Maida Vale Studios
Encyclopedia
Maida Vale Studios is a complex of seven BBC
studios (of which five in regular use) on Delaware Road, Maida Vale
, London
.
It has been used to record thousands of classical music, popular music
and drama sessions for BBC Radio 1
, BBC Radio 2
, BBC Radio 3
and BBC Radio 4
from 1946 to the present. On October 30, 2009, BBC Radio 1 celebrated 75 Years of Maida Vale by exclusively playing 75 tracks recorded at the studios over the years. Snow Patrol
played a live set from the studio with Fearne Cotton
to celebrate 75 years of live music.
It has been the home of the BBC Symphony Orchestra
since 1934. For over fifty years the BBC Symphony Orchestra has given invitation concerts, usually free. As a schoolboy, Vernon Handley
learned some of his conducting technique by watching Sir Adrian Boult conduct the BBC symphony orchestra here. Studio 1 has room for an orchestra of over 150 musicians and an audience of over 200. An unusual feature of these concerts is that they were often recorded, which means that in later years the orchestra sometimes were able to do re-takes. It is the largest classical music studio in London.
The "Third Programme" was created in September 1946. By the 1950s, the Third Programme was frequently broadcasting concerts from this venue. Some premieres of British classical music were recorded here (in studio 1), including works by Robert Simpson
, Arnold Bax
, Nicholas Maw
, Alan Rawsthorne
and Sir Arthur Bliss. Many of them later became available on vinyl or CD. Olivier Messiaen
's Turangalila
was rehearsed here, before its UK premiere at the Royal Festival Hall.
In 1958 the BBC Radiophonic Workshop
was created and based here until its demise in 1998, and the pioneering "Delaware" synthesiser made by EMS takes its name from the Studios' address. The Workshop's rooms are now used as a small TV studio for The Film programme
, audio archiving facilities, engineering workshops and office space.
In the late 1950s and early 1960s the radio program Movie-Go-Round was broadcast from here. Peter Haigh played sound clips from major films. The Beatles
used studio 5 several times in 1963 to record sessions for BBC radio.
Bands doing live sessions for John Peels Radio Show used to record them here also (see below).
The studios have been under regular threat of closure by BBC management: the building is in need of constant maintenance and due to its location in a residential area there are limits to the hours of operation and access. In July 2007 the BBC announced that the studios were "wholly unsuitable for the 21st century", and it was reported that it would be sold to property developers as part of cost-cutting measures. However, no viable alternatives have been found to house Maida Vale's various activities, and as of April 2011 the studios are still in constant use.
in Charing Cross
, but as these were let go by the BBC the sessions increasingly centred on Madia Vale 4. Music sessions were once a mainstay of BBC Radio programming as there were strict limits on the amount of commercially recorded music that could be aired (known as needle-time restrictions), so the BBC regularly booked musicians to record music exclusively for broadcast. In the early 60s when the BBC began to give some limited coverage of pop groups such as The Beatles
, it was found that the sessions allowed up-and-coming bands to gain exposure, and for musicians and groups to try out new material, play covers they would not include on their albums, and experiment with different sounds and guest musicians. With the birth of Radio 1
in 1967, programmes such as Top Gear
embraced this concept, with sessions from such stars-in-waiting as David Bowie
, Led Zeppelin
and Jimi Hendrix
. And when one of Top Gears presenters, John Peel
, got his own programme, he again continued to commission these specially-recorded sessions. Most of the artists were relatively unknown even to Peel's listeners: he and his producer would often invite bands on the strength of a rough demo tape or gig to hear what they could do, and for many of the bands it was their first experience of a professional recording studio, not to mention a much-needed boost to their finances. The format became standardised as a single session in the studio with a staff producer and engineer (or more latterly a producer-engineer and assistant), during which the artists would record four songs, but there were also some sessions which were either live to air, or prerecorded as live with an audience. Other Radio 1 programmes and DJs adopted a similar system of Maida Vale sessions, such as Janice Long
, Andy Kershaw
, and The Evening Session, whose current host Zane Lowe
has nicknamed the studio 'Maida Vegas'; as well as the more direct inheritors of the Peel Sessions tradition Huw Stevens, Rob da Bank
and Mike Davies.
