Abbey Road up for sale

[Ketman]

The world famous Abbey Road Studios has reportedly been put up for sale by EMI to help ease the company's financial troubles, reports the Financial Times.

(See pictures of the studio and the area in the slideshow below.)

EMI refused to comment for the paper, but the Financial Times confirmed the sale with five sources, who said the company had been courting bidders for the property.

The story didn't indicate whether the Abbey Road brand will go with the sale, though the Times quoted a media lawyer, who said, “The brand is worth more than the building . . . anybody who wants the studios will want the brand.”

Sale of the famed studio, which used by the Beatles during their career and also in their careers after the group broke up to record some of their biggest hits, would be the end of an era. The Beatles named one of their most famous albums after the studio and subsequently made it world famous.

Pink Floyd also recorded at the studio, which was originally built in 1831 and was converted to a studio 100 years later. It was used by classical musicians until 1958, when Cliff Richard and the Drifters used it for rock n' roll. Known originally as EMI Studios, the name was changed to Abbey Road Studios in 1970.

http://www.examiner.com/x-2082-Beatles-Examiner~y2010m2d15-Report-Beatles-famed-Abbey-Road-Studios-put-up-for-sale-by-EMI?cid=examiner-email

The question is, who will the buyer be?

[Lucy]

What will become of it I wonder?

[The Duke]

Apartments. That's what everyone wants in London now.

[Ketman]

I'm only semi-alarmed. As the article says, the brand name is worth more than the building. But the brand name would be worth a lot less without the building remaining pretty much as it is. There are coachloads of fans from all over the world walking the zebra crossing every day, and there's money in that for someone. But a block of apartments is not what those fans want to see. My guess is they'll open it as a Beatles museum. I don't want that, I want it to continue as a recording venue, so that it's a living memorial to the Beatles, rather than a dead one. But if that's not economical, I suppose a museum is the next best thing.

[twovirgins]

ok now this is the ultimate beatle colllectable now lololol!

[Maggie Mae]

ok now this is the ultimate beatle colllectable now lololol!

Do we want to pool our resources and buy the building? I can spare $20 (in Canadian currency... sigh) :wink2:

[twovirgins]

good idea Mags! ok we will start a "save abbey road" fundraiser! 20 bucks from every beatles fan and mabie we can buy all of EMI :laugh5:

[BeatleNut9]

That would be amazing! If it can't remain a studio, at least fans could turn it into a museum or something, right? We'd all love to go inside, I know! :D

[Maia 66]

Why don't Paulie and Nancy buy it? Between the two of them, they have more money than the sum total worth of every Beatle fan the world over. Plus, it's only a few blocks from his Cavendish Place home...

[I am the Paulrus]

Couldn't the National Trust step-in and protect it giving it landmark status?

[Lucy]

Sell Abbey Road? Oh please, just Let It Be

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1251550/RAY-CONNOLLY-Sell-Abbey-Road-Oh-just-Let-It-Be.html#ixzz0fnVIKJJq

[Lucy]

Sir Paul McCartney hopes Abbey Road can be saved

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8519197.stm

Sir Paul McCartney has told the BBC he hopes the famous Abbey Road Studios can be saved, after reports that it has been put up for sale by owner EMI.

Selling the studios, best known for being the place where the Beatles recorded their albums, could raise £30m for the debt-stricken record company.

Sir Paul told the Newsnight programme some people associated with the studio may be "mounting some bid to save it".

EMI and its private equity owner Terra Firma have declined to comment.


It is not known if any sale would see the site continue as a record studios or be converted for another use.

"There are a few people who have been associated with the studio for a long time who were talking about mounting some bid to save it," said Sir Paul.

"I sympathise with them. I hope they can do something, it'd be great."

Zebra crossing

EMI recently revealed that it needs to raise more than £100m from investors to prevent it from breaching its banking arrangements with US lending giant Citigroup.

Earlier this month, the record company also reported a pre-tax loss of £1.75bn for the year to 31 March 2009.

Abbey Road Studios still draws Beatles fans from around the world, many of whom pose for photographs on the nearby zebra crossing to imitate the front cover of the Beatles' last recorded album, Abbey Road.

The building in the St John's Wood area of London is a converted 1831 Georgian townhouse.

