Visit to Olympic Studios 16th July 2014

The Olympic Studios building has a rich entertainment history in the community of Barnes having been a cinema, theatre and recording studio during its lifetime. Reopening in 2013 as a cinema, cafe and dining room, the Environment Trust were delighted to pay a visit to learn more about its significant international contribution to music and entertainment.

20 people attended the visit to Olympic Studios and were treated to a fascinating talk from Gary Golding who has been involved with the restoration of this 1906 building from the inception. We all got to sit in Cinema 1 in the reclining chairs (footstools on the front row!) to listen to a medley of music created in the Olympic Studios from 1966 to 2008, a demonstration of the amazing new sound system (Dolby Atmos surround sound - for all you technical people) and original footage of The Rolling Stones recording at the Studios.

I found a clip of The Swingle Singers in 1966 recording at Olympic Studios from Pathe Pic - go to 4mins 40sec

A big THANK YOU to Gary for a fascinating insight into the building's use, playing a significant role in the innovative production of some of the greatest hit music. Gary produced a timeline of events for attendees, which I've reproduced below;

• 1906 Dec 20. Building opens as Byfeld Hall, and entertainment centre for the Barnes community. The first motorised bus service from Mortlake and Barnes London begins.
• 1908 Composer Gustav Holst moves to No. 10 The Terrace, Barnes and lives there for five years.
• 1910 Jun 4. Gains cinematograph licence, King Edward VII's funeral is shown.
• 1912 Barnes Cinema established the first weeks programme includes The Lady of The Lake, seat prices are from 3d to 1s.
• 1919 After the war and extensive alterations the building reopens as The Byfeld Hall Cinema and the small hall becomes a tea lounge.
• 1922 Renamed The Barnes Picture House. The name is still visible on the east facade of the building.
• 1925 Theatre producer Philip Ridgeway presents a range of plays that bring a bit more of West End glitz to Barnes.
• 1930 The Ranelagh Cinema opens; billed as one of the most comfortable and intimate cinemas. Saw the arrival of the talkies, it continues until the outbreak of WWII.
• 1941 Feb 16. Keith Robertson Grant born, Keith was the man behind the Olympic Sound Studios which he ran from 1966-1987 as one of the best recording rooms in the world. A genius in audio engineering and one to the most colourful, best loved and influential figures in recording history. He personally engineered 120 top 20 hits.
• 1943 Opens as The Plaza Cinema, until a fire in the winding room forces closure.
• 1953 Reopens as The New Vandyke Cinema, an art cinema showing the best continental films. The screening is Vittorio De Sica's The Bicycle Thieves.
• 1957 Guild TV Studios uses building for production of commercials, the most famous of which was for Omo detergent.
• 1966 The newly converted building opens as the Olympic Sound Studios. The Swingle Singers are the first to record on its state-of-the-art recording technology. The now legendary 24-input wrap-around console designed by Technical Director Dick Swettenham will become a major draw for recording artists. Interestingly, Studio 1 was large enough to house an orchestra and had a screen with two 35mm projectors giving it the ability to record film soundtracks live! Olympic Sound Studios would become one of the most innovative and successful independent recording studios in the world.
• 1966 Nov 6 - Dec 6. The Rolling Stones begin recording sessions, these would mark the beginning of a long relationship with Olympic Studios and the recording of six consecutive albums recorded in the building. During these initial sessions Ruby Tuesday & Let's Spend The Night Together would be amongst the numerous tracks recorded.
• 1967 Feb 3. Unhappy with the results from recent recording sessions and at the suggestion of Brian Jones and Bill Wyman, Jimi Hendrix and the Experience walk into Olympic Studios for the first time and begin overdubbing Purple Haze with producer Chas Chandler and engineer Eddie Kramer.
• 1967 Mar 6. Chris Kimsey begins work at Olympic Studios at a wage of £11/week.
• 1967 Apr 3. Returning to Olympic Studios, Hendrix, bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell would make headway towards completion of their landmark debut album, recording several songs, the titular track Are You Experienced was built from start to finish during this session.
• 1967 May 12. The UK release of Are You Experienced featuring tracks Foxy Lady, Manic Depression, Fire and Purple Haze.
• 1967 Jun. One of the few records to sell 10 million copies and recorded in two takes at Olympic Studios; A Whiter Shade of Pale by Procol Harum.
• 1967 Jun 14, 19, 23-25. The Beatles record tracks All You Need is Love and its B-side Baby, You're A Rich Man.
• 1967 Jun 25. The Beatles perform All You Need Is Love to 400 million people in over 26 countries in Our World, the first global television link.
• 1967 Jul. Sammy Davis Jr. records the songs for the musical Doctor Dolittle.
• 1967 Oct 1. Jimi Hendrix and the Experience begin sessions that will result in the album Axis Bold As Love.
• 1967 Nov-Dec. Newly signed to former Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham's label Immediate, Small Faces were given a virtual open account with Olympic Studios. During this time the record the classic psychedelia-influenced album Ogdens Nut Gone Fake.
