Chipping Norton Recording Studios was a residential recording studio in

Chipping Norton Chipping Norton is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Cotswolds in the West Oxfordshire district of Oxfordshire, England, about south-west of Banbury and north-west of Oxford. The United Kingdom Census 2011, 201 ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

, England, which operated from 1971 until October 1999. The studios were created by Mike Vernon 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 is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

in the town centre. 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, " In The Army Now" by

Status Quo is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, economic, legal, environmental, political, religious, scientific or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the curren ...

, "

Too Shy "Too Shy" is a song written and recorded by the British band Kajagoogoo, released in January 1983. The first single from their debut album ''White Feathers'', the song was an immediate hit and reached number one on the UK Singles Chart for two ...

" by

Kajagoogoo Kajagoogoo ( ) were an English Pop music, pop band. They are best known for their 1983 hit single "Too Shy", which reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart, and the top 10 in numerous other countries. History Beginnings (1978–1982) Formed ...

, "

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 Ju ...

" by Jim Diamond, " Promise Me" by Beverley Craven, " I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" by

the Proclaimers The Proclaimers are a Scottish Rock music, rock duo formed in 1983 by twin brothers Craig and Charlie Reid (born 5 March 1962). They came to attention with their 1987 single "Letter from America (song), Letter from America", which reached No. 3 ...

, " Perfect" by Fairground Attraction, " (I Just) Died in Your Arms" by Cutting Crew, " Eighteen With A Bullet" by

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

, " Hocus Pocus" by

Focus Focus (: foci or focuses) may refer to: Arts * Focus or Focus Festival, former name of the Adelaide Fringe arts festival in East Australia Film *Focus (2001 film), ''Focus'' (2001 film), a 2001 film based on the Arthur Miller novel *Focus (2015 ...

and " Bye, Bye, Baby (Baby Goodbye)" by the

Bay City Rollers The Bay City Rollers are a Scottish pop rock band known for their worldwide teen idol popularity, as a band in the 1970s. One of many 70s acts heralded as the "biggest group since the Beatles", they were called the "tartan teen sensations fro ...

Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English pop rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. After several early changes, the band's line-up settled ...

recorded most of their debut album, ''Duran Duran'' (1981), with

Colin Thurston Colin Thurston (b. 1947 – 15 January 2007) was an English recording engineer and record producer, known for his work with David Bowie, Duran Duran and The Human League. Early life Born in Singapore in 1947, Thurston was a guitarist in se ...

as producer.

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon-on-Thames, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band members are Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Gre ...

recorded their 1993 debut album, '' Pablo Honey'', at Chipping Norton, including their debut single, " Creep". Cnrsblue

The first recording session took place in 1972, when Dutch band The Livin' Blues recorded their album Rocking At The Tweed Mill , referencing Bliss Tweed Mill which is a prominent feature of Chipping Norton. The last album recorded there was Iommi by

Tony Iommi Anthony Frank Iommi Jr. (born 19 February 1948) is an English musician. He co-founded the pioneering Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Black Sabbath, and was the band's guitarist, leader, primary composer, and sole continuous member for over ...

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler, and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. After adopting the Black Sabbath name in 1969 (the band ...

, released in October 2000. On 15 June 2017, BBC Music Day, broadcast throughout the UK, awarded the studio a

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom, and certain other countries and territories, to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving a ...

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