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 Abbey Road Studios in October 2025 | |
| Formerly | EMI Recording Studios |
|---|---|
| Company type | Recording studio |
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | 12 November 1931; 94 years ago (1931-11-12)[1] |
| Founder | Gramophone Company |
| Headquarters | St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England |
| Parent | Universal Music Group |
| Website | abbeyroad |
| Abbey Road Studios | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Interactive map of Abbey Road Studios | |
| Built | 1831; 195 years ago (1831)[2] |
| Architectural style | Georgian |
Listed Building – Grade II | |
| Official name | Abbey Road Studios |
| Designated | 23 February 2010 |
| Reference no. | 1393688[3] |
Listed Building – Grade II | |
| Official name | Zebra crossing near Abbey Road Studios |
| Designated | 21 December 2010 |
| Reference no. | 1396390[4] |
Abbey Road Studios (formerlyEMI Recording Studios) is a music recording studio at 3Abbey Road,St John's Wood,City of Westminster, London.[5] It was established in November 1931 by theGramophone Company, a predecessor of British music companyEMI, which owned it untilUniversal Music Group (UMG) took control of part of it in 2013. It is ultimately owned by UMG subsidiaryVirgin Records Limited.
The studio's most notable client wasthe Beatles, who used the studio – particularly its Studio Two room – as the venue for many of theinnovative recording techniques that they adopted throughout the 1960s. In 1976, the studio was renamed fromEMI toAbbey Road.
In 2009, Abbey Road came under threat of sale to property developers. In response, the British Government protected the site, granting itEnglish HeritageGrade II listed status in 2010, thereby preserving the building from any major alterations.[6]
Originally a nine-bedroomGeorgiantownhouse built in 1831 on the footpath leading toKilburn Abbey, the building was later converted to flats where the best-known resident wasMaundy Gregory, who was famous (or infamous) for selling political honours.
In 1929, theGramophone Company acquired the premises. The property benefited from a large garden behind the townhouse, which permitted a much larger building to be constructed to the rear; thus, the Georgian façade belies the true dimension of the building. The architectural partnershipWallis, Gilbert and Partners was hired to convert the property into arecording studio, an unusual request at the time.[7] Three purpose-built studios were constructed and the existing house was adapted for use as administration offices.Pathé filmed the opening of the studios in November 1931 whenEdward Elgar conducted theLondon Symphony Orchestra in recording sessions of his music.[8][9] In 1934, the inventor ofstereo sound,Alan Blumlein, recordedMozart'sJupiter Symphony which was conducted byThomas Beecham at the studios.[10]
The neighbouring house is also owned by the studio and used to accommodate musicians. During the mid-20th century, the studio was extensively used by British conductor SirMalcolm Sargent, whose house was located near the studio building.[11]
The Gramophone Company merged withColumbia Graphophone Company to formElectric and Musical Industries (EMI) in 1931, and the studios later became known as EMI Recording Studios.[12] In 1936 cellistPablo Casals became the first to recordJohann Sebastian Bach'sCello Suites No. 1 & 2 at the command of EMI headFred Gaisberg. The recordings went on to spur a revolution among Bach aficionados and cellists alike.[13]"Fats" Waller played the Compton organ there.[citation needed]
Glenn Miller recorded at the Abbey Road studios duringWorld War II, when he was based in the United Kingdom.[14]
In 1931 anecho chamber was built in the studios, in the early days of artificial reverberation.[15]
Studio Two was remodeled in 1957, with its control room moved upstairs and a large wooden staircase installed descending into the studio.[16]
In 1958, Studio Two at EMI became a centre for rock and roll music whenCliff Richard and the Drifters (later Cliff Richard andthe Shadows) recorded "Move It" there,[17] and later pop music material.
EMI is closely associated with the Beatles, who recorded almost all of their albums and hits there between 1962 and 1970 using the four-track REDD mixing console designed by Peter K. Burkowitz.[18] The Beatles named their 1969 albumAbbey Road after the road where the studios are situated.[19][20][21]Iain Macmillan took the album's cover photograph outside the studios, with the result that the nearbyzebra crossing has become a place of pilgrimage for Beatlesfans. It has been a tradition for visitors to pay homage to the band by writing on the wall in front of the building even though it is painted over every three months.[22] In December 2010, the zebra crossing at Abbey Road was given a Grade IIlisted status.[23]
After becoming the studio's general manager in 1974,Ken Townsend began a rebranding effort to capitalise on the studio's connection with the Beatles. To emphasise the studio's independence, Townsend commissioned the artist Alan Brown to design a unique logo, and in 1976 the facility officially changed names fromEMI Studios toAbbey Road Studios.[24][25][a] Having previously been mostly restricted to UK-based EMI acts, the studio's name-change served the added purpose of encouraging non-EMI acts to record at the studio.[24][25]
Notable producers andsound engineers who have worked at Abbey Road includeFred Gaisberg (who had first recordedEnrico Caruso in Milan in 1902, and had set up the first recording studio in London atMaiden Lane in 1898),Walter Legge,George Martin,Tutti Camarata,Geoff Emerick,Norman "Hurricane" Smith,Ken Scott,Mike Stone,Alan Parsons,Peter Vince, Malcolm Addey, Peter Bown, Richard Langham,Phil McDonald, John Kurlander, Richard Lush andKen Townsend, who invented the studio effect known asautomatic double tracking (ADT). The chief mastering engineer at Abbey Road was Chris "Vinyl" Blair, who started his career as atape deck operator.