• 1967 Dec. Traffic release their debut Dear Mr Fantasy after spending the better part of 1967 in and out of Olympic Studios recording the album.
• 1968 Mar 17 - Jul 25. The Rolling Stones record Beggars Banquet. On 4-10 Jun director Jean Luc-Godard films the Stones whilst recording Sympathy For The Devil for his documentary One Plus One aka Sympathy For The Devil.
• 1968 Sep 27. Led Zeppelin began sessions on Led Zeppelin 1. With most of the album recorded live, Jimmy Page has said it took a mere 36 hours over a period of a few weeks to create, including mixing. Jimmy himself footed the bill of £1,782 in studio costs.
• 1968 Nov 16-17. Recording of Stones' You Can't Always Get What You Want with Mick Jagger conducting sessions with the Bach Choir.
• 1969 Jun 28. Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Ric Grech & Ginger Baker, aka super group Blind Faith, record the track Can't Find My Way Home from their Olympic Studio recorded album.
• 1969 Summer. Scott Walker records his first entirely self written album Scott 4.
• 1969 The Italian Job soundtrack recorded with music composed by Quincy Jones. It would feature the classic Getta Bloomin' Move On (or The Self Preservation Society' with Michael Caine and the lads.
• 1969 Dec. UK release of The Rolling Stones' album Let It Bleed. The album includes songs; Gimme Shelter, Midnight Rambler and You Can't Always Get What You Want.
• 1969 Dec-1970 Mar. Jesus Christ Superstar, engineered by a 22 year-old Alan O'Duffy with full orchestra.
• 1970 late. Super cool soundtrack to Get Carter recorded. Music written, arranged and composed by Roy Budd. Reputedly the film's budget only allowed for £450 for the score. Budd overcame the restriction by using only three musicians with himself playing electric piano and harpsichord simultaneously.
• 1971 Mar-May. The Who recorded their fifth album Who's Next with Pete Townsend commenting of the sessions 'We were just getting astounded at the sounds Glyn [Johns] was producing'. The album would feature hits Won't Get Fooled Again, Baba O'Riley and Behind Blue Eyes.
• 1971 Blues legends Howlin Woolf & BB King both record albums at Olympic Studios; both are guested by musicians including Eric Clapton, Rigno Starr, Alexis Korner, Klaus Voorman & Peter Green.
• 1971 Nov. The Eagles fly to London and record their debut album with producer Glyn Johns it will feature hits Take It Easy, Witchy Woman and Peaceful Easy Feeling.
• 1972 Funkadelic pop in and record Everybody is Gonna Make This Time, accompanied by Ginger Baker on drums.
• 1971 O'Lucky Man soundtrack with songs and music by Alan Price.
• 1972 May. Recorded in Studio 2 with David Bowie at the controls Mott The Hoople record the Bowie-penned hit All The Young Dudes. Also during this time The Who were recording the album Who's Next.
• 1972 Sept-1973 Jan. Faces record Ooh La La with Glyn Johns producing.
• 1973 Nov-Dec. In studio 2 sessions are underway with David Bowie on what will become the album Diamond Dogs. The Rolling Stones are in adjacent studio 1 putting finishing touches to their forthcoming album, Bowie is invited to add back-vocals to title track It's Only Rock n Roll (But I Like It).
• 1974 Nov 29. The band Slade release Slade in Flame the soundtrack to their film of the same title. Film critic mark Kermode has called the film '...the Citizen Kane of rock musicals...'. The album will be their fourth recorded at Olympic Studios with former bassist with The Animals and Hendrix producer Chas Chandler at the recording console.
• 1975 Sep-Oct. Queen work on tracks that will become part of their groundbreaking album A Night At The Opera.
• 1976 Apr-Sep. The original cast album of Tim Rice and Andrew Llyod Webber's Evita.
• 1977 May. Eric Clapton records the album Slowhand featuring hits Cocaine and Wonderful Tonight.
• 1977 Sept 16. Marc Bolan dies when a car in which he was a passenger hits a sycamore tree on Queens Ride, Barnes.
• 1978 Jul 26-Aug 6. The Buzzcocks record album Love Bites featuring single Ever Fallen In Love (With Somebody You Shouldn't Have). Now considered a classic, at the time it reached no. 12 in the UK charts.
• 1979 Life Of Brian soundtrack recorded at Olympic Studios.
• 1982 Barbra Streisand records the track of Yentl.
• 1987 Virgin Records acquire the property and completely remodel the studios.
• 1997-8 Work begins on the mixing of Massive Attack album Mezzanine featuring the tracks Teardrop and Rising Sun.
• 1995 Spice Girls record their debut album Spice including the singles Wannabe and 2 Become 1.
• 1996 Based around a sample from the 1965 Rolling Stone's song The Last Time by The Andrew Oldham Orchestra, The Verve's Bitter Sweet Symphony would become an anthem of the 1990s and hugely successful hit, it was created at Olympic Studios.
• 1999 Sep-2000 Jan. Madonna's eighth studio album Music was mixed by Mike 'Spike' Stent.
• 2006 Apr 21. The release of Madonna album American Life. Recorded at Westlake Recording Studios and Olympic Studios.
• 2006 Tracks of Artic Monkeys debut album What People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not are mixed.
• 2008 U2 recorded No Line On The Horizon. The building is then put up for sale by EMI.
• 2010 Work begins on the restoration of the building and a return to its origins as a local cinema.
• 2013 Jun. In conjunction with Sound Assoicates and Dolby, producer Chris Kimsey assists with the sound system for Studio 1.
• 2013 Oct 11 The opening of the new Olympic Studios, a cinema, restaurant and members club - a social hub and entertainment centre for the community.