[Lucy]

Ten things you need to know about the iconic recording studio

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-10s/2010/02/16/emi-puts-abbey-road-up-for-sale-ten-things-you-need-to-know-about-the-iconic-recording-studio-115875-22047377/

Following the news today that Abbey Road has been put up for sale by record label EMI, here are ten essential bits of trivia regarding arguably the world's most famous recording studio.

1. Originally built in 1831, the Gramophone Company bought the Georgian townhouse for £100,000 in 1929, before opening it as a state-of-the-art recording studio three years later. The Gramophone Company would later merge with Columbia Graphophone Company to form EMI.

2. The studios are a quick five minute walk from the St. John's Wood Underground Station. The studios, however, are not based anywhere near Abbey Road station, a soon-to-open Docklands Light Railway stop in Stratford, East London that is due to open later this year.

3. Initially used by the likes of the London Symphony Orchestra, its first exposure to rock music came in 1958 when Cliff Richard recorded "Move It" there, a track often cited as the first European rock and roll single.

4. The studios were used for propaganda recordings for the British Government during the Second World War.

5. The first British artist to record a No.1 hit single at Abbey Road was Eddie Calvert, whose 1954 recording of Oh Mein Papa topped the charts for nine weeks.

6. The Beatles are unquestionably the act most associated with Abbey Road, with the band having recorded 90 per cent of their output in the North London complex with legendary producer George Martin at the helm. The band's first proper session in 1962 resulted in their first hit single Love Me Do, their final stint in 1969 saw them record their swansong album ‘Abbey Road’, named in tribute to the studio that had helped form their sound.

7. As well as revolutionising popular culture, the Beatles time at Abbey Road saw the group help pioneer many new studio techniques, with such innovations as flanging and eight track recording appearing first on Fab Four records.

8. Pink Floyd ‘s multi-million selling Dark Side of the Moon, Radiohead’s breakthrough album The Bends and Oasis’s height of Britpop long-player Be Here Now are among the many notable recordings to have been cut at the studio.

9. A long list of classic movie soundtracks have also been recorded at Abbey Road, including Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of The Lost Ark and the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

10. The Volkswagen Beetle parked next to the zebra crossing on the Beatles’ iconic Abbey Road album sleeve, belonged to one of the people living in the apartment across from the recording studio. After the album came out, the number plate was stolen repeatedly from the car. In 1986, the car was sold at an auction for $23,000 and is currently on display at the Volkswagen museum in Wolfsburg, Germany.

[Lucy]

Ex-Beatle backs move to save Abbey Road

http://itn.co.uk/abd55ddc40b54ecc29f857d276d9b065.html

Sir Paul McCartney has pledged his support to save Abbey Road Studios after reports that record company owners EMI plan to sell the property.

The studio was made famous by the Beatles' eponymous final album, Abbey Road. The band recorded 90 per cent of their music at the north London site, joining Pink Floyd, Blur and composer Sir Edward Elgar in a long line up of celebrated acts to record there.

In a TV interview, Sir Paul described Abbey Road as a "great studio". He said that "it would be lovely if somebody could get a thing together to save it."

EMI has made no comment on a potential sale, but Sir Paul said, "there are a few people who have been associated with the studio for a long time who were talking about mounting some bid to save it. I sympathise with them. I hope they can do something, it'd be great."

EMI originally bought Abbey Road Studios in 1929 for £100,000, but now it's parent company Terra Firma reportedly wants to raise tens of millions of pounds on a sale.

The record company has been saddled with debts after Terra Firma's highly-leveraged 2007 takeover, posting a £1.75 billion loss for the year to March 2009.

EMI chief executive Elio Leoni-Sceti is thought to be planning for more cuts, whilst investing in the growth of the group's digital operations.

The company has made attempts to protect the studio from increasing competition, with projects like Abbey Road Live, which offered fans a way to buy instant concert recordings at venues. Recent recording developments and cheaper overseas facilities have left the studio struggling to keep up with its competitors.

[Asha]

I think they should have a concert to save it!

Paul could be the headliner!

[Ketman]

£100,000 was lot of money in 1929, even for a Georgian house in a select area. It must be bigger than it looks from the front.

