FEATURE: If These Walls Could Sing: Looking Ahead to the Abbey Road Studios Documentary

FEATURE:

 

 

If These Walls Could Sing

 IN THIS PHOTO: Mary McCartney (who will direct new documentary about Abbey Road Studios, If These Walls Could Sing, to mark the studios’ ninetieth-anniversary celebrations and immense legacy)

Looking Ahead to the Abbey Road Studios Documentary

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2020 was a bit of a write-off…

when it came to gigs and a lot of exciting things in music. One big setback was the Peter Jackson-directed documentary, The Beatles: Get Back. That is now coming out later in the year but, today (12th January), we learned of another projected connected to Abbey Road Studios – The Beatles are synonymous with recording there – and Paul McCartney. Mary McCartney (daughter of Paul McCartney) is directing a documentary about Abbey Road Studios, If These Walls Could Sing, ahead of its ninetieth-anniversary celebrations in November. Before I get to that (from the Abbey Road Studios website), here is some history regarding one of the world’s most-famous and importance studios:

“Abbey Road Studios is the most famous recording studio in the world and a global music icon. Originally a nine-bedroom house built in 1829, it was purchased by the Gramophone Company in 1928 who went on to build the world’s first purpose-built recording studio. The St John’s Wood address was chosen for its large garden and ideal location – close enough to the performance spaces of the time, but away from the noise and vibrations of the traffic and trains.

The grand opening ceremony on 12 November 1931 included a performance of Land of Hope & Glory in Studio One conducted by Sir Edward Elgar. The Gramophone Company merged with Columbia Graphophone Company to form Electric and Musical Industries (EMI) in 1931, and the studios later became known as EMI Recording Studios. Since EMI engineer Alan Blumlein patented stereo at Abbey Road in 1931, the studios have been famed for innovation in recording technology, largely developed by the Record Engineering Development Department (REDD) who were responding to the needs of the artists and producers using the rooms.

 Their innovations include the REDD and TG desks, as well as studio techniques such as Artificial Double Tracking (ADT), created by studio technician Ken Townsend, who went on to become the studios’ MD, as well as Vice President of EMI Studios Group.

While initially a venue for classical recordings, the studios’ repertoire soon embraced jazz and big bands, too, as well as the first British rock & roll records of the 1950s, including Sir Cliff Richard’s first single Move It. Abbey Road is of course synonymous with the legendary work of The Beatles, who worked with EMI producer Sir George Martin and recorded 190 of their 210 songs at the studios. But Abbey Road’s unparalleled history spans the wild experiments of Pink Floyd to iconic recordings from Shirley Bassey, Aretha Franklin, The Hollies and many more.

Since those exceptional years, artists from Kate Bush, Radiohead, Oasis, Kanye West, Amy Winehouse, Kylie and Muse to Sam Smith, Florence + The Machine, Ed Sheeran, Frank Ocean, Lady Gaga and Adele have made Abbey Road their creative home, producing countless landmark recordings.

IN THIS PHOTO: Amy Winehouse/PHOTO CREDIT: Island Records 

As the demand for classical recording spaces declined, Ken Townsend found a new role for the big rooms – movie scores, with the first major film score being Raiders of The Lost Ark in 1981. Since then, Abbey Road has developed into one of the world’s premier destinations for movie scoring. Blockbuster films such as The Lord of The Rings Trilogy, Skyfall, the Harry Potter series and the Oscar-winning Gravity feature scores recorded here, while recent projects include Black Panther, Solo: A Star Wars Story and the multi award winning The Shape of Water.

The studios house a number of state-of-the-art mastering suites, with engineering expertise spanning direct to vinyl and half-speed mastering. Recent projects mastered or re-mastered by Abbey Road’s award-winning engineers include music from The Beatles, Sam Smith, Sade, Abba, Krept & Konan, Graham Coxon, Novelist, Johnny Marr, Roxy Music and The Rolling Stones.

In Spring 2017, in the biggest transformation since first opening, two new contemporary studios were launched - The Gatehouse and The Front Room - making the magic of Abbey Road accessible to a whole new generation of recording artist. They have already hosted artists from James Bay, Jess Glynne, George Ezra and Skrillex to legends like Nile Rodgers plus grime MCs Novelist and Jammer BBK”.

 IN THIS PHOTO: Nile Rodgers/PHOTO CREDIT: David Yeo/The Guardian

It will be fascinating to see what If These Walls Could Sing might contain and what angles it explores. NME reported a treat we can all look forward to later in the year:

“A new documentary about Abbey Road Studios is currently in development, with Mary McCartney set to direct.

If These Walls Could Sing is set to be the first feature-length documentary about the iconic studios, produced by Mercury Studios – the must-first content studio from Universal Music Group.

Mary McCartney, a photographer and filmmaker as well as the daughter of Paul McCartney, speaks of her “personal perspective” in a press release describing the upcoming film, set to be produced by John Battsek (Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars).

“Some of my earliest memories as a young child come from time spent at Abbey Road,” she said. “I’ve long wanted to tell the story of this historic place and I couldn’t be collaborating with a better team than John and Mercury Studios to make this creative ambition a reality.”

Mercury Studios CEO Alice Webb added: “Mercury Studios could not be partnering with a more visionary and passionate team than Mary McCartney and John Battsek to tell Abbey Road Studios’ incredible story on film for the first time.

Isabel Garvey, Managing Director of Abbey Road Studios, said: “If these walls could sing. I have lost count how many times I’ve heard that said at Abbey Road Studios over the years. I can’t wait for some of these stories to finally come to life in what will become a timeless documentary.”

If These Walls Could Sing is set to be part of the 90th anniversary celebrations of Abbey Road Studios, beginning in November this year”.

I cannot wait to see inside studios that have welcomed some of the finest musicians ever. I have never been to Abbey Road Studios, but I would love to take a tour post-pandemic and breathe in the essence and aura of a hallowed space! I think we will see some great music documentaries throughout 2021; I am looking forward to November when we get to celebrate Abbey Road Studios and mark such an important milestone. Many of us know about the studios through various albums, but learning more about its past and magic will fascinate a lot of people. At the start of a grim year, it is good we can put these dates in the diary – if the documentary gets a cinematic release, one can imagine cinemas being opened again and people being allowed in as normal. Although If These Walls Could Sing is not out for a while yet, ensure that you keep your eyes peeled and…

YOU do not miss it.

Sam Liddicott