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tape delay which enhanced the sound of voices and instruments during the recording process. Eventually, ADT became a standard technique used in every recording studio during the tape era.
AN OLYMPIC EFFORT Next, we have Olympic Studios, where The Rolling Stones recorded most of their material from 1966 to 1972. The establishment first opened its doors on Carton Street (central London) in the late 1950s under the ownership of Angus McKenzie. Later, in 1965, McKenzie sold the studios to Cliff Adams and John Shakespeare, who moved the studio to its final location in an old cinema building in Barnes (south-west London). Furthermore, Led Zeppelin recorded most of their albums at Olympic Studios; The Beatles found inspiration to track their immortal single, All You Need Is Love; and The Jimi Hendrix Experience recorded the majority of their material here as well. A golden roster of clients also included legends Dusty Springfield, David Bowie, Ray Charles, Queen, The Eagles, and Madonna. The studios have also tracked music for legendary films Life of Brian (1979), Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), and The Italian Job (1969). Olympic was the first recording facility in England to use a four-track tape recorder, and the first in the world to have a professional transistorised desk. Another legendary recording facility from London was Trident Studios, located in the city’s Soho district. Founded by the Sheffield brothers in 1967, much of its success was achieved between 1968 and 1981. It attracted many important musicians at the time because it was the first studio to use Dolby noise reduction and Ampex eight-track reel to reel. Since Abbey Road was still using four-track, The Beatles were seduced by the creative opportunities that Trident’s eight-track offered, which is why some songs from The White Album, such as Dear Prudence, Honey Pie, Savoy Truffle, and Martha My Dear, were recorded there. They also recorded the song Hey Jude. McCartney said: “Words cannot describe the pleasure of listening back to the final mix of Hey Jude on four giant speakers which dwarfed everything else in the room”. he history of the studio is also linked to the rocky beginnings of Queen; since the band couldn’t get signed, Trident saw a strong potential and signed them under their management company: Trident Recording, Publishing and Management, in 1972. The band’s first four albums were released under the studio’s label, including the album A Night at the Opera (1975) which contains their magnum opus Bohemian Rhapsody.
A lot of the most renowned artists in music used the studios to record, including David Bowie, Marc Boland/T-Rex, Frank Zappa, Lou Reed, Carly Simon, The Rolling Stones, Black Sabbath, Genesis, Jeff Beck, and Rod Stewart. Trident also built some of the best consoles at the time; their A Range recording console was constructed out of necessity for space optimisation and was a success amongst professional studios around the world. Thus they started a new branch of business under the name Trident Audio Developments (TRIAD), and sold their first three consoles
to Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles. TRIAD also manufactured B Range consoles, a smaller piece of equipment that was sold to various studios around the world, one of their buyers being another famous recording facility in London: SARM Studios.
SARM STUDIOS Sound And Recording Mobiles, a.k.a SARM Studios, located in Notting Hill (central London), was established by Island Records’ founder Chris Blackwell in 1973, the businessman who forged Bob Marley’s career and founded the well known Compass Point Studios in Nassau four years later. SARM was a facility that welcomed many acclaimed artists, including Iron Maiden, Robert Palmer, Queen, King Crimson, Mott the Hoople, Roxy Music, Brian Eno, Cat Stevens, Spooky Tooth, and Jethro Tull. The studios were also used by nonIsland acts such as The Clash, Pet Shop Boys, KT Tunstall, Depeche Mode, The Eagles, Take That, Boyzone, Rihanna, Led Zeppelin, and Yes. It was said that Bob Marley and The Rolling Stones were recording at the same point in 1973 at the studios. During the mid 1970s, SARM was the first facility to offer 24-track recording, and when 48-track came out, they were the first to have it in Britain as well. They had the reputation for having a great mixing room, and went on to do the final mix of four Bob Marley
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albums: Catch a Fire (1973); Burnin (1973); Exodus (1977); and Kaya (1978). Next, we have Richard Branson’s Townhouse Studios, located in West London. Another Virgin Records’ enterprise that served as the London branch of Branson’s first studio, The Manor, located in Oxfordshire. Townhouse was built in 1978 and had three rooms: studio one, two and four, number three being The Who’s exclusive Ramport Studios. Artists that recorded at the studios included Elton John, Phil Collins, Coldplay, Muse, Jamiroquai, Kylie Minogue, Oasis, Blur, Ozzy Osbourne, The Killers, Simple Minds, UB40, and Pulp. A popular place to record drum sounds during the 1980s, it was at Townhouse that producer Hugh Padgham treated the drum sounds for Phil Collins’ In The Air Tonight, which became one of the biggest hits in popular music. Throughout its history, the studios had a close affiliation with Solid State Logic (SSL), which allowed them to be the first recording space in the UK to install an SSL B-series console. bbey Road. Olympic. Trident. SARM. Townhouse. These five studios are just an example of what happened in London’s musical heyday, though countless other legendary recording facilities existed as well; some survived, some transformed, and some disappeared, but what is certain is that they all played a part in creating the most important music of the 20th century. Today, the recording business is recovering from a crisis, but new studios are popping out with the same determination of their predecessors: Metropolis Studios, The Church Studios, CaVa Sounds, Eastcote Studios, Motor Museum, and all the Miloco Studios are amongst the many facilities that are striving to make their mark on musical history. “There is a future,” says Nick Young, who runs the Miloco group, and we agree. As Winston Churchill once said, “The farther backward you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see”. At the last IMS conference, Paul McGuinness (Ex-U2 Manager) talked about how the music business has always been affected by technological change. From vinyls, to cassettes, to CDs, to Mp3s, it’s no news that the industry always had to adapt. But the music itself constantly survived, and always thrived. Therefore, if music is food for the soul, then the artist is the seed, and studios are the cultivators. Thus, as long as there is a hunger for great music, there will always be a demand for studios, and London will continue to be one of the epicentres of musical creation in the world. www.sonicvistastudios.com