[twovirgins]

OH just buy it Macca ! I know you want too ! :P

[GoodmorningJude]

This is definitely ridiculous and if anyone should buy it, it should definitely be Paul or Ringo. They can both chip in :)

[Lucy]

Abbey Road for sale - zebra crossing not included

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8519706.stm

Reports that the historic Abbey Road studios in London are up for sale have caused consternation in the music industry, and beyond.

For many, it is inconceivable that the iconic recording complex made famous by the Beatles could be closed down or converted for another use.

Hundreds of tourists visit Abbey Road every day to pay homage to the 'Fab Four', with many leaving graffiti tributes and mementoes on its walls and signage.

Many risk life and limb replicating the band's Abbey Road album cover on the zebra crossing outside, enraging countless cabbies, bus drivers and other motorists in the process.

Their consternation, however, will be nothing compared to the furore that will ensue should music giant EMI and its parent company Terra Firma succeed in selling it off.

Sir Paul McCartney has led calls for the studios to be saved, saying he had "so many memories there" from his time with the Beatles.

"It still is a great studio," he told the BBC's Newsnight. "It would be lovely if somebody could get a thing together to save it."

Ambience

"It's got to be a recording studio," echoed Robbie Williams at the Brit Awards on Tuesday, saying it had been "fascinating and wonderful" to work there.

US singer-songwriter Regina Spektor is just one of the many artists to have been seduced by its special ambience.



"If there is the most perfect studio on the planet, it's Abbey Road," she told the BBC last year.

"No place sounds or feels like it."

"Someone has to buy it to save it," wrote DJ Chris Evans on his BBC blog. "It's too important and could also make a fortune if marketed correctly.

"If I was a gazillionaire like I used to be, I wouldn't think twice about snapping it up."

Were Abbey Road to close its doors, it would not be the first iconic London recording studio to cease operations.

Last year EMI shut its historic Olympic Studios in Barnes, saying the building made famous by Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix and the Rolling Stones was no longer profitable.

The future of the BBC's Maida Vale studios is also uncertain, though there are no immediate plans to move its operations elsewhere.

Resonance

Along with the likes of Sun Studio in Memphis, however, Abbey Road has a special resonance that will linger even if it ceases to continue in its current form.

Indeed, as Evans suggests, it could conceivably have a life beyond that as a museum or tourist attraction.



Abbey Road was the Beatles' spiritual home for much of the 1960s
Though many would find this regrettable, it is surely a better option than seeing it bulldozed to make way for high-price flats.

Even this option might be unworkable, though, should Westminster City Council stand in the way of the site's redevelopment.

"While it would be incredibly sad to see EMI leave after all these years, we sincerely hope any future owner would ensure the site continued to be synonymous with world class music production," said the council's deputy leader Robert Davis.

"Any alternative uses would need very careful consideration given the sensitivity of the location."

Originally a town house built in 1830, No. 3 Abbey Road was purchased in 1929 for £100,000 and transformed into the world's first custom-built recording studio.

It was opened two years later by classical composer Edward Elgar, who marked the occasion with a historic performance of his Pomp and Circumstance march.

In 1932, violinist Yehudi Menuhin - then just 16 - was invited by Elgar to record his own Violin Concerto, beginning a life-long association with Abbey Road.

The studios remained open during World War II, hosting the last recordings bandleader Glenn Miller made before his death in 1944.

By the 1950s they had become home to a new generation of pop artists, among them Cliff Richard and the Shadows.

The Beatles made most of their recordings from 1962 onwards at Abbey Road, spending more than 100 days there in 1967 producing their Sgt Pepper album.

Financial woes

Other landmark discs recorded there include Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, Wings' Band on the Run and Radiohead's OK Computer.

Snow Patrol, Massive Attack and Manic Street Preachers are some of the many contemporary bands to make use of its facilities.



Take That are among many bands who have performed there in recent years
Abbey Road's expansive Studio One also make it suitable for recording film scores with large orchestras.

The Star Wars, Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings movies are among many to have had their music produced by the B507 in London NW8.

"Abbey Road was the first great British studio," David Hepworth of Word magazine told the BBC News website.

"It was built to accommodate dance bands and orchestras as well as solo artists, so it can do everything."

Other pundits, though, see Abbey Road as just another victim of the financial woes afflicting the music industry as a whole.

