Livingston Recording Studios is a recording studio in North London. The studios were started by Ray Kinsey, a

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

from

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 ...

, who branched out into recording talking books for the blind. The first Livingston Studio designed for recording music was set up in

Barnet Barnet may refer to: People *Barnet (surname) *Barnet (given name) Places United Kingdom *Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below. *East Barnet, a district of the borough below; anc ...

UK during 1963 where work on talking books continued alongside the recording of

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

. Kinsey's son, Nick Kinsey, joined the company in 1966. Nick Kinsey started to develop the studios continuing with the recording of folk music and branching out into

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom.S. Frith, W. Straw, and J. Street, eds, ''iarchive:cambridgecompani00frit, The Cambridge Companion to Pop ...

. He recorded artists such as

Sweeney's Men Sweeney's Men was an Irish traditional band. They emerged from the mid-1960s Irish roots revival, along with groups such as The Dubliners and the Clancy Brothers. The founding line-up in May 1966 was Johnny Moynihan, Andy Irvine and "Galway ...

,Sleeve notes from ''Sweeney's Men'' CD, Castle Communications Plc, ESM CD 435, 1996.

Pentangle Pentangle may refer to: *Pentagon, a five-sided polygon *Pentagram, a five-pointed star drawn with five straight strokes *Pentangle (band), a British folk rock band ** ''The Pentangle'' (album), a 1968 album by Pentangle *Miss Pentangle, a character ...

Iain Matthews Iain Matthews (born Ian Matthews MacDonald, 16 June 1946) is an English musician and singer-songwriter. He was an original member of the British folk rock band Fairport Convention from 1967 to 1969 before leaving to form his own band, Matthew ...

and

Russ Ballard Russell Glyn Ballard (born 31 October 1945) is an English rock singer, guitarist, songwriter and producer. Originally rising to prominence as the lead singer and guitarist of the band Argent, Ballard became a prolific songwriter and producer b ...

. Nick Kinsey bought the studio from Fred Livingston-Hogg an Oxford-based business man who had been involved with the Livingston Hire Group, with the help of Alan Tomkins and Michael Smee, and rebuilt it. Livingston Studios were purchased by

Miloco Studios Miloco Studios is a recording studio management group. Based in London, England, the company represents well over 160 facilities around the world. Background Miloco was formed out of the merging of three former London recording studios: Milo Musi ...

in 2012, who continue to run the studio.

History

During 1980, Nick Kinsey decided to expand the business and move to an old

Church hall A church hall or parish hall is a room or building associated with a church, generally for community and charitable use. In smaller and village communities, it is often a separate building near the church, while on more restricted urban sites ...

Wood Green Wood Green is a suburban district of the London Borough of Haringey, London, England. Its postal district is N22, with parts in N8 or N15. The London Plan identifies it as one of the metropolitan centres in Greater London, and today it forms ...

and transformed it into a

hi-tech High tech refers to "high technology". It may also refer to: * High-tech architecture, an architectural style that emerged in the 1970s * HiTech, a computer chess program * Hi-Tech Automotive, a car builder and automotive design house * Hi-Tech ( ...

studio 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 study or zeal. Types Art The studio of any artist, esp ...

. In 1985, a second studio was added and Jerry and Mary Boys joined the company. By 1987 they had opened two more studios in Guillemot Place

. In 1993, Livingston succumbed to the nationwide

recession In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction that occurs when there is a period of broad decline in economic activity. Recessions generally occur when there is a widespread drop in spending (an adverse demand shock). This may be tr ...

in UK and the Guillemot studios were closed down. The Brook Road studios were acquired by

Jerry Boys Jerry Boys is a classically trained British record producer, and engineer, noted for his works with The Beatles, Omara Portuondo, Pink Floyd, Ibrahim Ferrer, The Kronos Quartet, Everything but the Girl, The Shadows, John Lee Hooker, Richard Thom ...