John Peel said "The Clash
did half one, then amazingly said that the equipment in the studio wasn't up to the standards they'd expected so they couldn't complete the session. Which seemed to me to be unbearably pretentious of them." Some albums by The Fall were entirely recorded there. The last band to record a Peel session was Skimmer
, at Maida Vale Studios on October 21, 2004.
Other BBC disc jockeys invited artists to perform at Maida Vale. Led Zeppelin recorded for Alexis Korner
's "Rhythm and Blues" program in 1969. Walter Trout
recorded for Paul Jones
's R & B show. Marillion
recorded for Radio 2 DJ Bob Harris
. Jo Whiley
invited Hard Fi to play here. The venue is also the home of the BBC Elstree concert Band. The Radio 3 "Jazz Line Up" sessions were recorded here.
In 1994 the Beatles album Live at the BBC
was released. Most of the material was recorded here. Several other albums
with the same title were recorded in studio 4. Van der Graaf Generator
released an album called Maida Vale
in 1994. In 2006 the group Hefner
released an album called Maida Vale, which was recorded here. The White Stripes
included their version of the Dusty Springfield
classic "I Don't Know What To Do With Myself", recorded for The Evening Session in MV4 by Miti Adhikari on their album Elephant
. In 2002 Andrea Bocelli
's Sentomento was made here. The label Maida Vale Records, a subsidiary of Cooking Vinyl
has a policy of releasing material from various radio stations.
made their Peel sessions, Trish Keenan wrote "There was a sense of initiation on entering the Maida Vale studios. ... we wandered through the corridors, peering through the windows of locked rooms, on a hunt for the Radiophonic Workshop. We came across abandoned tape machines and Shostakovich posters in the hallways... We hovered outside the locked Radiophonic room, a little disappointed by what we could see through the window. We contemplated unscrewing the Radiophonic Workshop name plate from the door and making off with it, but knew the stern-faced security guard from earlier would have been on to us." The doorway is a favourite place for paparazzi to lie in wait for recording stars.
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
studios (of which five in regular use) on Delaware Road, Maida Vale
Maida Vale
Maida Vale is a residential district in West London between St John's Wood and Kilburn. It is part of the City of Westminster. The area is mostly residential, and mainly affluent, consisting of many large late Victorian and Edwardian blocks of mansion flats...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
It has been used to record thousands of classical music, popular music
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
and drama sessions for BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
, BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
, BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3 is a national radio station operated by the BBC within the United Kingdom. Its output centres on classical music and opera, but jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also feature. The station is the world’s most significant commissioner of new music, and its New Generation...
and BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
from 1946 to the present. On October 30, 2009, BBC Radio 1 celebrated 75 Years of Maida Vale by exclusively playing 75 tracks recorded at the studios over the years. Snow Patrol
Snow Patrol
Snow Patrol are an alternative rock band from Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland. Formed at the University of Dundee in 1994 as an indie rock band, the band is now based in Glasgow...
played a live set from the studio with Fearne Cotton
Fearne Cotton
Fearne Cotton is an English television and radio presenter who is known for presenting a number of popular TV programmes such as Top of the Pops and the Red Nose Day telethon. In 2007, she became the first regular female presenter of BBC Radio 1's Chart Show...
to celebrate 75 years of live music.
Early years
The site was built in 1909 as the "Maida Vale Roller Skating Palace and Club". Over a period of fifteen months in 1933/1934, one hundred men reduced the skating rink to a shell, then rebuilt it. The arches at the doorway were preserved. It was one of the BBC's earliest premises, pre-dating Broadcasting House, and was the centre of the BBC News operation during World War II.It has been the home of the BBC Symphony Orchestra
BBC Symphony Orchestra
The BBC Symphony Orchestra is the principal broadcast orchestra of the British Broadcasting Corporation and one of the leading orchestras in Britain.-History:...
since 1934. For over fifty years the BBC Symphony Orchestra has given invitation concerts, usually free. As a schoolboy, Vernon Handley
Vernon Handley
Vernon George "Tod" Handley CBE was a British conductor, known in particular for his support of British composers. He was born of a Welsh father and an Irish mother into a musical family in Enfield, London. He acquired the nickname "Tod" because his feet were turned in at his birth, which his...
learned some of his conducting technique by watching Sir Adrian Boult conduct the BBC symphony orchestra here. Studio 1 has room for an orchestra of over 150 musicians and an audience of over 200. An unusual feature of these concerts is that they were often recorded, which means that in later years the orchestra sometimes were able to do re-takes. It is the largest classical music studio in London.