"It is an extensive piece of real estate and it must cost a lot to run," said Dave Robinson of Pro Sound News Europe magazine.

"There are easier ways to make records these days, with a laptop and a microphone. You don't need these big places."

[Lucy]

We can work it out: National Trust 'open to buying' Abbey Road studios

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/feb/17/national-trust-beatles-abbey-road

Organisation already owns other Beatles' sites, including childhood homes of Paul McCartney and John Lennon

The National Trust has come forward as a possible buyer for Abbey Road studios, the birthplace of most of the Beatles' records, which is under threat of sale by its owners EMI.

Paul McCartney said earlier this week that he hoped a bid would come together to save the London landmark, and today the National Trust revealed its name might be in the frame."We are open to the idea of buying the property," said a Trust spokeswoman.

"We just need to canvas opinion first to see what the public wants us to do.

"We already own the house Paul McCartney grew up in [20 Forthlin Road in Allerton, Liverpool], and John Lennon's too, so it wouldn't be out of place for us to own Abbey Road as well."

No one from EMI would comment on the sale, but a well-placed source said the record giant had received a number of unsolicited offers for Abbey Road, and was open to selling the property. "It is not an integral part of the business," said the source.

The National Trust has been "overwhelmed" with calls from the public ever since Chris Evans floated the idea of it buying Abbey Road on his Radio 2 breakfast show this morning, the organisation said in a press release.

"It is not often that the public spontaneously suggests we should acquire a famous building. However, Abbey Road recording studios appear to be very dear to the nation's heart to the extent that we will take soundings as to whether a campaign is desirable or even feasible," it said.

The charity will also ask leading musicians who have used the studios to see if there is enough momentum to launch a "full-blown Save Abbey Road Campaign", it added.

Evans discussed buying Abbey Road himself on his Radio 2 blog today. In a post entitled "Who Wouldn't Want To Stay at the Fab Four Seasons ?", Evans said: "If I was a gazillionaire, like I used to be, I wouldn't think twice about snapping it up. This is a must buy, must have - the ultimate in Beatles memorabilia.

"O2 - where are you? Richard Caring - woohoo? Macca - calling you, too? Branson - come on son? Sir Philip Green - you have to be seen!!!

"Guys – seriously this could be a bargain and a lifetime of brownie points."

The Guardian called Caring, McCartney, Branson and Green, but none were available for comment.

Speaking on BBC's Newsnight last night, McCartney seemed hopeful the studio would be saved.

"There are a few people who have been associated with the studio for a long time who were talking about mounting some bid to save it. I sympathise with them. I hope they can do something, it'd be great. I have got so many memories there with the Beatles," he said.

EMI bought the house at 3 Abbey Road for £100,000 in 1929 and transformed it into the world's first custom-built recording studios. No price has been put on the building in the affluent St John's Wood district of north London but there has been speculation that it could be worth somewhere between £10m and £30m.

The studio has been used by everyone from Sir Edward Elgar to Pink Floyd, Radiohead and Blur. But it is the Beatles who really made the studios famous. The vast majority of their recordings between 1962 and 1969 were made there and they named their final album Abbey Road. For the past 40 years, Beatles fans have flocked to the street to recreate the album cover by walking across the zebra crossing outside the studio.

[mluque125]

Looks like it's time for me to save up some money and get over there!

[Lucy]

The Beatles are just like Shakespeare – so let’s save Abbey Road for the

Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/2858522/Chris-Evans-plea-to-save-Abbey-Road-recording-studio.html#ixzz0fsVzGLWA

RADIO star Chris Evans has called for the iconic Abbey Road studios - made famous by The Beatles - to be saved from property developers.
The recording venue in St John's Wood, north London, is being sold by its cash-strapped owners EMI.

But Radio 2 DJ Evans said yesterday: "The Beatles are to contemporary music what Shakespeare is to the written word. Someone has to buy it and save it. It's too important.

"If I had the money I wouldn't think twice. If developers buy it, they will only turn it into luxury apartments."

The Beatles recorded all their classic albums at the studio complex, bar Let It Be.

The cover of 1969's Abbey Road even showed them on the zebra crossing outside.

Evans, 43, said: "The Beatles are everything as far as music is concerned." And he urged the surviving group members, Sir Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, to step in.

"How great would it be if they owned Abbey Road? How about they do one Live Aid-style concert.

