Ramport Studios was a

recording studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for Sound recording and reproduction, recording and Audio mixing, mixing of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home proje ...

in south London's

Battersea Battersea is a large district in southwest London, part of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross and also extends along the south bank of the Thames Tideway. It includes the Battersea Park. Hist ...

district, built by

the Who The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...

in 1973.

History

Originally called "The Kitchen" and later renamed Ramport Studios, the recording studio was initially built as a private studio for The Who, who intended to use it to record ''

Quadrophenia ''Quadrophenia'' is the sixth studio album by the English rock band the Who, released as a double album on 26 October 1973 by Track Records. It is the group's third rock opera, the previous two being the "mini-opera" song "A Quick One, While ...

''. The building, located at 115 Thessaly Road in south London's Battersea district, was a former church hall which required extensive remodeling, with the resulting expenses leading to Ramport later operating as a commercial studio in order to recoup revenue. The studio had a 50x30 ft live room and a control room initially outfitted with a quad-ready 32-input wrap-around Helios mixing console, but in order to fully realize their 1973 album ''

'', The Who augmented the studio with Ronnie Lane's Mobile Studio. In 1974,

Supertramp Supertramp were a British rock band formed in London in 1970. Marked by the individual songwriting of founders Roger Hodgson (vocals, keyboards and guitars) and Rick Davies (vocals and keyboards), the group were distinguished for blending p ...

recorded '' Crime of the Century'' at Ramport. The same year,

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, forming the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the begi ...

, together with

Robbie Robertson Jaime Royal Robertson (July 5, 1943 – August 9, 2023) was a Canadian musician of Indigenous and Jewish ancestry. He was the lead guitarist for Bob Dylan's backing band in the mid-late 1960s and early-mid 1970s. Robertson was also the ...

, recorded the song "White Line"; this was released on the album '' Homegrown'' in 2020. In 1975 Irish artist Chris de Burgh recorded parts of his album '' Spanish Train and Other Stories'' in these studios. Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers spent much of the summer of 1977 recording and mixing the album '' L.A.M.F.'' there for the Who's label

Track Records Track Record (a.k.a. Track Records) was founded in 1966 in London by Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp, then managers of the rock group The Who. It was one of the first British-owned independent record labels in the United Kingdom. The most succ ...

. Joan Jett recorded several tracks there which would end up on her ''Joan Jett'' album, later retitled '' Bad Reputation'' (1981). In 1976 the original Helios mixing console was replaced by a Neve console, and in the same year

Thin Lizzy Thin Lizzy are an Irish rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. The band initially consisted of bass guitarist, lead vocalist and principal songwriter Phil Lynott, drummer Brian Downey, guitarist Eric Bell and organist Eric Wrixon although Wr ...

recorded '' Jailbreak'' at the studio. Later that same year they would again use the studio to record their album Johnny the Fox.

Judas Priest Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Judas Priest have also been referred to as one of the p ...

recorded their album '' Sin After Sin'' there in 1976–1977. In 1983 the studio was bought by

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...

and was renamed Town House Three as part of the labels'

Townhouse Studios The Town House (also known as Townhouse Studios) was a recording studio located at 140 Goldhawk Road, Shepherd's Bush in London, built in 1978 under the direction of Richard Branson for Virgin Records. The studios changed ownership and eventuall ...

. In 1985, the studio received the Helios console previously used by The Town House Studio 1, which remained in use until 1988. In 1995, the studio was closed by Virgin's new owners, EMI, and sold the following year. It is now a doctor's office. In 2017 the Wandsworth Council recognized the studio's historic location with a

Green 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 ...

References

The Who Recording studios in London Former recording studios {{music-publication-stub