The "Third Programme" was created in September 1946. By the 1950s, the Third Programme was frequently broadcasting concerts from this venue. Some premieres of British classical music were recorded here (in studio 1), including works by Robert Simpson
Robert Simpson (composer)
Robert Simpson was an English composer and long-serving BBC producer and broadcaster.He is best known for his orchestral and chamber music , and for his writings on the music of Beethoven, Bruckner, Nielsen and Sibelius. He studied composition under Herbert Howells...
, Arnold Bax
Arnold Bax
Sir Arnold Edward Trevor Bax, KCVO was an English composer and poet. His musical style blended elements of romanticism and impressionism, often with influences from Irish literature and landscape. His orchestral scores are noted for their complexity and colourful instrumentation...
, Nicholas Maw
Nicholas Maw
John Nicholas Maw was a British composer.-Biography:Born in Grantham, Lincolnshire, Maw was the son of Clarence Frederick Maw and Hilda Ellen Chambers. He attended the Wennington School, a boarding school, in Wetherby in the West Riding of Yorkshire. His mother died of tuberculosis when he was 14...
, Alan Rawsthorne
Alan Rawsthorne
Alan Rawsthorne was a British composer. He was born in Haslingden, Lancashire, and is buried in Thaxted churchyard in Essex.-Career:...
and Sir Arthur Bliss. Many of them later became available on vinyl or CD. Olivier Messiaen
Olivier Messiaen
Olivier Messiaen was a French composer, organist and ornithologist, one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex ; harmonically and melodically it is based on modes of limited transposition, which he abstracted from his early compositions and improvisations...
's Turangalila
Turangalîla-Symphonie
The Turangalîla-Symphonie is a large-scale piece of orchestral music by Olivier Messiaen. It was written from 1946 to 1948, on a commission by Serge Koussevitzky for the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The premiere was given by that orchestra on December 2, 1949, conducted by Leonard Bernstein in Boston...
was rehearsed here, before its UK premiere at the Royal Festival Hall.
In 1958 the BBC Radiophonic Workshop
BBC Radiophonic Workshop
The BBC Radiophonic Workshop, one of the sound effects units of the BBC, was created in 1958 to produce effects and new music for radio, and was closed in March 1998, although much of its traditional work had already been outsourced by 1995. It was based in the BBC's Maida Vale Studios in Delaware...
was created and based here until its demise in 1998, and the pioneering "Delaware" synthesiser made by EMS takes its name from the Studios' address. The Workshop's rooms are now used as a small TV studio for The Film programme
The Film programme
The Film programme is a British film review television programme, broadcast weekly on BBC One, presented by Claudia Winkleman and Danny Leigh. The title of the show changes each year to incorporate the year of broadcast, with the current series being Film 2011, but when referring to successive...
, audio archiving facilities, engineering workshops and office space.
In the late 1950s and early 1960s the radio program Movie-Go-Round was broadcast from here. Peter Haigh played sound clips from major films. The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
used studio 5 several times in 1963 to record sessions for BBC radio.
Bands doing live sessions for John Peels Radio Show used to record them here also (see below).
Current Use
- Studio MV1 is one of the largest recording spaces available in the UK. Equipped with a StuderStuderStuder is a Swiss manufacturer of professional audio equipment, founded in Zurich in 1948 by Willi Studer. It is known primarily for the design and manufacture of analog tape recorders and mixing consoles. Studer also produce other technology solutions, such as telephony management systems and...
D950 digital desk, MV1 is currently home to the BBC Symphony OrchestraBBC Symphony OrchestraThe BBC Symphony Orchestra is the principal broadcast orchestra of the British Broadcasting Corporation and one of the leading orchestras in Britain.-History:...