and Dave Margereson who owned the

music management A talent manager (also known as an artist manager, band manager, or music manager) is an individual who guides the professional career of artists within the entertainment industry. The responsibility of a talent manager is to oversee the day- ...

company'' Mismanagement'' and the new company 'Livingston Recording Studios Ltd' was set up. Nick Gold, producer and owner of the World circuit record label, met Jerry Boys after working together on an album with

Oumou Sangaré Oumou Sangaré (; born 25 February 1968) is a Malian Wassoulou singer of Fulani ( Fula) descent. She is often referred to as "The Songbird of Wassoulou". Wassoulou is a historical region south of the Niger River, where the music descends from ...

and they started to work together with the

Buena Vista Social Club Buena Vista Social Club was a musical ensemble primarily made up of Cuban musicians, formed in 1996. The project was organized by World Circuit (record label), World Circuit executive Nick Gold, produced by American guitarist Ry Cooder and dire ...

. The Buena Vista Social Club's

eponym An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...

ous multi million selling first album was recorded at

Egrem EGREM (Empresa de Grabaciones y Ediciones Musicales, Spanish for ''Enterprise of Recordings and Musical Editions'') is the national record label of Cuba. It is headquartered in Centro Habana, where its main record studios (''Estudios Areito'' 101 ...

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 ...

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Debut Debut or début (the first public appearance of a person or thing) may refer to: * Debut (society), the formal introduction of young upper-class women to society * Debut novel, an author's first published novel Film and television * ''The Debu ...

(1993) was recorded and mixed at Livingston Studios by producer Marius De Vries. It sold over 2.5m copies worldwide. In 2001, Gold bought the company from Boys which enabled most of World Circuit's artists to be record and mix their music at Livingston Studios. Gold sold Livingston to global recording studio directory

in 2012, who renovated the studio in October of that year and re-launched the studio alongside producer

Mike Crossey Mike Crossey (born 1979) is a Northern Irish record producer, songwriter, and mixing engineer. He produced the debut single by Arctic Monkeys, collaborating with them over two albums. He is known for his ongoing relationship with The 1975, in a ...

. Since then artists such as

The 1975 The 1975 are an English pop rock band formed in Wilmslow, Cheshire, in 2002. The band consists of Matty Healy (lead vocals, guitar, primary songwriter), Adam Hann (lead guitar), Ross MacDonald (bass), and George Daniel (drums, primary produ ...

Arctic Monkeys Arctic Monkeys are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Sheffield in 2002. They comprise lead singer Alex Turner, drummer Matt Helders, guitarist Jamie Cook and bassist Nick O'Malley. The co-founder and original bassist Andy Nicholson ...

Låpsley Holly Lapsley Fletcher (born 7 August 1996), known by the stage name Låpsley, is an English singer, songwriter, musician and producer. Her debut album '' Long Way Home'' was released on 4 March 2016. Early life Låpsley was born in York. Her m ...

Gin Wigmore Virginia Claire Wigmore (born 6 June 1986) is a New Zealand singer and songwriter. Featured on the Smashproof single "Brother" in 2009, Wigmore went on to release four albums'' Holy Smoke'' (2009), '' Gravel & Wine'' (2011), '' Blood to Bone' ...

Hozier Andrew John Hozier-Byrne (born 17 March 1990), known professionally as Hozier ( ), is an Irish musician. His music primarily draws from Folk music, folk, Soul music, soul and blues, often using religious and literary themes and taking politica ...

and

Ben Howard Benjamin John Howard (born 24 April 1987) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and composer. His self-released debut extended play (EP) ''Games in the Dark'' (2008) was followed by two more EPs, '' These Waters'' (2009) and '' Old Pine'' ...

have all worked on projects at Livingston Studios with

In 2015,

renovated Studio 2, installing Augspurger Monitors and a Custom Series 75 console powered by Neve. Livingston Studio 1 was also renovated and upgraded with new equipment, including a pair of Augspurger Duo-12 monitors.

