Chipping Norton Recording Studios was a residential recording studio in

Chipping Norton Chipping Norton is a market town and civil parish in the Cotswold Hills in the West Oxfordshire district of Oxfordshire, England, about south-west of Banbury and north-west of Oxford. The 2011 Census recorded the civil parish population ...

, Oxfordshire, England, which operated from 1971 until October 1999. The studios were created by Mike and Richard Vernon as the in-house studio for Mike Vernon's record company Blue Horizon Records, and operated out of the former British Schools building at 26-30 New Street, a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...

. Further properties were added in adjacent buildings and the studio eventually provided 15 bedrooms with on-site catering for visiting musicians. The studios became a commercial enterprise, and songs recorded there included "Baker Street" by

Gerry Rafferty Gerald Rafferty (16 April 1947– 4 January 2011) was a Scottish singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He was a founding member of Stealers Wheel, whose biggest hit was " Stuck in the Middle with You" in 1973. His solo hits in th ...

, " In The Army Now" by Status Quo, " Too Shy" by

Kajagoogoo Kajagoogoo were a British new wave band, best known for their 1983 hit single " Too Shy", which reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart, and the Top 10 in numerous other countries. History Beginnings (1978–1982) Formed in Leighton Buzza ...

, "

I Should Have Known Better "I Should Have Known Better" is a song by English rock band the Beatles composed by John Lennon (credited to Lennon–McCartney), and originally issued on '' A Hard Day's Night'', their soundtrack for the film of the same name released on 10 J ...

" by

Jim Diamond James Diamond may refer to: *Jim Diamond (singer) (1951–2015), Scottish songwriter and singer **Jim Diamond (1988 album), ''Jim Diamond'' (1988 album) **Jim Diamond (1993 album), ''Jim Diamond'' (1993 album) *Jim Diamond (music producer) (born 19 ...

, " Promise Me" by

Beverley Craven Beverley Craven (born 28 July 1963) is a British singer-songwriter best known for her 1991 UK hit single " Promise Me". Her album '' Change of Heart'' was released in 2014 and '' Mixed Emotions'' in 1999. Biography Early life Craven was born ...

, "

I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" is a song written and performed by Scottish duo the Proclaimers, and first released as the lead single from their 1988 album '' Sunshine on Leith''. The song reached number 11 in the UK Singles Chart on its initial re ...

" by

the Proclaimers ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

, "

Perfect Perfect commonly refers to: * Perfection, completeness, excellence * Perfect (grammar), a grammatical category in some languages Perfect may also refer to: Film * Perfect (1985 film), ''Perfect'' (1985 film), a romantic drama * Perfect (2018 f ...

" by

Fairground Attraction Fairground Attraction were a London based folk and soft rock band. They are notable for the 1988 hit songs "Perfect" and " Find My Love", both taken from the group's multi-platinum selling debut album, '' The First of a Million Kisses''. The ...

, "

(I Just) Died in Your Arms "(I Just) Died in Your Arms" is the debut single by the English pop rock band Cutting Crew, released in July 1986 as a single from their debut studio album, ''Broadcast''. The song was written by frontman Nick Van Eede, produced by Terry Brown, ...

" by

Cutting Crew Cutting Crew are an English rock band formed in London in 1985. They are best known for their debut album ''Broadcast'' and hit single, " (I Just) Died in Your Arms". History 1985–1986: Formation While still in his teens, Nick Van Eede ( ...

, " Eighteen With A Bullet" by

Pete Wingfield William Peter Wingfield (born 7 May 1948) is an English record producer, keyboard player, songwriter, singer and music journalist. Career Whilst at Sussex University Wingfield and three other students formed the group Jellybread. In 1969, h ...

, "

Hocus Pocus Hocus-pocus is an exclamation used by magicians, usually the magic words spoken when bringing about some sort of change. Hocus Pocus or Hokus Pokus or ''variant'', may also refer to: Books * ''Hocus Pocus'' (novel), a 1990 novel by Kurt Vonneg ...

" by

Focus Focus, or its plural form foci may refer to: Arts * Focus or Focus Festival, former name of the Adelaide Fringe arts festival in South Australia Film *''Focus'', a 1962 TV film starring James Whitmore * ''Focus'' (2001 film), a 2001 film based ...

and "

Bye, Bye, Baby (Baby Goodbye) "Bye, Bye, Baby (Baby, Goodbye)" is a popular song written by Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio, a member of The Four Seasons, whose version of the song made it to No. 1 in Canada and No. 12 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1965. On the original issue ...

" by the

Bay City Rollers The Bay City Rollers are a Scottish pop rock band known for their worldwide teen idol popularity in the 1970s. They have been called the "tartan teen sensations from Edinburgh" and one of many acts heralded as the "biggest group since the Beat ...

., also

Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer and bassist Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor. With the addition of drummer Roger Taylor the following year the band wen ...

recorded most part of their debut album Duran Duran (1981) with

Colin Thurston Colin Thurston (13 July 1947 – 15 January 2007) was an English recording engineer and record producer. Born in Brentford, Middlesex, Thurston played in bands in London before he "bluffed his way" into audio engineering.Pierre Perrone (24 ...

as producer, and Radiohead recorded their 1993 debut album, ''

Pablo Honey ''Pablo Honey'' is the debut studio album by the English rock band Radiohead, released on 22 February 1993 in the UK by Parlophone and on 20 April in the US by Capitol Records. It was produced by Sean Slade, Paul Q. Kolderie and Radiohead's co- ...

'', at Chipping Norton, including their debut single " Creep". Cnrsblue

On 15 June 2017, BBC Music Day, broadcast throughout the UK, awarded the studio with a

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...

for its part in the musical heritage of England.

References

Recording studios in England Grade II listed buildings in Oxfordshire Former recording studios Chipping Norton {{Recording-studio-stub

See also

References