. It was also used by the BBC Radio OrchestraBBC Radio OrchestraThe BBC Radio Orchestra was a broadcasting orchestra based in London, maintained by the British Broadcasting Corporation from 1965 until 1991....
on some of its larger sessions until the early 1990s. - Studio MV2 had its technical installation decommissioned some years ago. It currently provides rehearsal space for the BBC SingersBBC SingersThe BBC Singers are the professional chamber choir of the BBC. As one of six BBC Performing Groups, the 24-voiced choir has been in existence for more than 80 years. The BBC Singers have commissioned and premiered works by the leading composers of the past century, including Benjamin Britten, Sir...
and the BBC Symphony ChorusBBC Symphony ChorusThe BBC Symphony Chorus is a British amateur chorus based in London. It is the dedicated chorus for the BBC Symphony Orchestra, though it performs with other national and international orchestras....
. - Studio MV3 is another large studio (equal in size to MV2). With a SSLSolid State LogicSolid State Logic is a manufacturer of high-end mixing consoles and recording studio hardware headquartered in Begbroke, Oxfordshire, UK.- Company information :...
9000J series analogue desk installed, MV3 is used for a large number of BBC Radio 2BBC Radio 2BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
programmes and some BBC Radio 1BBC Radio 1BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
session recordings and live audience shows. Bing CrosbyBing CrosbyHarry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
made his last recording session in this studio in 1977–3 days before he died of a heart attack on a golf course in Spain. - Studio MV4 is a smaller studio with vocal booth and balcony. Utilising a SSL 9000J series analogue desk, MV4 was home to the Peel sessions and has continued to be used to record the BBC Radio 1 sessions for shows that have replaced John Peel'sJohn PeelJohn Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
. - Studio MV5 is now one of two spaces used for the Live LoungeLive LoungeThe Live Lounge is a segment on the British radio station BBC Radio 1. Originally hosted by Jo Whiley on her mid-morning radio show and now hosted by Fearne Cotton, it exhibits well-known artists usually performing one song of their own and one by another artist, in an acoustic format...
and plays host to a large number of current pop acts. - Studio MV6 is a drama studio still in regular use to produce programmes for BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
. - Studio MV7 was a drama studio but is now decommissioned and used for tape storage.
The studios have been under regular threat of closure by BBC management: the building is in need of constant maintenance and due to its location in a residential area there are limits to the hours of operation and access. In July 2007 the BBC announced that the studios were "wholly unsuitable for the 21st century", and it was reported that it would be sold to property developers as part of cost-cutting measures. However, no viable alternatives have been found to house Maida Vale's various activities, and as of April 2011 the studios are still in constant use.
John Peel Sessions
From 1967 to 2004, "John Peel Sessions" were recorded in studio 4. At first a number of other venues around London were also used, such as the Playhouse TheatrePlayhouse Theatre
The Playhouse Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, located in Northumberland Avenue, near Trafalgar Square. The Theatre was built by F. H. Fowler and Hill with a seating capacity of 1,200. It was rebuilt in 1907 and still retains its original substage machinery...
in Charing Cross
Charing Cross
Charing Cross denotes the junction of Strand, Whitehall and Cockspur Street, just south of Trafalgar Square in central London, England. It is named after the now demolished Eleanor cross that stood there, in what was once the hamlet of Charing. The site of the cross is now occupied by an equestrian...
, but as these were let go by the BBC the sessions increasingly centred on Madia Vale 4. Music sessions were once a mainstay of BBC Radio programming as there were strict limits on the amount of commercially recorded music that could be aired (known as needle-time restrictions), so the BBC regularly booked musicians to record music exclusively for broadcast. In the early 60s when the BBC began to give some limited coverage of pop groups such as The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, it was found that the sessions allowed up-and-coming bands to gain exposure, and for musicians and groups to try out new material, play covers they would not include on their albums, and experiment with different sounds and guest musicians. With the birth of Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
in 1967, programmes such as Top Gear
Top Gear (radio show)
Top Gear was originally a short-lived pop music show on the BBC Light Programme in the mid-1960s.- Origin and format :It was one of the Corporation's few attempts to compete with the pirate radio stations and Radio Luxembourg, who had attracted large audiences of young British pop music listeners...