Artists who have used Livingston Studios

A *A&G Records *Adam Seymour *Adrian Hall *Adrian Sherwood *Afro Cuban All Stars *Alex Wilson *Ali Farka Toure *Andy Scart *Andy Thornton *Ash *

Asian Dub Foundation Asian Dub Foundation (ADF) is an English electronic music band that combines musical styles including rap rock, dub, dancehall, ragga, ReggaeEDM, and South Asian music. The group also includes traditional rock instruments such as electric bas ...

*Athena *

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

* B *Barb Jungr *

Basement A basement is any Storey, floor of a building that is not above the grade plane. Especially in residential buildings, it often is used as a utility space for a building, where such items as the Furnace (house heating), furnace, water heating, ...

*Balenescu Quartet *Bellowhead *Bernard Butler *

Beth Orton Elizabeth Caroline Orton (born 14 December 1970) is an English musician known for her "folktronica" sound, which mixes elements of folk and electronica. She was initially recognised for her collaborations with William Orbit, Andrew Weatherall ...

*Betty Steeles *Big Linda *

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct voice, three-octave vocal range, and eccentric public per ...

*Blondelle *Blowup Records *Bobby Kray *

Box of Frogs Box of Frogs were an English rock band formed in 1983 by former members of the Yardbirds, who released their first album in 1984. The core group consisted of Chris Dreja, Paul Samwell-Smith, and Jim McCarty. Vocals on their eponymous album w ...

* Brass Monkey *Buena Vista Social Club * Bush* C *Cameron McVey *Candid Records *Calum Malcolm *The Cat Empire *CEC Management *Chris Kimsey *Chris Sheldon* D *Danny Shogger *

The Datsuns The Datsuns are a hard rock band from Cambridge, New Zealand, formed in 1998. Founding mainstays are Rudolf "Dolf" de Borst on vocals and bass guitar, and Christian Livingstone and Phil Somervell, both on guitar. They have released seven album ...

*Damien Saez *Dave Eringa *Dave Evans *David Ward Films *Dennis Bovell *

Del Amitri Del Amitri is a Scottish alternative rock band formed in Glasgow in 1980. They are best known for their 1990 single "Nothing Ever Happens" which reached No. 11 in the UK, and their 1995 hit "Roll to Me", which charted in the top 10 in both Can ...

*Dimi Mint Abba *Dimitri* E *The Ebony Tower *Elova * The Enemy *Enjoy Destroy *Erol Alkan *

Everything but the Girl Everything but the Girl are an English musical duo formed in Kingston upon Hull in 1982, consisting of lead singer, songwriter, composer and occasional guitarist Tracey Thorn and guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter, composer, producer and sing ...

*Eyes Wide Open* F * Feeder *

the Fierce And The Dead The Fierce and the Dead (often abbreviated as TFATD) are a rock band formed in London in 2010. Initially known for instrumental post rock, stoner rock and progressive rock compositions, they began incorporating vocals with their 2023 album, ''New ...

*The Friendly *Fires *Future Cut* G *Gil Norton *Graham Dominy *Greg Haver *Sean Genocky *Gyroscope H *Hello *

Hamish Imlach Hamish Imlach (10 February 1940 – 1 January 1996) was a Scottish folk singer. Imlach was born in Calcutta to Scottish parents, although he claimed to have been conceived in Glasgow, Scotland. His commercial success was limited, but he influence ...

*Hate Gallery *Hogg* I *

Ian Broudie Ian Zachary Broudie (born 4 August 1958) is an English musician and singer-songwriter from Liverpool. After emerging from the post-punk scene in Liverpool in the late 1970s as a member of Big in Japan, Broudie went on to produce albums (somet ...

* Ian Shaw *Ibrahim Ferrer *Imelda May *

Island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

*Issie Barrett* J *

Jamie Cullum Jamie Paul Joseph Cullum (born 20 August 1979) is an English jazz-pop singer, pianist, songwriter and radio presenter. Although primarily a vocalist and pianist, he also accompanies himself on other instruments, including guitar and drums. He h ...

