Olympic Studios

Olympic Studios

The Olympic Studios were important independent recording studios in Barnes ( London Borough of Richmond upon Thames ), where the Rolling Stones had recorded large parts of the early repertoire. The studios existed from 1957 to 2009. The studios accounted for a significant proportion of British music productions by beat bands whose music dominated the continental charts and represented the British Invasion in the United States.

Founded in 1957

They began as Olympic Sound Studios in 1957 at Carton Hall, Carton Street in Marylebone, London . The building was rented by the blind businessman Angus McKenzie, who had recently bought the Olympia Studio in Fulham from Larry Lyon ; after that he named his new recording studios. He involved sound engineer Richard “Dick” Swettenham as a partner . The Carton Hall was a former synagogue , converted by Robertson Grant (the father of Keith Grant, who started as a sound engineer in the new recording studios in 1958). The first orders were jingles , which were created here from March 2, 1959 to November 4, 1962. The studios were home to one of the first four-track recorders in Great Britain from 1960 and the world's first transistor- based mixer , developed by Swettenham. Classical music was also initially recorded here. Concert pianist Sergio Fiorentino recorded Frédéric Chopin's Tarantella in A flat major (op.43), Franz Liszt's Canzone Napolitana (p. 248) and Nocturne Impromptu (p. 191) (recorded on March 4, 1960), Ludwig van Beethoven's Sonata 9 in E Major ( op.14 # 1), Sonata 27 in E minor (op.90), Chopin's Nocturnen 1-20 (March 5, 1960) or Chopin's Impromptu # 4 in C minor (op. 66) (May 3, 1960 ) on.

Rock 'n' Roll and beat music

Gene Vincent was on a European tour in London, on November 7, 1963 ( Humpity Dumpity ) and November 14, 1963 ( Temptation Baby , Where Have You Been All My Life , The Beginning of the End ), 16. Recorded at Olympic Sound Studios in March 1964 ( Love Love Love , Lavender Blue , You Are My Sunshine ), April 15, 1964 (five tracks), June 23 (three tracks) and June 24, 1964 (three tracks) . Dusty Springfield was a frequent guest here until June 1964 and stood for her album Stay Awhile (October 1963 to January 1964) with the hit I Only Want to be With You (October 17, 1963; Rank 4) or I Just Don't Know What to do With Myself (June 4, 1964; 3rd place) in front of the microphone. The first ballad became the first million seller for the studio. Gene Pitney recorded That Girl Belongs to Yesterday (February 29, 1964) here, produced by Rolling Stones producer Andrew Loog Oldham and Chris Blackwell . The latter booked the studios for Millie Small and her reverberation-laden one-hit Wonder My Boy Lollipop (January 1964). The song with the Ska rhythm sold at least six million copies worldwide and was the most successful single from the studios. Marianne Faithfull recorded her hits As Tears Go By (May 28, 1964; Rank 9) and This Little Bird (April 9, 1965; Rank 6) here.

The first recordings of the Graham Bond Organization took place on December 16 and 19, 1964 for the album The Sound of '65 with famous cast : Graham Bond (organ / alto saxophone / vocals), Jack Bruce (bass), Ginger Baker (drums) and Dick Heckstall-Smith (tenor saxophone); produced by Robert Stigwood , sound engineer was Keith Grant. This was followed by the albums There's a Bond Between Us (December 16, 1964, June 30 and July 1, 1964) and parts of the album Solid Bond (October 1966).

The band The Troggs visited the studios for Wild Thing in February 1966 , the recording session took place under the direction of Keith Grant with producer Larry Page. The group oriented itself to the original demo recording , so that the ocarina played by music director Colin Frechter could also be heard. The guitars are tuned properly on a means-C, and so the chords as between appearing A and B . The uniformly recorded Take 2 of only two takes was used as a master tape and released on April 22, 1966. In the same recording session, the follow -up hit With a Girl Like You was created , which became the first number one hit for the Olympic recording studios after its release in June 1966 . The Mike Westbrook Sextet and Mike Osborne Quintet / Mike Surman, who recorded eight previously unpublished titles (August 28, 1966), can be assigned to jazz .