"One concert from those guys and some pals, your Stings and Eric Claptons, and it would be paid for."

Evans added: "Paul could pay for it now and the concert would pay him back with interest.
"Or how about they hold a Beatles memorabilia auction there?

"Top lot, a Beatles gig at a venue of your choice with the two remaining Beatles. Beatles memorabilia is the most expensive. Surely Abbey Road is the ultimate piece of Beatles memorabilia?

"Simon Cowell could buy it, he's music. Sir Philip Green, Sir Paul, Sir Alan Sugar. Come on, boys! Or maybe the Heritage Lottery Fund could find the funds?"

Last night Macca appeared to back Evans's call. He said: "I have got so many memories there with The Beatles. It still is a great studio. So it would be lovely if somebody could get a thing together to save it."

More support came from the National Trust, who buy and protect historic buildings.

A spokesman said: "Abbey Road studios appear to be very dear to the nation's heart, to the extent that we will take soundings as to whether a campaign is desirable or even feasible.

"No price has been put on the building but there has been speculation it could be worth between £10-£30million.

"If there is enough momentum, we may launch a campaign to save the studios."

Robbie Williams, who picked up an Outstanding Contribution To Music gong at the Brits on Tuesday night, added: "It has got to be a recording studio."

[DizzymissLizzy909]

Why don't Paulie and Nancy buy it? Between the two of them, they have more money than the sum total worth of every Beatle fan the world over. Plus, it's only a few blocks from his Cavendish Place home...

Agree! I'm sure Macca would preserve the studios. I'd hate to see a landmark like that get turned into apartments or something of the sort...

[JonnyLytnin]

I'm all for fan/musicians or whoever buying it and keeping it a recording studio OR the National Trust taking it under their wing and preserving it for all to enjoy. No apartments though, that's a given.

[Lucy]

Yes yes yes list it!

Threatened Abbey Road studios could get listed status

http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2010/feb/18/abbey-road-studios-sale

Government will make quick decision on English Heritage recommendation as EMI plans sale.


An application to list the famous Abbey Road studios, a pop music shrine since 1969 when it gave its name to the Beatles album, will be fast-tracked by the government after gathering dust since 2003, when English Heritage first advised that it should become a listed building.

The north London building, originally a 19th-century villa, has been a recording studio since 1931 and is now under threat because of reported plans by the cash-strapped EMI record company to sell it. As things stand a new owner could flatten it overnight.

"Abbey Road is among hundreds of buildings for which listing applications are under consideration, but there has been no urgency until now about reaching a decision," a spokesman at the Department of Culture, Media and Sport said. "It has now become urgent and so will be given urgent attention."

The culture minister, Margaret Hodge, is due back from holiday next week, and the application will be top of her in-tray.

English Heritage urged ministers to get on with it.

"We applaud the public enthusiasm and support for safeguarding the future of the Abbey Road Studios and call on ministers to turn their attention to the advice that we provided in 2003 and endorse our recommendation to list the building at grade ll," it said in a statement.

"English Heritage believes that the Abbey Road Studios possess outstanding cultural interest as the world's earliest purpose-built, and still the most famous, recording studios. Its importance as the leading force in popular music is perhaps greater today than ever and is revered internationally."

The National Trust, which already owns the childhood homes in Liverpool of John Lennon and Sir Paul McCartney – who has supported the campaign to save the building – has already expressed cautious interest in taking on the studios, a move which English Heritage welcomed.

The much-altered building is no beauty, but because of its place in pop history an application to list it was made as far back as 1994. English Heritage, the government's official heritage adviser, then recommended against it.

However, by 2003, with flocks of tourists still turning up from all over the world to gaze reverently at the facade and then risk being flattened by a lorry to recreate the album cover by photographing themselves on the nearby pedestrian crossing, English Heritage changed its mind and advised that the building did merit listing. Such listing would not guarantee the building's survival, but would force any new owner and the planning authority to give it special consideration.

Abbey Road already had a distinguished place in music history before the Beatles clapped eyes on it.

Sir Edward Elgar conducted the London Symphony Orchestra there, blasting out Land of Hope and Glory, and a near neighbour, Sir Malcolm Sargent, regularly used the studios. Cliff Richard recorded his 1958 hit Move It at Abbey Road, and in recent years the Manic Street Preachers, Travis and Blur have also worked there.

