Abbey Road Studios - London, UK
Posted by: DopeyDuck
N 51° 31.921 W 000° 10.639
30U E 695774 N 5712767
This 1813 Georgian townhome is one of the most famous recording studios of all time. The Beatles recorded 90% of their albums and singles here and introduced multi-track recording which changed the music industry forever.
Waymark Code: WM5VJ5
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 02/16/2009
Views: 68
The Abbey Road Website (
visit link) has an extensive history and photo gallery of the studios.
"In 1962 George Martin met four young men from Liverpool who were destined to change his life in the most remarkable fashion. Ken Townsend agreed to stay behind at Abbey Road and work on a commercial test for Martin one evening, June 6 1962. Three months later The Beatles - John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr were back in Abbey Road and recording for real. They were signed up by George Martin and were about to make their first record. Love Me Do was the group’s first single.
Over the next seven years they were to make 90 per cent of their recordings in one or all of the rooms at Abbey Road. They went into the studios and didn’t come out until they’d finished. Ultimately The Beatles changed the recording schedule of Abbey Road.
George Martin worked with The Beatles, aiming at releasing a single every three months and an album twice a year. The results justified all the planning that took place. She Loves You, released in August 1963 reached the No.1 spot on two separate occasions, going on to become the biggest selling Beatles single of all time.
In fact 1963 was a very good year for Abbey Road with 15 out of the 19 No.1’s of that year all recorded at the studios.
In 1964 The Beatles had released six singles and notched up four no.1’s to their credit but in 1965 George Martin decided to leave Abbey Road, although he continued to work as The Beatles producer.
The list of artists who also entered Abbey Road during the 1960’s grew almost daily with Manfred Mann, Gerry & The Pacemakers, The Seekers, The Hollies, Cliff Bennett and The Rebel Rousers and Morecambe & Wise among the roll call. Cilla Black had also come from Liverpool with Brian Epstein and 16 chart records including two No. 1’s Anyone Who Had A Heart and You’re My World.
The Beatles had achieved many successes by June 1967 but there was one engagement which somewhat overawed them - the prospect of performing in front of an estimated 350 million people. They had been invited to contribute to a worldwide satellite television link-up called ‘Our World’. The Beatles gathered in Studio One at Abbey Road to perform their song All You Need Is Love.
1968 will be remembered as a year of technological progress, pioneered largely due to the creative demands of The Beatles Sergeant Pepper album, done the year before. Acutely aware of the limitations which four track recording imposed, Ken Townsend invented a system whereby two four track machines could be linked together, and multitrack recording entered a new era. The progression from four track to eight track was followed just as quickly by the introduction of 16 track and 24 track, all of which involved the use of EMI consoles which became the backbone of Abbey Road’s multitrack recording, which revolutionised the way records could be made from then on.
In April 1969 The Beatles came together to record ‘Abbey Road’, their final album as a group. After seven years they had made records which established them as the most successful pop group in the history of recording. This album became their best-selling work and put the name Abbey Road on the map once and for all. "