The Australian Easybeats , still unknown in Europe , recorded a total of four tracks in September 1966 during an 8-hour session in the Olympic Studios under the studio direction of Shel Talmy . Talmy chose Friday on My Mind, featuring the distinctive intertwined riffs of two guitars, completed in just one take. His idea was the short drum solo shortly before the end, which introduces the last chorus. The title Friday on My Mind , published on October 14, 1966, became a million seller, for which they were awarded a gold record on May 12, 1967 .

New studios

In 1965, studio owner Angus McKenzie found out about demolition plans on Carton Street, which meant that the studio building had to give way to a parking garage. While looking for a new location, he found a new property in Barnes (a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames ) in 1966. The former Byfeld Hall (117 Church Road), which opened on December 20, 1906, housed a dance hall and then a film studio for television advertising . During the construction phase, numerous conversions for studio technology were carried out by Keith Grant and Russel Pettinger, and there was even space for a 70-person orchestra. Grant and Cliff Adams bought Angus McKenzie's shares in 1966 and renamed the recording studio Olympic Studios . In January 1967 the studios were opened with a main studio 1, a second studio and an echo chamber in the basement, Richard Swettenham became chief engineer. One of the first recordings in the still unfinished studios was made by the Rolling Stones , who recorded their hit single Ruby Tuesday there on November 16, 1966 . This was followed by Eric Burdon and the Animals in December 1966 with When I Was Young ; in January 1967 they returned for Winds of Change and Poems by the Sea . The Ben Webster Sextet recorded the jazz track Moonglow here on April 27, 1967 .

The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones became regular customers and booked the now renowned studios for six consecutive albums between 1966 and 1972. They liked the studios because of the technical possibilities that came close to the RCA studios in Los Angeles. The first recording sessions took place on May 10, 1963 in the old studios (including the first single Come On / I Want to Be Loved ). In an intermediate phase, they then used Decca's own recording studios. Then they came back to recordings for the LP Between the Buttons between November 8 and 26, 1966 , from which hits like Dandelion and Ruby Tuesday / Let's Spend the Night Together (with Jack Nitzsche at the piano) were decoupled; the mix took place on January 6, 1967. The next LP Their Satanic Majesties Request (February 9 to October 23, 1967) has already been recorded in the new Olympic Studios . This was followed by Beggars Banquet (March 17 to July 25, 1968; with Sympathy for the Devil , June 1968), Let It Bleed (November 16/17, 1968, February 10 to November 2, 1969; with You Can't Always Get What You Want , November 16-17, 1968), the double album Exile on Main St (June 1969 to March 1972), Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out! (January to April 1970) or parts of Sticky Fingers (March 22, 1969 to January 1971). This was followed by Mixed Emotions (9 March to 29 June 1984); Up until Steel Wheels (July 1989), the studios were involved in the Stones' sessions - albeit together with others.

More beat bands

In the meantime, other performers had also recorded here. Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page recorded four blues-oriented pieces in June 1965, namely Choker / Draggin 'My Tail / Snake Drive / West Coast Idea ; they were recorded again improved on August 17, 1965. The Who had recorded their previous hits in other London studios. On February 12, 1966, they stood in Carton Street - the old studios - for substitutes in front of the microphones, but not produced by Shel Talmy, of which 200,000 copies were sold. It wasn't until 1971 that the Who returned to the studios.

The British art rock formation Soft Machine recorded their first single Love Makes Sweet Music / Feelin 'Reelin' Squeelin ' in their new studios on February 5, 1967 , as did their album Volume 2 (February to March 1969). When Del Shannon LP Runaway '67 many seemed sidemen like John Paul Jones , Nicky Hopkins and Jimmy Page, with (23 to 26 February 1967). The new band Procol Harum stood in front of the microphones in April 1967 for their Bach adaptation A Whiter Shade of Pale and completed the song in just two takes without overdubs during a three-hour session . At least six million singles were sold worldwide. The jazz singer Carmen McRae traveled to London especially for her LP For Once in my Life (April 10-12, 1967).

The Small Faces' debut album of the same name (February 1966) was recorded by IBC and Olympic, the LP From the Beginning? was made by Decca, IBC and Olympic (May 1967), the third LP was again called Small Faces (released in June 1967). The in Cockney - dialect sung hit Lazy Sunday was from the album Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake decoupled (November-December 1967). The single Itchycoo Park (July 3 to 7, 1967; about truancy in Little Ilford Park in London) was recorded by the flanging of sound engineer George Chkiantz, who showed this sound effect to the regular sound engineer Glyn Johns . At the same time, the newly founded group Traffic was in the studio to record their debut album Mr. Fantasy (April to November 1967) with the American producer Jimmy Miller . The hits from this were Paper Sun and Hole in My Shoe . During the same period, the Rolling Stones stayed in the studios for their album Their Satanic Majesties Request .