However, it is suffering from the trend towards microstudios and away from large centralised facilities which are expensive to maintain.

[mluque125]

Dark Side of the Moon was recorded at Abbey Road Studios which is another reason it would sadden me to see it go.

[Lucy]

I'll save Abbey Road: Andrew Lloyd Webber promises £30m-plus to buy studios

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1252116/Ill-save-Abbey-Road-Andrew-Lloyd-Webber-promises-30m-plus-buy-studios.html

Andrew Lloyd Webber has vowed to buy the Abbey Road studios at any cost to preserve its status as the home of British music.
The composer, who has an estimated fortune of £750million, wants to step in and take ownership of the studios in St John's Wood, North-West London, after troubled record group EMI put the building up for sale.
The showbusiness world has launched a full-scale bid to prevent the site being sold to property developers and being bulldozed.
The studios are steeped in history, with the Beatles recording their greatest hits there and featuring the zebra crossing outside on the cover of their Abbey Road album.
Sir Paul McCartney is 'desperate' for the building to remain a working recording studio. The National Trust has also said it is interested in buying it.
EMI is believed to have turned down an offer of just over £30million and yesterday a source close to Lord Lloyd-Webber said: 'Andrew knows that any offer will have to be north of £30million.
'He wants to buy Abbey Road because it is very dear to his heart. When he records there, he uses an orchestra with up to 90 musicians, and there aren't many places you can do that.'

A spokesman for the composer told the Mail: 'Andrew first recorded there in 1967 with Tim Rice and has since recorded most of his musicals there, from Jesus Christ Superstar to his new musical Love Never Dies.
'He thinks it is vital that the studios are saved for the future of the music industry in the UK. Abbey Road has such great facilities, with three major recording studios.'

The informal leader of the 'Save Abbey Road' campaign is DJ Chris Evans, who believes the studios should be sold to the National Trust, which already owns both Sir Paul's and John Lennon's childhood homes in Liverpool.
However, McCartney wants the building to continue as a recording studio.
A source close to the former Beatle said: 'Sir Paul is desperate to keep Abbey Road open as a working studio.

'Of course, if that could be married with the National Trust's ownership that would be a good scenario.'
The source ruled out Sir Paul, who lives in St John's Wood, rescuing the property himself, saying he was 'not in the business of buying recording studios'.
Dame Fiona Reynolds, director general of the National Trust, said the charity would be interested in buying the property.

She said: 'We were absolutely bowled over by Chris Evans, Sir Paul McCartney and other people saying the studios really needed to be saved, and could we help.
'The answer is only if people really want us to and only if they help us. So I really want to know what people think.'
She revealed there had already been interest from the U.S. to help the National Trust purchase the site and said she expected support from Japan as well.
She urged pop legends who have recorded at the studios to help the National Trust secure the building for the nation.
She said: 'Not just The Beatles, but Cliff Richard, Pink Floyd, Radiohead and Oasis.

'Maybe they can help us because they are the kind of people who have huge affection for this place.'
Evans is planning to play only records that have been recorded at Abbey Road on his Radio 2 show this morning.
He said: 'All records lead to Abbey Road. We will have a big pre-weekend push in our innocent but sincere efforts to heighten awareness of the importance of saving Abbey Road as a musical landmark.
'The National Trust wants it to happen - and has the power to move mountains - but only if there is public support. So come on, gang, today is the day.'

[Lucy]

The Beatles for sale once more

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/the-beatles-for-sale-once-more-1903836.html

The news this week that Terra Firma, the troubled equity company and current owners of EMI Records, is trying to sell Abbey Road Studios, in St John's Wood, London, has music fans around the world justly concerned about the fate awaiting the recording facility. When John, Paul, George and Ringo named their last album after the EMI studio facility in 1969, they turned the zebra crossing into the most famous rock landmark in London and a tourist magnet. But, even before the Fab Four, the grand Georgian house that EMI bought for £100,000 in 1929, had seen its fair share of historical moments in its three studios. In November 1931, Sir Edward Elgar conducted the London Symphony Orchestra in a performance of "Land of Hope and Glory" to mark the opening of Studio One. The following year, the composer invited a 16-year-old Yehudi Menuhin to record his Violin Concerto in B Minor for EMI's HMV label. The Second World War saw the recording of government propaganda and also the last session by bandleader Glenn Miller in September 1944.


