Townhouse Studios
Townhouse Studios (officially named The Town House) was a recording studio in West London. Built by Richard Branson in 1978, and managed by Barbara Jeffries it grew into one of the most respected and finest music recording facilities in the world, as part of the Virgin Studios Group. The Virgin Studios Group was acquired by EMI when Richard sold Virgin Records to EMI in 1992. The Sanctuary Group bought the studio from EMI in 2002. Al Stone, a recording engineer and producer trained at Town House bought the studio from Sanctuary in 2007, only to see it close in or around January 2008 after a valiant attempt to save it.
The building has three recording rooms (confusingly numbered 1, 2 and 4 for historical reasons). Number 3 was the Who's Rampart Studios.
The studio was seminal in progressive rock. Artists that have recorded at Townhouse Studios include , XTC, Asia, Bryan Ferry, Coldplay, Muse, Duran Duran, Elton John, Jamiroquia, Kylie Minogue, Oasis, Queen and Robbie Williams, and most famously Phil Collins for his and producer Hugh Padgham's unique use of the Studio 2's "Stone Room" in achieving what would become the drum sound of the 80"s.
The "Stone Room" was arguably one of the greatest recording rooms in music history.
The Town House had a close relationship with Solid State Logic through its history, Being the first studio in the UK to install one of their A-series consoles. This close history reflects that SSL's 1,000th console ever produced was installed in studio one.
The studio was famous for its vibe which was a direct reflection of Richard Branson's attitude, meaning it was very loose and creative yet world class in its technical ability to handle the most demanding recording situations with ease. The studio was a favorite for decades of top producers, and in fact several were trained there.
It is widely accepted among producers and music recording professionals that a facility like The Town House can never be replaced.