The Yardbirds began their careers at Olympic Studios with the single A Certain Girl / I Wish You Would (March 1964) and Crossroads (August 1964), after which they changed studios frequently. This was followed by the Yardbirds hit Still I'm Sad , recorded both at the IBC studios and at Olympic (July 27, 1965). They only returned to the studios for Little Games (March 5, 1967) and Ten Little Indians (September 25, 1967).

Much of the Who’s later repertoire originated in Olympic Studios. The first was the LP Who's Next (March to May 1971). Other titles were Naked Eye (April 9-12 , 1971), Bargain and Too Much of Anything , Mary , My Wife , Baba O'Riley , Time Is Passing , Pure and Easy , Love Ain't For Keeping , Going Mobile and Let's See Action (May to June 1971). This was followed by Rock is Dead - Long Live Rock (May 19, 1972), Join Together (May 22, 1972), Relay (May 26, 1972), Put the Money Down (June 6, 1972), Waspman (August 7, 1972 ). Quadrophenia , one of the first albums recorded in Quadrofonie (May 1972 and June to August 1973), was spectacular . The Who returned to the studios for the recordings of Who Are You (October 1977) and Had Enough (December 1977).

Led Zeppelin recorded all studio albums up to and including Physical Graffity (1974) at Olympic Studios. The debut album Led Zeppelin (September to October 1968) took about 36 hours to record because most of the pieces by the band had often been played live before. Led Zeppelin II (January to August 1969) was recorded in seven other studios in addition to Olympic and contained the single million seller Whole Lotta Love (May 1969). Led Zeppelin III (January to August 1970), Led Zeppelin IV (December 1970 to March 1971), Houses of the Holy (January to August 1972) and Physical Graffiti ( mixed in October 1974) followed. Supertramp recorded the album Indelibly Stamped at Olympic Studios (March to April 1971).

The Pentangle recorded their debut album of the same name and produced by Shel Talmy (February to March 1968), as well as the later albums Cruel Sister (September 1970) and Reflection (March 1971).

Jimi Hendrix

Jimi Hendrix began on October 21, 1966 with his debut hit Hey Joe in the London De Lane Lea Studios , which he had previously played live for the first time on October 18, 1966 at the Paris Olympia . He was then a regular guest at the Olympic Studios, where he completed his first hit on October 23, 1966. This was followed by The Wind Cries Mary / Fire (February 3, 1967), Purple Haze / No no no no (February 7, 1967) , I Don't Live Today (February 23, 1967), Manic Depression / Remember (March 29, 1967), Are You Experienced (April 3, 1967), She's so Fine / Taking Care of no Business / Cat Talkin 'to Me (May 4, 1967), You Got Me Floating / Rainy Wish (October 3, 1967), Little One (October 5, 1967), South Saturn Delta (October 25, 1967), Wait Until Tomorrow / Ain't no Telling ( October 26, 1967), Spanish Castle Magic / Instrumental Jam (October 27, 1967), Castles Made of Sand / Bold As Love (October 29, 1967), Crosstown Traffic (December 21, 1967) and All Along the Watchtower ( December 21, 1967) . January 1968). The albums Are You Experienced (October 1966 to April 1967 at De Lane Lea Studios, mixing at Olympic) and Axis: Bold as Love (May to June 1967, October 1967) were also made at Olympic Studios.

The Beatles

The Beatles were almost exclusively in front of the microphones in EMI 's Abbey Road Studios . Exceptionally, on May 11, 1967 , they went to Olympic Studios for Baby You're a Rich Man . Work on All You Need Is Love also began on June 14, 1967 in Olympic Studios. On May 5, 1969 and May 6, 1969 recordings were made for the album Abbey Road . On May 5th, overdubs were on the program for George Harrison's composition Something , with Paul McCartney recording a new bass track and Harrison a new guitar track. Recordings for You Never Give Me Your Money followed the next day . Glyn Johns was commissioned by the Beatles to put together an album from the numerous recordings that had been made during the Let-It-Be sessions. Johns took the tapes to Olympic Studios to mix them there. Its first version was created in the period from March 10 to 13, 1969. In May 1969, this version was revised, which Johns completed on May 28, 1969. Another revision followed on January 5, 1970. The Beatles were still not satisfied, so in December 1969 Glyn Johns was commissioned to create a new version of the album as a soundtrack , which should match the song material of the film of the same name. On January 5, 1970, Glyn Johns had created a new version of the album. This version could not convince the Beatles either and remained unpublished. Only later revision by Phil Spector led to publication on May 8, 1970.