embraced this concept, with sessions from such stars-in-waiting as David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
, Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
and Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
. And when one of Top Gears presenters, John Peel
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
, got his own programme, he again continued to commission these specially-recorded sessions. Most of the artists were relatively unknown even to Peel's listeners: he and his producer would often invite bands on the strength of a rough demo tape or gig to hear what they could do, and for many of the bands it was their first experience of a professional recording studio, not to mention a much-needed boost to their finances. The format became standardised as a single session in the studio with a staff producer and engineer (or more latterly a producer-engineer and assistant), during which the artists would record four songs, but there were also some sessions which were either live to air, or prerecorded as live with an audience. Other Radio 1 programmes and DJs adopted a similar system of Maida Vale sessions, such as Janice Long
Janice Long
Janice Long is an English radio broadcaster currently working on BBC Radio 2. Her show is on Sunday to Thursday nights from midnight to 02:00. She is the older sister of TV and radio personality Keith Chegwin.-Early career:...
, Andy Kershaw
Andy Kershaw
Andy Kershaw is a British broadcaster, known for his interest in world music.His shows feature a mix of country, blues, reggae, folk music, spoken word performance from the likes of Ivor Cutler, and other music from around the world.- Early Life :Kershaw and his sister, fellow broadcaster Liz...
, and The Evening Session, whose current host Zane Lowe
Zane Lowe
Zane Lowe also known as 'Zipper', is a radio DJ and television presenter. He was born in New Zealand and grew up in Auckland, where he was a presenter on the local music station Max TV, before moving to England...
has nicknamed the studio 'Maida Vegas'; as well as the more direct inheritors of the Peel Sessions tradition Huw Stevens, Rob da Bank
Rob da Bank
Robert John Gorham, known by the pseudonym Rob da Bank, is a British disc jockey. He presents a Friday-night/Saturday-morning show, Rob da Bank, on BBC Radio 1 from 5am-7am, focused on promoting new left field music...
and Mike Davies.
John Peel said "The Clash
The Clash
The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
did half one, then amazingly said that the equipment in the studio wasn't up to the standards they'd expected so they couldn't complete the session. Which seemed to me to be unbearably pretentious of them." Some albums by The Fall were entirely recorded there. The last band to record a Peel session was Skimmer
Skimmer (band)
Skimmer are a pop-punk band from Birmingham, who formed in 1993. They were originally signed to the Leeds-based Crackle! Records. Once described as being able to "harmonise like hamsters", they supported have many American pop punk bands in the UK: Mr T Experience, NOFX, Bracket, All etc...
, at Maida Vale Studios on October 21, 2004.
Other BBC disc jockeys invited artists to perform at Maida Vale. Led Zeppelin recorded for Alexis Korner
Alexis Korner
Alexis Korner was a blues musician and radio broadcaster, who has sometimes been referred to as "a Founding Father of British Blues"...
's "Rhythm and Blues" program in 1969. Walter Trout
Walter Trout
Walter Trout is an American blues guitarist, singer and songwriter.-Biography:Trout's career began on the Jersey coast scene of the late 1960s and early 1970s. He then decided to relocate to Los Angeles where he became a sideman for Percy Mayfield and Deacon Jones...
recorded for Paul Jones
Paul Jones (singer)
Paul Jones is an English singer, actor, harmonica player, and radio personality and television presenter.-Career:As P. P...
's R & B show. Marillion
Marillion
Marillion are a British rock band, formed in Aylesbury, England in 1979. Their recorded studio output comprises sixteen albums generally regarded in two distinct eras, delineated by the departure of original vocalist & frontman Fish in late 1988, and the subsequent arrival of replacement Steve...
recorded for Radio 2 DJ Bob Harris
Bob Harris (radio)
Robert Brinley Joseph "Bob" Harris, OBE , known as "Whispering" Bob Harris, is British radio host who currently works for BBC Radio 2, presenting music two nights a week...