From 1966 to 1971, theWalt Disney Music Company recorded vocals, instrumentals and narration and dialogue for over a dozen albums at Abbey Road for U.S. and international release, includingThe Aristocats, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Doctor Dolittle, Heidi andThe Wizard of Oz. Most of the sessions includedThe Mike Sammes Singers, who backed up The Beatles on "I Am the Walrus" and "Good Night".[26]
In 1979, EMI commissioned the British jazz fusion bandMorrissey–Mullen to record Britain's firstdigitally recorded single record at Abbey Road Studios.[27][28]
Abbey Road Studios got its start in thefilm scoring business in 1980 when Anvil Post Production formed a partnership with the studio, called Anvil-Abbey Road Screen Sound; withRaiders of the Lost Ark being the first major film soundtrack recorded in Studio 1. The partnership started when Anvil was left without a scoring stage whenDenham Studios were demolished. It ended in 1984 when EMI merged withThorn Electrical Industries to becomeThorn EMI. Abbey Road's success in the scoring business continued after the partnership ended.[citation needed]
From 18 July to 11 September 1983, the public had a rare opportunity to see inside the Studio Two room, where the Beatles made most of their records. While a new mixing console was being installed in the control room, the studio was used to host a video presentation calledThe Beatles at Abbey Road. The soundtrack to the video had a number of recordings that were not made commercially available until the release ofThe Beatles Anthology project over a decade later.[29]
In September 2012, with the takeover of EMI, the studio became the property ofUniversal Music. It was not one of the entities that were sold to Warner Music as part ofParlophone and instead the control of Abbey Road Studios Ltd was transferred toVirgin Records.
On 17 February 2010, it was reported thatEMI had put the studios up for sale because of increasing debts. There was reported interest by property developers in redeveloping the site into luxury flats.[30] It had also been reported there was a possibility the studios could be purchased by theNational Trust[31] to preserve what was in effect a historical building. A Save Abbey Road Studios campaign attempted to ensure the premises remained a working studio.[32]
On 21 February 2010, EMI stated it planned to keep the studio and was looking for an investor to help finance a "revitalisation" project.[33][34] Meanwhile, the British government declared Abbey Road Studios a Grade IIlisted building which protected it from major alteration.[34][35] The following December, the pedestrian crossing at Abbey Road was separately Grade II listed on theNational Heritage List.[36]
Paul McCartney, speaking to BBCNewsnight on 16 February 2010, said there had been efforts to save Abbey Road by "a few people who have been associated with the studio for a long time," although he did not name them or include himself among them. "I have so many memories there with the Beatles," McCartney said, "It still is a great studio. So it would be lovely for someone to get a thing together to save it."[37]
In March 2015, Abbey Road Institute was founded as a school for music production and audio engineering.[38] In addition to the London location, Abbey Road Institute offers education globally with schools inAmsterdam, Miami,Johannesburg,Miami,Paris andSydney.[39] All of the campuses offer the same course, the Advanced Diploma in Music Production and Sound Engineering, which has been developed in collaboration with industry leaders and the team at Abbey Road Studios. Some campuses offer additional short courses, including Portfolio Preparation, the Song Production Masterclass, Dolby Atmos Mixing for Music, the Advanced Diploma in Audios Post Production for Film and TV and Music theory Fundamentals for Producers amongst others.[citation needed]
In April 2021, Abbey Road Institute London expanded and moved into and reopenedAngel Recording Studios in Islington, North London. The building now accommodates students in the Institute's dedicated teaching spaces and studio and welcomes clients to Studio One.[citation needed]
In November 2025, Abbey Road Institute Mumbai opened, the first school in South Asia. A new campus in Los Angeles is set to open in 2026.[citation needed]
Studio One is the world's largest purpose-built recording studio. The studio is around 4,844 square feet and it can comfortably host anything from a 100-piece orchestra to a 100-piece choir.
Studio Two Is the most popular room, Famous forThe Beatles and other iconic artists and bands. This room has been the heart of Abbey Road Studios for decades.
Studio Three is the smallest studio compared to Two and One and is famous for being used by the Beatles, Queen,Pink Floyd andLady Gaga.[according to whom?]
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| National | |
| Geographic | |
51°31′55″N0°10′42″W / 51.53194°N 0.17833°W /51.53194; -0.17833
