The National Trust wants to know if there is enough public support for the Trust to launch a campaign to save the Abbey Road Recording Studio on behalf of the nation.
Speaking on Chris Evans Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 2, National Trust Director General Dame Fiona Reynolds said, “We are taking soundings to see if there is enough public support for The National Trust to purchase the Abbey Road Studios on behalf of the nation. We need to know and we are asking people to go to our web-site or join the facebook and Twitter campaigns, if there is enough public support we will launch a campaign to save the Abbey Road Studios”
Dame Fiona went on to say that there has been a sense of shock that Abbey Road Studios may be lost after EMI announced yesterday that the studios were going to be sold to ease there financial problems.
EMI, which is owned by the Terra Firma Capital group, has debts of two and a half billion pounds.
No price has yet been put on the studios, but there has been speculation that the studios could sell for between £10 million and £30 million pounds as they are situated in the very desirable London area of St. Johns Wood, close to Lords Cricket Ground.
It is not known at present if the sale will also include the studio brand name, which would be worth far more than the studios.
Sir Paul McCartney, the former Beatle, told the BBC's Newsnight programme that "a few people who have been associated with the studio for a long time" were looking at making a possible bid.
"I hope they can do something, it'd be great. Obviously I have got so many memories there with the Beatles and it still is a great studio. So it would be lovely if somebody could get a thing together to save it," he said
Abbey Road studios opened in 1931 with Sir Edward Elgar conducting the London Symphony Orcastra on a recording of Pomp and Circumstance March No 1, better known as “Land of Hope and Glory”
“Pomp and Circumstance March No 1” received its world premiere at Liverpool’s Philharmonic Hall in 1901.
Many artists have recorded at Abbey Road, including Fats Waller, Glen Miller, Connie Francis, U2, The Spice Girls and Placido Domingo.
But it was The Beatles who made the recording studios world famous, recording most of their output there.
Their first album “Please Please Me” was recorded over a 12 hour period on 22nd March 1963, to capitalise on the success of the single “Please Please Me”
The album “Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band” took six months to record and cost £25.000, making it the most expensive album recorded up to that time.
The National Trust is mentioned in the lyrics of “Happiness is a Warm Gun” on “The Beatles” better known as The White Album.
“Abbey Road” was the final Beatles album to be recorded in the studios. Released in September 1969 it spent 17 weeks at number one in the album charts and was the best selling album of the year.
www.nationaltrust.org.uk
marlene, cardiff around 2 years, 3 months ago