded at Trident 11-14 December 1969. Most of the album was recorded on 8 tracks, but the last song "After The Flood" was recorded on 16. Trident was yet again the first studio in the UK to obtain a 16-track machine.
The history of the Sheffield brothers and Trident Studios is also linked to the early success of the band Queen. The Sheffield brothers had an agreement with the band to allow them full access to the studios cutting edge facilities and its staff and supported them by providing the best producers and engineers so long as the foundations of Queen were recorded 'off peak'. Although this turned the process of the recordings into a longer process than everyone wanted, it allowed Queen access to the best of everything. After the album was completed the Sheffield brothers had difficulty finding a record company to take on the album and release it due to Queen's unorthodox and very different sound at the time, and the fact that the band was called Queen and consisted of four men. Finally, eight months later the brothers decided to take the plunge themselves and released the album under the Trident label. Following the success of this first album, Queen were signed to EMI and subsequently went on to release Queen II and the many other albums in their discography.
Trident Studios was sold in December 1981. It was bought by its senior engineer, Stephen Short, along with three other investors. In 1986, Short bought out the other investors and opened Trident 2.[2]
The current residing business, Trident Sound Studios, was named in recognition of the original Trident Studios. Trident Studios originally occupied the whole five floors of the building, but today's studio comprises only the ground floor and basement.
[edit] References
- ^ Mix Magazine 1 July 2001
- ^ Ping Pong Music⢠at pingpongmusic.com
Coordinates: 51°30′52″N 0°08′02″W / 51.5144°N 0.1339°W