. Jo Whiley
Jo Whiley
Johanne "Jo" Whiley is a British radio disc jockey and television presenter. She was the host of the long running weekday Jo Whiley Show on Radio 1.-Early life and education:...
invited Hard Fi to play here. The venue is also the home of the BBC Elstree concert Band. The Radio 3 "Jazz Line Up" sessions were recorded here.
In 1994 the Beatles album Live at the BBC
Live at the BBC (The Beatles album)
Live at the BBC is a 1994 compilation album featuring performances by The Beatles that were originally broadcast on various BBC Light Programme radio shows from 1963 through 1965. The monaural album, available in multiple formats but most commonly as a two-CD set, consists of 56 songs and 13 tracks...
was released. Most of the material was recorded here. Several other albums
Live at the BBC
Live at the BBC is the name of a number of compilation albums by different artists. Over the years, the BBC has hosted and recorded live performances of different musical acts. Often, these have been released by the bands as part of their official discography...
with the same title were recorded in studio 4. Van der Graaf Generator
Van der Graaf Generator
Van der Graaf Generator are an English progressive rock band, formed in 1967 in Manchester. They were the first act signed to Charisma Records. The band achieved considerable success in Italy during the 1970s...
released an album called Maida Vale
Maida Vale (album)
Maida Vale is an album by Van der Graaf Generator, recorded live-in-the-studio at the BBC's Maida Vale Studios. It contains eight songs from four different recordings from BBC sessions in 1971, 1975 and 1976...
in 1994. In 2006 the group Hefner
Hefner (band)
Hefner were a British indie rock and "urban folk" band formed in east London in 1995. They were active from about 1996 until 2002; since then they have played together only once, for a tribute to the DJ John Peel, who was a strong supporter of theirs....
released an album called Maida Vale, which was recorded here. The White Stripes
The White Stripes
The White Stripes was an American rock band, formed in 1997 in Detroit, Michigan. The group consisted of the songwriter Jack White and drummer Meg White . Jack and Meg White were previously married to each other, but are now divorced...
included their version of the Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'BrienSources use both Isabel and Isobel as the spelling of her second name. OBE , known professionally as Dusty Springfield and dubbed The White Queen of Soul, was a British pop singer whose career extended from the late 1950s to the 1990s...
classic "I Don't Know What To Do With Myself", recorded for The Evening Session in MV4 by Miti Adhikari on their album Elephant
Elephant
Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
. In 2002 Andrea Bocelli
Andrea Bocelli
Andrea Bocelli, is an Italian tenor, multi-instrumentalist and classical crossover artist. Born with poor eyesight, he became blind at the age of twelve following a soccer accident....
's Sentomento was made here. The label Maida Vale Records, a subsidiary of Cooking Vinyl
Cooking Vinyl
Cooking Vinyl is a UK-based independent record company, founded in 1986. Its original orientation was toward contemporary folk music—notably Billy Bragg, and Michelle Shocked's Texas Campfire Tapes, recorded on a Sony Walkman, one of its first releases...
has a policy of releasing material from various radio stations.
Memories
When one band recorded there, they remarked it was like stepping back into the 1940s: "blokes in brown stockmen's coats scurried around fixing stuff and plugging our gear in." When BroadcastBroadcast (band)
Broadcast are an electronic music band, founded in Birmingham, England. Original members were Trish Keenan , Roj Stevens , Tim Felton and James Cargill . Various drummers played with the band, including Keith York, Phil Jenkins, Jeremy Barnes, Steve Perkins, and Neil Bullock...
made their Peel sessions, Trish Keenan wrote "There was a sense of initiation on entering the Maida Vale studios. ... we wandered through the corridors, peering through the windows of locked rooms, on a hunt for the Radiophonic Workshop. We came across abandoned tape machines and Shostakovich posters in the hallways... We hovered outside the locked Radiophonic room, a little disappointed by what we could see through the window. We contemplated unscrewing the Radiophonic Workshop name plate from the door and making off with it, but knew the stern-faced security guard from earlier would have been on to us." The doorway is a favourite place for paparazzi to lie in wait for recording stars.