Decca Studios
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Decca Studios was a recording facility at 165 Broadhurst Gardens,
West Hampstead West Hampstead is an area in the London Borough of Camden. Neighbouring areas includes Childs Hill to the north, Frognal to the east, Swiss Cottage to the south-east, South Hampstead to the south and Kilburn to the south-west. The neighbourh ...
,
North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames and the City of London. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshi ...
, England, controlled by
Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...
from 1937 to 1980.


History

The building that housed Decca Studios at 165 Broadhurst Gardens in London was built in the 1880s as the Falcon Works, a place for tradespeople to work from. A few years later it was turned into a venue, including two halls, for concerts, meetings and other gatherings. Although named West Hampstead Town Hall, it was a venue for hire, rather than a local government facility. In 1928, Crystalate Gramophone Record Manufacturing took it over and moved its recording studio there. In 1937, Decca took over Crystalate's record division and moved its recording production to the Broadhurst Gardens studios, closing its existing Upper Thames Street studio. From British Decca's beginnings in 1929, its earliest recordings were made at two locations, the Chenil Galleries Studios in Chelsea, and later in Lower Thames Street. In 1961, Decca expanded by building Studio 3, with a live room large enough to accommodate a full symphony orchestra, on land adjacent to 195 Broadhurst Gardens.
The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
failed their Decca audition at the location on 1 January 1962, and subsequently signed with
Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 1923 as the Parloph ...
instead. With the sale of Decca to Polygram, the studios were closed in 1981 and the building was renamed Lilian Baylis House. In recent years, it has been used as rehearsal space by
English National Opera English National Opera (ENO) is a British opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera. ENO's productions are sung in E ...
. The building was awarded Grade II listed status in August 2021.


Recording artists

Many popular songs and albums were recorded at Decca Studios.
John Mayall John Brumwell Mayall (29 November 1933 – 22 July 2024) was an English blues and Rock music, rock musician, songwriter and producer. In the 1960s, he formed John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, a band that has counted among its members some of ...
's 1968 '' Blues from Laurel Canyon'' was recorded there, along with five albums by the Moody Blues.
David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...
recorded his first single, "Liza Jane", at the studio in 1964. The studios also saw the formation of the original
Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1967 by the singer and guitarist Peter Green (musician), Peter Green. Green named the band by combining the surnames of the drummer, Mick Fleetwood, and the bassis ...
, under the aegis of then-Bluesbreakers guitarist Peter Green, after John Mayall bought him studio time as a birthday present, recording the tracks "First Train Home", "Rambling Pony" and the instrumental "Fleetwood Mac".
Marc Bolan Marc Bolan ( ; born Mark Feld; 30 September 1947 – 16 September 1977) was an English guitarist, singer-songwriter and poet. He was a pioneer of the glam rock movement in the early 1970s with his band T. Rex (band), T. Rex. Bolan strongly i ...
recorded his debut single "The Wizard" at the studio in 1965.
Marmalade Marmalade (from the Portuguese ''marmelada'') is a fruit preserves, fruit preserve made from the juice and peel of citrus fruits boiled with sugar and water. The well-known version is made from bitter orange. It also has been made from lemons ...
recorded most of their Decca hits in Studio 2, including " Reflections of My Life".
Adam and the Ants Adam and the Ants were an English Rock music, rock band that formed in London in 1977. The band existed in two versions, both fronted by Adam Ant, between 1977 and 1982. The first phase began when the band were founded in May 1977 and were call ...
recorded full band demos of their then live repertoire at the studio in August and December 1978. These have been widely bootlegged among Adam Ant fans prior to their commercial release. The Zombies recorded " She's Not There" at the facility. Many classical recordings were made at the studios. Britain's leading
big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...
, led by Ted Heath, made a succession of recordings at Broadhurst Gardens for Decca during the band's peak years, from 1945 until Heath's death in 1969.


Selected recordings

* ''All Time Top Twelve Ted Heath and his Music'', De LK 4208 *''
The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...
'', The Rolling Stones (1963) * The Flies recorded " (I'm Not Your) Stepping Stone" and "House of Love" in Studio 2 *'' Begin Here'', The Zombies (1965). *'' Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton'', John Mayall's Bluesbreakers (1966) *''
Crusade The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding t ...
'', John Mayall's Bluesbreakers (1967) *'' Bare Wires'', John Mayall's Bluesbreakers (1968) *''Blues from Laurel Canyon'', John Mayall (1968) *'' Days of Future Passed'' (1967), The Moody Blues *'' In Search of the Lost Chord'' (1968), The Moody Blues *'' On the Threshold of a Dream'' (1969), The Moody Blues *'' To Our Children's Children's Children'' (1969), The Moody Blues *'' A Question of Balance'' (1970), The Moody Blues


See also

* The Beatles' Decca audition - for a fuller account


References

{{Coord, 51.5463, -0.1904, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title Recording studios in London History of the London Borough of Camden
Studios A studio is a space set aside for creative work of any kind, including art, dance, music and theater. The word ''studio'' is derived from the , from , from ''studere'', meaning to Wiktionary:study, study or zeal. Types Art The studio o ...
Grade II listed buildings in the London Borough of Camden Former recording studios