 Interactive map of Windmill Lane Recording Studios | |
| Location | 20 Ringsend Road, Dublin 4,Ireland, D04 CF66 |
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| Coordinates | 53°20′32″N6°14′05″W / 53.34225°N 6.23464°W /53.34225; -6.23464 |
| Opened | 1978 |
| Website | |
| http://www.windmilllanerecording.com | |
Windmill Lane Recording Studios (earlierWindmill Lane Studios) is arecording studio inDublin,Ireland. It was originally opened in 1978 by Brian Masterson and James Morris on Windmill Lane, and it subsequently relocated in 1990 to its current location at 20 Ringsend Road, Dublin 4, where it still operates as one of Ireland's largest recording studios.
Over the course of its history, the studios have been used by many notable artists includingThe Rolling Stones,The Cranberries,U2,Simple Minds,Kate Bush,AC/DC,Hozier,The Spice Girls,Kylie Minogue,Niall Horan,Lewis Capaldi,Van Morrison, andEd Sheeran.
The studios have become a tourist attraction which is open to the public. The studio also headquarters Pulse College, delivering industry training courses.[1]
Windmill Lane Recording Studios was originally opened by recording engineer Brian Masterson and James Morris in 1978 and was first located in theDublin Docklands on Windmill Lane, just offSir John Rogerson's Quay. It was originally used to record traditional Irish music, notably byPlanxty.[2]: 262–267
However, no Irish rock band recorded in the studios until U2.[3] The drums onBoy were recorded in the reception area of the recording studios, due to producer Steve Lillywhite's desire to achieve "this wonderful clattery sound".[3] They had to wait until the receptionist went home in the evenings as the phone rang through the day and even occasionally in the evening.[3]
After U2 based themselves at the studios,Van Morrison,Sinéad O'Connor, andElvis Costello recorded there.Clannad's hit "Theme from Harry's Game" was also recorded at the studios, and two albums byStatus Quo were recorded there in 1980:Just Supposin' andNever Too Late, released in 1981.Kate Bush partially recorded her 1985 albumHounds of Love at Windmill Lane Studios.[4]The Waterboys recorded their 1988 albumFisherman's Blues at Windmill Lane Studios.[4]
The studios were expanded in the 1980s under the supervision ofAndy Munro of Munro Acoustics. Much of the work was done specifically for U2's albumThe Joshua Tree. In 1990 the main studio moved to a new location on Ringsend Road, also in the Docklands.[5]
Following the move, the Windmill Lane building continued to house various post-production facilities.[4] These included Windmill Lane Pictures[6] (a video post-production facility), incorporating Number 4 (an audio post-production facility), Trend Studios (audio mastering) and a number of other related services.
The original studio buildings were covered in graffiti from fans, who had made a pilgrimage from all over the world, many attracted by the studio's historical connection with U2.[4][7] The original location of the studios were recommended as a tourist attraction by publications such asThe New York Times in 2008.[7]
Plans to construct a six-storey office block on the old site led to criticism from local resident groups in early September 2008.[6]
The Windmill Lane site was then bought by property companies Hibernia REIT in 2015, who announced in 2014 that it had purchased the loans held against the Hanover Building on Windmill Lane, Dublin, for €20.16 million and an adjoining one acre development site for €7.5 million. A plan was made to develop it into offices, retail spaces and residential units.[8]
The original Windmill Lane Studios structure was demolished on 3 April 2015, by property investment company Hibernia REIT, with the exception of Open Gallery 3 where U2 recorded. The firm announced plans to retain a 20-metre stretch of the studio wall famous for its fan graffiti. Options for the future of the wall include recreating the wall in the atrium of the new Windmill Lane building, giving the wall to Dublin City Council, U2 or any other interested party for reconstruction or reuse in an alternative setting. Another possibility is donating the wall to a charity so that they can auction pieces of it to U2 fans around the world.
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In 1990, Windmill Lane Recording Studios relocated from its original site on Windmill Lane to its current location on Ringsend Road, Dublin 4.[5]
Orchestras regularly record their music at Windmill Lane Recording Studios, as Studio One is the only recording room in Ireland that can record an 80-piece orchestra apart fromRaidió Teilifís Éireann.[4] The scores to many movies have been recorded there:Mission Impossible,Sing Street,A Room with a View,The Remains of the Day,The Mask andThe Tailor of Panama[4],The Grifters,My Left Foot (both byElmer Bernstein),In America, andA River Runs Through It.[4]
Studio Two has been the venune for recording number-one albums byGabrielle,Kylie Minogue andThe Spice Girls.[4]
The studio remained empty from 2006 onwards, although reports circulated which linked Van Morrison with purchasing the studio for his own personal use that August.[4][9] Morrison had previously recorded several albums there, includingBack on Top,Magic Time andPay the Devil.[9] In January 2008, the studio was used to record "The Ballad of Ronnie Drew".[10]
In 2009, Naomi Moore, Aidan Alcock and Tony Perrey, took over Windmill Lane Recording Studios and updated the studios.[citation needed]
In mid-February 2012, the studio issued an appeal to artists who recorded there to collect their master tapes, stating they will be otherwise be destroyed. The studio noted the tapes, numbering over 1,000 and weighing a tonne, were recorded before digital technology and were both deteriorating and are taking up valuable space.[11][12] Subsequently, all tapes owned byIsland Records were recovered by them.[13]
On 20 February 2020, the studio launched a visitor experience.[citation needed]
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