Jazz Jamaica Jazz Jamaica is a British jazz/reggae music group founded by musician Gary Crosby in London in 1991. History In 1991, inspired by the rhythms of traditional Jamaican music and the largely improvisational nature of jazz, Gary Crosby — one of ...

*Jerry Boys *Jimmy Roberts *Joe Boyd *Joe Lean & The Jing Jang *Joe Stilgoe *John Cornfield *John Gallen *John Leckie *John Martyn *

John Renbourn John Renbourn (8 August 1944 – 26 March 2015) was an English guitarist and songwriter. He was best known for his collaboration with guitarist Bert Jansch as well as his work with the folk group Pentangle, although he maintained a solo care ...

*Johnny Panic* *Jong *

Justin Hayward David Justin Hayward (born 14 October 1946) is an English musician. He was the guitarist and frontman of the rock band the Moody Blues from 1966 until its dissolution in 2018. He became the group's principal vocalist and its most prolific son ...

K *KK *Kaitee Page *Ken Rose *Kasai Masai *Kate Rusby* L *

Labi Siffre Claudius Afolabi "Labi" Siffre ( , born 25 June 1945) is a British singer, songwriter and poet. Siffre released six albums from 1970 to 1975 and four from 1988 to 1998. His compositions include " It Must Be Love", which reached number 14 on the ...

The Libertines The Libertines are an English Rock music, rock band, formed in London in 1997 by frontmen Carl Barât (vocals/guitar) and Pete Doherty (vocals/guitar). The band, centred on the songwriting partnership of Barât and Doherty, included John Hassall ...

*Lou Rhodes *Luan Parle *Luis Jardin * Lunic* M *

Manic Street Preachers Manic Street Preachers, also known simply as the Manics, are a Wales, Welsh Rock music, rock band formed in Blackwood, Caerphilly, in 1986. The band consists of Nicky Wire (bass guitar, lyrics) and cousins James Dean Bradfield (lead vocals, le ...

*Mansun *Marius De Vries *Mark Morgan *Mark Rankin *Matt Stevens *

Melanie C Melanie Jayne Chisholm (born 12 January 1974), commonly known as Melanie C or Mel C, is an English singer and songwriter. She rose to fame in the mid-1990s as a member of the pop group the Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Sporty Spice. W ...

* Mercury *

Michael Kiwanuka Michael Samuel Kiwanuka (born 3 May 1988) is a British singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is currently signed to Polydor Records. His debut album '' Home Again'' (2012) went gold in the United Kingdom, while his second album ...

*Mike Neilson *Minus 1 * The Mission *Muse* N *Nathan Haines *Nick Abbott *Nick Gold *Nizlopi *

Norman Cook Norman Quentin Cook (born Quentin Leo Cook, 31 July 1963), also known as Fatboy Slim, is an English musician and DJ who helped popularise the big beat genre in the 1990s. His music makes extensive use of samples from eclectic genres, combined ...

* O * The Opera Babes *Orchestra Baobab *Oumou Sangaré *Owen Morris* P *Paul Borg *Pedro Ferreira *Pee Wee Ellis *Peter Borthwick *

Placebo A placebo ( ) can be roughly defined as a sham medical treatment. Common placebos include inert tablets (like sugar pills), inert injections (like saline), sham surgery, and other procedures. Placebos are used in randomized clinical trials ...

*Plan B *

Polydor Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...

Portico Quartet Portico Quartet are an instrumental band from London, United Kingdom. They are known for their use of the Hang (instrument), hang, a modern percussion instrument. Their debut album, ''Knee-Deep in the North Sea'', was nominated for the 2008 ...

Primal Scream Primal Scream are a Scottish rock music, rock band originally formed in 1982 in Glasgow by Bobby Gillespie (vocals) and Jim Beattie (musician), Jim Beattie (guitar). The band's current lineup consists of Gillespie, Andrew Innes (guitar), Simon ...

