London History: In the mid 18th Century London's Covent Garden appeared to have a great many Turkish baths. They were actually brothels in disguise!
Abbey Road Studios, London
Abbey Road Studios in London, England, were the world's most famous, and the world's first, purpose-built recording studios. 3 Abbey Road opened it's doors on 29 November 1931 to the glorious sounds of the London Symphony Orchestra recording 'Land of Hope and Glory".
Set in the highly desirable St John's Wood district of North London, 3 Abbey Road is a detached stucco-fronted villa/Georgian townhouse which was built in 1831. When the property was purchased by The Gramophone Company rather than replace it with a brand new building they set about building their recording studio within the present structure maintaining the beautiful frontage.
1931 was the year that The Gramophone Company joined with the Columbia Graphophone Company to form the new company The Electric and Musical Industries Ltd which became known as simply EMI. EMI took over the recording studio at Abbey Road and it was named EMI Studios.
Inside EMI Studios was the latest and greatest technology of the day which involved recording the artists onto a wax master disc which was then used to produce vinyl 12 inch records which span on the gramophone at 78 revolutions per minute. This cutting edge technology attracted all the stars of the day, from all genres of music, ranging from Yehudi Menuhin (who recorded Egar's Violin Concerto) to Noel Coward (who recorded Mad Dogs and Englishmen).
For the next few decades EMI Studios recorded most of the most popular artists in the music business but it was, during the Second World War, used by the Ministry of Information to record their war propoganda. In 1950 the legendary George Martin arrived at Abbey Road and the producer found himself working with a diverse range of artists, from the classical musicians to the hilarious Peter Sellers (who recorded Goodness Gracious Me with Sophia Loren).
The 1950's saw a massive increase in the production of popular music to meet the growing demands of the younger consumers. Elvis Presley's impact was soon to have in impact across the Atlantic and EMI was keen to have their own "Pop Stars". In a typically British fashion a clean cut well spoken Cliff Richard burst onto the scene with his band the Drifters (Shadows) with "Move It".
The development of the Long Playing Record (LP or Long Player) created more demands upon the London studio and it's continually updated recording equipment. In 1962 Martin took the momentous decision to sign a group of young lads from Liverpool called the Beatles (and the seeds for London's Swinging Sixties were sown). The Beatles recorded most of their material at the EMI Studios at 3 Abbey Road but it was the iconic cover of their 1969 album "Abbey Road" that really inspired EMI to rename their London studios to "Abbey Road Studios" in 1970.
George Martin is often referred to as the "5th Beatle" and his skills as a producer certainly enhanced the recordings which still stand up well against those of today. However it was the Beatles drive for perfection and their thirst for something new and unique that pushed Martin to his creative and technological limits and beyond.
The 1960's saw a trans-Atlantic creative competition that had not been witnessed before (or since). In 1966 the Beatles released their album "Rubber Soul" which had drawn it's influences from American artists such as the Byrds. Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys stated that the LP had a profound effect upon him which led to their acclaimed Pet Sounds LP. In turn this, wonderfully creative, work of art stirred the creativity of the Beatle's Paul McCartney who found himself wanting to break free of the restrictions of the current studio.
Together with the other members of the band, and George Martin, Paul set about recording the Beatles next LP. At that time the studio had been using 4-track machines (4 separate tracks) but the demands of this new album were able to be met by the use of an 8-track (which had been available to artists across the water for some time). The band experimented with all of the available equipment, often in unconventional ways, and, in the process new recording techniques were discovered (such as recording directly to the recorder or DI). Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) was to become the most influential album of all time and shaped, not only the music but also, the recording techniques of the future.
Another influential album of 1967, recorded at Abbey Road London, was Pink Floyd's "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn". Pink Floyd recorded many more albums there including the almighty successful "The Dark Side of the Moon" which took full advantage of further technological advances to create one of the few albums that was released in Quadrophonic sound, which is rather like today's surround sound but only 4 speakers. Again, the London Studio had been instrumental in the creation of a musical masterpiece that nearly every person has knowledge of.
Today the Abbey Road Studios continue to be at the very forefront of music recording using the latest and greatest technology while being able to take full advantage of vintage gear of the highest quality. It is, most probably, the most technically advanced studio complex in the world.