Blackwing Studios was an English recording studio, most notable for early Depeche Mode and Yazoo recordings in the early 1980s.
Blackwing Studios was an English recording studio, most notable for early Depeche Mode and Yazoo recordings in the early 1980s.
The Blackwing Studios complex was housed inside a deconsecrated church in south-east London. All Hallows church was partly destroyed during The Blitz in 1941. After the war, Southwark Cathedral retained the north aisle and carried on using it as a temporary church. The destroyed south aisle was later turned into gardens and maintained by local residents from 1968. [1]
Blackwing Studios was started by Eric Radcliffe, who worked on most of the early Mute Records recordings alongside Daniel Miller. [2] Miller had discovered Blackwing when recording the Silicon Teens album. He required a studio with a big control room where he could set up all his synthesisers. [2] Daniel Miller carried on using Blackwing to record other Mute Records artists. At the rear of the church building was a bell tower that was used for storing master tapes. [3]
The first Depeche Mode album, Speak & Spell , was recorded at Blackwing using a TEAC eight-track recorder. The album was engineered by John Fryer. [4] Yazoo named one of their albums, Upstairs at Eric's , after the studio, due to the main Blackwing studio being above Splendid Studios. [2] : p.28 When Vince Clarke initially came to Blackwing to record with Yazoo, he found that the studio was fully booked; Depeche Mode were recording their new album. He had the choice of recording at 4am during studio downtime or building another studio, which is how Splendid Studios came about. It was a not-for-hire studio below Blackwing. [5]
After the break-up of Yazoo, Clarke decided he wanted to remain in the music industry. His initial enterprise after Yazoo was the formation of his own record label called Reset Records, a joint effort with Radcliffe, to sign and produce new acts recorded in Splendid Studios. The recordings were then licensed to RCA Records for release. [6]
Blackwing Studios closed down in September 2001 and the building has been empty ever since, but the church building and gardens are still there. However, this may soon not be the case as Southwark Council have been submitting plans since 2005 to redevelop the site with a four-storey development of private flats. [7]
When Eric Radcliffe opened Blackwing, he initially used an eight-track TEAC for recording artists; this was later replaced by a 16-track machine. A second recorder was acquired and locked together with the initial machine, giving Blackwing 32 tracks of recording. This system was used for many early recordings by Yazoo and Depeche Mode. The system was eventually rationalised when two 24-track machines were purchased: one for Blackwing and one for Splendid Studios downstairs. Blackwing used an Amek 2500 mixing desk modified to work with electronic instruments. All the equipment at Blackwing and Splendid Studios was designed to be patchable through patch bays; none of the effects units were hardwired. [5] Clarke installed a Fairlight CMI into Blackwing, which he had bought before the Yazoo tour, and used it on tracks such as "Never Never" by The Assembly.
Due to the low bandwidth that the Fairlight produced, Clarke began using the Synclavier, which used FM synthesis. This led, in 1984, to Clarke’s purchase of a Yamaha DX7; he also updated the sound cards in the Fairlight to create a fuller sound. The Fairlight was used to sample sounds of Clarke smashing all sorts of wood, china and glass that were found when demolishing the lower part of the church to build Splendid Studios. [5] Blackwing used a range of quality reverberation, including an AMS RMX, Lexicon 224 and 224X and a Quantec Room Simulator. Recordings at Blackwing also used natural reverb from a long corridor that still retained the stonework from the original war-damaged church. Above the studio was a natural echo chamber that lay under the church roof. Radcliffe left the echo chamber when designing the studios, as it seemed a waste removing it. [5]
One of the first tracks Depeche Mode recorded at Blackwing was "Dreaming of Me", after being decided it would be the band's first single. [2] At the time, Clarke was unemployed, so he spent most of the daytime in the studio with Daniel Miller, who would advise Clarke on how to get sounds, use studio technology and arrange songs. Later in the afternoon, Martin Gore and Andy Fletcher would arrive from their day jobs to record melody parts. [2] : p.30 After the recording of Speak & Spell , Clarke left the band but carried on recording at Blackwing. In late 1981, Depeche Mode returned to Blackwing and recorded the single "See You", [2] : p.43 the first Depeche Mode track to use a Roland MC-4 sequencer, which made the core sound to the track. [8] It was also the first Depeche Mode track recorded without Clarke.