* R *Emre Ramazanoglu *Rafe McKenna *The Rakes *The Rank Deluxxe *Reuben *

R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American alternative rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the fir ...

*Richard Norris *Robert Kirby *

Ronan Keating Ronan Patrick John Keating (born 3 March 1977) is an Irish singer, songwriter, actor and presenter. He debuted in 1993 alongside Keith Duffy, Michael Graham, Shane Lynch, and Stephen Gately, as the co-lead singer (with Gately) of Irish pop g ...

Rough Trade Rough Trade may refer to: *Rough Trade (shops), London record stores *Rough Trade Records, a record label from the stores *Rough Trade Books, a publishing house from the label *Rough Trade (band), a Canadian new wave rock band * "Rough Trade" (''Am ...

*Roy Merchant *

Ry Cooder Ryland Peter Cooder (born March 15, 1947) is an American musician, songwriter, film score composer, record producer, and writer. He is a multi-instrumentalist but is best known for his slide guitar work, his interest in traditional music, and h ...

* S *

Saxon (band) Saxon are an English heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Barnsley in 1975. As leaders of the new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM), they had eight UK Top 40 albums during the 1980s including four UK Top 10 albums and two Top 5 alb ...

George Shilling George Edward Shilling (born 1966 in Redbridge, London) is an English musician, record producer, composer and audio engineer. He is the son of Eric Shilling, formerly of the English National Opera and actress Erica Johns. He studied cello at t ...

*Shakira *Siskin *The Smiths *

Sports Team A sports team is a group of individuals who play a team sport together. The number of players in the group depends on the sport. The highest level of a sports team is a professional sports team. In professional sports, the athletes are very t ...

*Sonny *Spike Drake *Steve Lironi *Steve Orchard *Steve Osbourne *

*Symmetric Orchestra* T *Terry Thomas *Tom Leader *Tom McRae *Brian Tench *Tom Richards *Tony Platt *TrailVega 4* *

Twenty One Pilots Twenty One Pilots is an American musical duo from Columbus, Ohio. Initially a band, the group was formed in 2009 by lead vocalist Tyler Joseph along with Nick Thomas and Chris Salih, who both left in 2011. Since their departure, the line-up h ...

U *

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company that is a subsidiary of Comcast ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of N ...

* V *Voces 8* W * West One Music *

Wet Wet Wet Wet Wet Wet are a Scottish soft rock band formed in 1982. They scored a number of hits on the UK charts and around the world in the 1980s and 1990s. They are best known for their 1994 cover of the Troggs' 1960s hit " Love Is All Around", which ...

*The Winter Kids *

The Waterboys The Waterboys are a rock band formed in 1983 by Scottish musician and songwriter Mike Scott (Scottish musician), Mike Scott. The band's membership, past and present, has been composed mainly of musicians from Britain and Ireland, with Scott re ...

* *

Wolf Alice Wolf Alice are a Rock music, rock band from London. Formed in 2010 as an acoustic duo made up of singer Ellie Rowsell and guitarist Joff Oddie, Wolf Alice have also featured bassist Theo Ellis and drummer Joel Amey since 2012. Wolf Alice playe ...

X *

Xmal Deutschland Xmal Deutschland (pronounced: /ɪksmal ˈdɔʏtʃlant/), often written as X-Mal Deutschland, was a German gothic rock band. Founded in 1980 with a completely female line-up, they had chart success both in and outside their native country. Their ...

Y *

Youssou N'Dour Youssou N'Dour (, ; also known as Youssou Madjiguène Ndour; born 1 October 1959) is a Senegalese singer, songwriter, musician, composer, occasional actor, businessman, and politician. In 2004, ''Rolling Stone'' described him as, "perhaps the m ...

References

{{coords, 51.5941, -0.1116, display=title Recording studios in London