STRAWBERRY STUDIOS
Opposite: CH Vintage Audio and contributors recreate the 1970s Strawberry Studios recording space for a Heritage Open Day. Below: The reconstructed recording space; CH Vintage Audio’s Barry Atherton secures the roof; Strawberry Studios blue plaque awarded by the Stockport Heritage Trust.
The team constructed a wooden frame to house the recreation of the control room, based on photos and the memories of former employees of the studio. Upon constructing the frame, wooden boards covered with appropriate wallpaper were placed on the walls and ceiling, with spotlights added at various points to give a subdued lighting effect. Wood panelling was placed around the window, and a white shelf unit in the corner of the room completed the construction work - all that remained was to fill the room with equipment and to box off a small area of the studio space that would allow people to look through the famous window. Vintage audio collectors, Hewitt, Richard Scott and Ian Prior’s collection of original Strawberry equipment completed the building process, with Hewitt supplying one of Iron Maiden’s heritage mixing desks as a stand-in for the untraceable original. “The original Strawberry Studios had such lavish décor, with red chairs in the control room, reception, and stonewalls in the control room. Most of the equipment and technology had not been seen outside of London. The lighting also tended to be quite dim and I clearly remember Eric Stewart engineering in deep black lens sunglasses, which made me think he probably couldn’t see any controls,” Hewitt explained. Bordering the control room were items borrowed from the Chris Hewitt Museum of Rock, such as: Fleetwood Mac’s first WEM PA System and 2 WEM Audiomaster mixers; Pink Floyd’s WEM Audiomaster live mixers; Curved Air’s WEM PA system; Led Zeppelin’s WEM PA columns; 2 Iron Maiden Soundcraft desks; a WEM mixer used by the Eurythmics rehearsal room;
George Harrison’s Vox amp and cab; John Lennon’s DBX rack unit; and Roger Waters’ Alembic Pre Amp. There was also an AMS delay unit, a pair of small monitors, a reverb tower and a BGW power amp, all of which were used by Pink Floyd. An additional PA system was on display, as well as various bin and horn systems from the US, supplied by Martin Audio. The host of original equipment granted attendees an historical experience. By the afternoon of Friday 8 September 2017, the process was complete, and later launched that evening by visiting Mayor of Stockport, Councillor Linda Holt. Mondiale Publishing credits Barry Atherton, Brandon Spivey, Chris Hewitt, CJ, Tom Hewitt, Richard Turner, Ian Prior, and Peter Wadsworth, who assisted with the design, construction and distribution of equipment. “CH Vintage Audio can recreate pretty much any historic musical archaeology given a photo of the original building, equipment and some time to research it,” Hewitt concluded. The Strawberry Studios: I Am In Love exhibition opened on 27 January 2017 and will run until 29 January 2018. Entry to the exhibition is free. Later this year, Hewitt and CH Vintage Audio will recreate an early ‘70s WEM sound system for a Queen performance in an old London Town Hall, which will be dressed as an art collage. TPi Photos: CH Vintage Audio www.strawberry50.com www.chvintageaudio.com
Follow us on @johnhenrysltd
Specialist Suppliers to the Entertainment Industry
On Stage, On Air, On the Road Delivering quality equipment and professional services to the entertainment industry since 1976
Audio Rental Consoles Speaker Systems Monitoring Wireless Systems Communication Systems DJ Equipment Backline Rental Grand Pianos Music Stands Transformers Rehearsal Studios The Pro Shop Staging Rental Rolling Risers Skid Decks Transportation
16-24 Brewery Road, London N7 9NH | www.johnhenrys.com | e: info@johnhenrys.com | T: +44 (0)20 7609 9181 67