Rock music

A wide range of rock music was produced in Olympic Studios. For example the LP Odissey and Oracle by The Zombies (June to August 1967), the LP Leon Russell (September to October 1969) or the Easybeats LP Good Friday (June to August 1967). The Move began on November 16, 1967 for the single Fire Brigade (with sound recordings of a fire brigade siren) at Olympic, but ended the recordings only a year later on December 23, 1967 in the De Lane Lea studios. When Traffic was in Studio B for the album Mr. Fansasy (April to November 1967), the Rolling Stones for the LP Their Satanic Majesties Request were in Studio A.

The Family group recorded six albums here, beginning with Music in a Doll's House (June to July 1968) and ending with It's Only a Movie (August to September 1973). Blind Faith recorded the album of the same name here (February 20 to June 24, 1969). The Howlin'-Wolf LP The London Sessions (May 2 to 7, 1970) arose from a combined session with fellow blues fellow Muddy Waters , who recorded his LP Muddy Waters & Howlin 'Wolf Revisited on the same date . Derek and the Dominos recorded the album The Last Sessions here (May 1971). The Eagles had their debut album Eagles produced with the single Take it Easy (February 1972); Glyn Johns created a new format in country rock . The Eagles' album On the Border ran into difficulties. While the band tried harder sounds in the recording sessions, the music producer Glyn Johns was replaced by Bill Szymczyk after the recordings for the two tracks You Never Cry like a Lover and Best of My Love and the sessions were moved to the recording studios of the Record Plant in Los Angeles relocated. The reason for the change was that Johns emphasized the country elements and harmonies in the production, while Frey and Henley intended a harder sound.

Connie Talbot at the mixer in the Olympic Studios

The single Superstar for the musical Jesus Christ Superstar was created on October 5, 1969 with eight-track technology, even before the production of the soundtrack LP Jesus Christ Superstar began (March 1970). Jesus Christ Superstar was initially a rock opera before it developed into a theater musical. The soundtrack for the musical Evita was also created here (April to September 1974), and the soundtrack for the Rocky Horror Picture Show at Olympic was recorded in Studio 2 (August 1975). Queen went to the studios for the albums A Night at the Opera (August to November 1975) - but not the hit Bohemian Rhapsody contained on it - and The Miracle (January 1988 to January 1989). Eric Clapton trusted the studios with his Slowhand (May 1977) and Backless (November 1978) albums , Perry Como appeared here for his album Where You're Concerned (June 1977), Tony Hendrik produced the LP Do here for his discovery A La Carte Wah Diddy Diddy Round (March 1980), Pink Floyd recorded the LP The Final Cut here between July and December 1982 . Duran Duran came on for the LP Liberty (October 9, 1989 to March 1990).

Prince recorded songs for his albums Diamonds and Pearls (1991), The Hits / The B-Sides (1993) and Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic (1999) at Olympic Studios. Marius Müller-Westernhagen recorded his LP Affentheater in the recording studios of the avant-garde Cologne-based Can , but had it mixed in the Olympic Studios (August 1994). The first two Spice Girls albums named Spice (April 1995 to October 1996) and Spiceworld (June 1997) were also recorded there. The Verves album Urban Hymns was made at Olympic Studios between October 13, 1996 and August 4, 1997. Oasis came for the LP Standing on the Shoulder of Giants (April to August 1999), Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds for I Feel so Good (May 28, 2002).

Connie Talbot , who was only seven years old at the time, was discovered on the British talent show Britain's Got Talent and recorded the LP Over the Rainbow in Olympic Studios on October 12, 2007 . With the album No Line on the Horizon produced by Brian Eno and Steve Lillywhite (May 2007 to December 2008 in several studios; mixing in December 2008 at Olympic; released in February 2009) U2 were the last band before the legendary studios closed forever were.