In the 1950s, George Martin produced comedy records by Spike Milligan and Peter Sellers. Fellow EMI producer Norrie Paramor oversaw the making of "Move It!", the first British rock'n'roll record and a number-two single for Cliff Richard in 1958.

The Abbey Road engineers were still wearing white coats in the Sixties as they worked on hit records by Shirley Bassey, Gerry and the Pacemakers, the Hollies and Manfred Mann, and accommodated the Beatles and friends, including Mick Jagger and Eric Clapton, sending their "All You Need Is Love" message from Studio Two to a worldwide audience of 350 million in 1967.

With technology moving on apace, Pink Floyd spent months building sound collages, culminating in their 1973 opus, The Dark Side of the Moon.

Then the Britpop era of the Nineties had Radiohead and Blur rubbing shoulders with Manic Street Preachers and the Spice Girls, while Oasis lived out their Fab Four fantasies.

Last year, EMI closed Olympic Studios in Barnes, where the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin made some of their best work. The writing for Abbey Road was on the wall then. Perhaps the government could use Lottery money to buy the Studios and preserve them for the world to use, enjoy and visit . Britain as a nation will be diminished if it lets this part of its heritage disappear.

[Lucy]

Yeah Yeah Yeah
Abbey Road studios should become a museum to the Beatles

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/leading_article/article7034309.ece

The most famous living Britons are not artists or soldiers, and yet there are museums aplenty devoted to art and war. Meanwhile, our most successful cultural export of the past halfcentury — rock‘n’roll — is celebrated only by the private sector. The studios at Abbey Road, where the Beatles recorded most of their work, are up for sale (see page 8). They should be saved for the nation, and turned into the Beatles Museum at Abbey Road.

This is not just about believing in yesterday. Outside Abbey Road studios there is a zebra crossing on which, at almost any hour of the day, there will be people walking, thrilled, possibly in bare feet, while their friends take photographs. It is even a place where men will take their girlfriends, to propose, on bended knee, that they should come together.

For some, a visit to Abbey Road is what coming to London — indeed, Britain — is all about. For others, it is little less than a place of pilgrimage. For much of the world, and certainly for America, the quintessential British voice sounds not like the plummy tones of Lord Haw-Haw, but the nasal Liverpool twang of John, Paul, George and Ringo. Out there, the Beatles are Britain. This should be acknowledged at home.

Even if the genre was influenced by a certain overrated, twitching American with big hair and blue suede shoes, modern rock‘n’roll is a profoundly British invention. The Beatles reinvented themselves repeatedly and, in doing so, embedded the notion of reinvention in the essence of rock‘n’roll itself. This week, the nation has fallen over itself in praise for a Brit Award-winning American. But Lady Gaga, lying on your bed, listen to the music playing in your head.

Money can’t buy you love, but it is admittedly quite important if you are an ailing international record company. This is why, it has been reported, EMI is putting the studios up for sale. It has been suggested that the building should be bought by the National Trust. Lord LloydWebber has also shown an interest. Whoever purchases Abbey Road, the building should be reborn as a celebration of what Britain, since the 1960s, has given to the world.

At the heart of this must be the Beatles. Will we still need them, will we still feed them, in 2064? Of course. Pink Floyd recorded at Abbey Road, as did Duran Duran, Iron Maiden, Radiohead, Oasis and the Spice Girls. All were important bands. A Beatles museum would not only host a permanent exhibit on the Fab Four but also provide a space for visiting exhibitions on music and music makers for years to come.

These islands have a long and proud history. Perhaps because it is so long and proud, we can, at times, be unforgivably remiss in celebrating what has happened in living memory. In particular, the relationship between the Establishment and popular culture remains an uneasy one. For too many people the whole notion of “Sir” Paul McCartney still represents the conflation of two British traditions that they feel ought to remain distinct.

You have to admit, it’s getting better. Even so, the foundation of a Beatles museum at Abbey Road would be an overdue acknowledgement that a rock star wielding a Höfner violin bass guitar is as British an image as any. And, if at all possible, it should be open eight days a week.