Personal details and organization

Keith Robertson Grant (born February 16, 1941, † June 18, 2012) started at Regent Sound Studios in 1957 and joined Olympic shortly after it was founded in 1958, where he was promoted to studio manager in 1961. Grant was one of the most important sound engineers in beat music because he was responsible for around 120 top 20 hits. Richard “Dick” Swettenham was also there from the start as a sound engineer and designer of studio equipment. Sound engineer Eddie Kramer came to Olympic from Advision Studios in 1966 , but started his own business in 1969. Glyn Johns (born February 15, 1942) came in 1966 from the competing studio IBC, where he was discovered by the Rolling Stones on March 11, 1963 when he presented their five demo recordings Decca Records . The Rolling Stones took him to Olympic Studios in October 1966. Even though he spent most of his time here, he was England's first independent sound engineer from October 1965 - initially at Pye Recording Studios .

In 1966, Angus McKenzie sold his shares in the recording studio to Cliff Adams and Keith Grant. These in turn sold the long-renowned studios in 1987 to Virgin Records , who had the studios technically remodeled and reopened in 1988. Grant left the studios when it was taken over by Virgin Records in 1987. They have won the “Best Recording Studio” award from Music Week magazine five times .

Closure in 2009

The EMI group created two recording studios in 1992 through the purchase of Virgin Records - which had owned Olympic Studios since 1987. Therefore, EMI decided to close Olympic Studios on January 30th, 2009 and focus on Abbey Road Studios . With the purchase price of 3.5 million pounds achieved in February 2010, EMI intended to reduce its debt of 2.6 billion pounds and sold the loss-making studio with its eleven employees to a businessman. Nick Coleman suggested that the studio closure pointed to deeper problems faced by traditional recording technology as a whole. “We're not losing any music through the closure, but only a small part of the historic hinterland.” The “Olympic Cinema”, which has 120 seats, has been in the former recording studios since April 2013.

Web links

Commons : Olympic Studios  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Alphabetical list of the most important recordings in Olympic Studios on Olympic Cinema

Individual evidence

1. ^ Joseph Murrells, Million Selling Records , 1985, p. 182.
2. ↑ Chris Blackwell: From LP to DVD, Still Living the Island Life ( Memento of the original from June 10, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , MixOnline of December 1, 1999. 
3. ^ Heather Augustyn, Ska: An Oral History , 2010, p. 139.
4. ^ Discography , Graham Bond Organization
5. ^ Alan Clayson / Jacqueline Ryan, Rock's Wild Things - The Troggs Files , London, 2000, p. 57.
6. ^ John Tait, Vanda and Young: Inside Australia's Hit Factory , 2010, p. 87.
7. ↑ Clive Green, Silver Shadow , PSN Europe, January 6, 2012.
8. ↑ Gordon Thompson, Please Please Me. Sixties British Pop, Inside Out , Oxford 2008, p. 301.
9. ↑ Stephen Davis, Old Gods Almost Dead , 2001, no page number
10. ^ Andy Neill / Matt Kent, Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere: The Complete Chronicle of the Who 1958-1978 , 2011, p. 113.
11. ^ Richard Barnes, The Who: Maximum R&B , 1982, p. 42
12. ^ Andy Neill / Matt Kent, Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere: The Complete Chronicle of the Who 1958-1978 , 2011, p. 116.
13. ↑ Eric Siblin, The Cello Suites: In Search of a Baroque Masterpiece , 2010, p. 231.
14. ^ Mark Lewisohn, The Beatles Recording Sessions , 1988, p. 176.
15. ^ Mark Lewisohn, The Beatles Recording Sessions , 1988, pp. 171, 172, 176, and 196.
16. ↑ John Einarson, Desperados: The Roots of Country-Rock , 2001, p. 226 f.
17. ^ William Ruhlmann: On the Border - Eagles: Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards: AllMusic. In: allmusic.com. Rovi Corp., accessed January 1, 2013 . 
18. ↑ Keith Grant , The Telegraph, September 12, 2012.
19. ↑ Olympic Studios closes: A Sad Day For Music , Real Music Forum of March 26, 2009. ( Memento of February 1, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
20. ^ EMI Sells 'Home of the Stones' , The Telegraph, February 27, 2010.
21. ↑ Nick Coleman: Legendary Olympic Recording Studio to Burn Out  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , The Independent dated Jan. 2, 2009.  

Coordinates: 51 ° 28 ′ 30.5 "  N , 0 ° 14 ′ 26.9"  W.