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in Basildon in 1980. The group consists of a trio of Dave Gahan, Martin Gore and Andy Fletcher (keyboards).
Yazoo were an English synth-pop duo from Basildon, Essex, consisting of former Depeche Mode member Vince Clarke (keyboards) and Alison Moyet (vocals). The duo formed in late 1981 after Clarke responded to an advertisement Moyet placed in a British music magazine, although the pair had known each other since their schooldays.
Vincent John Martin, known professionally as Vince Clarke, is an English synth-pop musician and songwriter. Clarke has been the main composer and musician of the band Erasure since its inception in 1985, and was previously the main songwriter of several groups, including Depeche Mode, Yazoo, and the Assembly. In Erasure he is known for his deadpan and low-key onstage demeanour, often remaining motionless over his keyboard, in sharp contrast to vocalist Andy Bell's animated and hyperactive frontman antics.
Mute Records Ltd. is a British independent record label owned and founded in 1978 by Daniel Miller. It has featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Einstürzende Neubauten, Depeche Mode, Erasure, Fad Gadget, Goldfrapp, Grinderman, Inspiral Carpets, Moby, New Order, Nitzer Ebb, Yann Tiersen, Wire, Yeasayer, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Yazoo, and M83.
Speak & Spell is the debut studio album by English electronic music band Depeche Mode. It was released on 5 October 1981, or possibly 29 October 1981, by Mute Records. It was the band's only album to feature Vince Clarke, and is much lighter in tone than their subsequent releases.
The Assembly were a British synthpop project formed in 1983 in Basildon, England, by Vince Clarke and Eric Radcliffe.
Eric Radcliffe is a recording engineer and producer who worked with new wave and synthpop bands in the early 1980s in Basildon, England. He later became owner of Blackwing Studios.
Francis John Tovey, known also by his stage name Fad Gadget, was a British avant-garde electronic musician and vocalist. He was a proponent of both new wave and early industrial music, fusing together a unique blend of pop structured songs mixed with mechanised experimentation.
A Broken Frame is the second studio album by English electronic music band Depeche Mode. It was released on 27 September 1982 by Mute Records. The album was written entirely by Martin Gore and was recorded after the departure of Vince Clarke, who had left to form Yazoo with singer Alison Moyet. Alan Wilder was part of a second band tour in the United Kingdom prior to the release of A Broken Frame, but had not officially joined yet and does not appear on the album.
Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night is the sixth studio album by English-French rock band Stereolab. It was released on 21 September 1999 and was issued by Duophonic Records and Elektra Records. The album was largely co-produced by Stereolab, John McEntire, and Jim O'Rourke.
Upstairs at Eric's is the debut album by British synthpop duo Yazoo, released in the UK on Mute Records on 20 August 1982. It was produced by the band and E.C. Radcliffe, with assistance from Mute label boss Daniel Miller on some of the tracks. Named after producer Radcliffe's Blackwing Studios where the album was recorded, Upstairs at Eric's was preceded by two top three UK singles, the ballad "Only You" and the more uptempo "Don't Go". The singles' success helped Upstairs at Eric's reach number 2 in the UK Albums Chart and gain platinum certification for 300,000 copies sold in the UK.
John Fryer is an English record producer. Best known for his production work, he has also performed as a musician, as one of the two constant members of This Mortal Coil, providing keyboards, strings and synthesizer sequencing for the band, and its offshoot, The Hope Blister.
You and Me Both is the second and final studio album by British synthpop duo Yazoo, released on Mute Records in July 1983. The album's title was an ironic reference to the fact that the duo had grown estranged from each other and recorded much of the album separately; they announced their split a few weeks before the album's release.
Fireside Favourites is the debut studio album by Fad Gadget. It was released on 1 September 1980, through record label Mute.
"Only You" is the debut single by English synth-pop duo Yazoo. It was written by member Vince Clarke, while he was still with Depeche Mode, but recorded in 1982 after he formed Yazoo with Alison Moyet. It was released as Yazoo's first single on 15 March 1982 in the United Kingdom, and became an instant success on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number 2 on 16 May 1982. It would also reach the top 10 in neighbouring Ireland as well as Australia. In the US, "Only You" was released as the band's second single in November 1982 and charted at number 67 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also made the US Adult Contemporary chart.
Robert Marlow is an English synth-pop singer, songwriter and musician.
Clan of Xymox is the debut studio album by Dutch dark wave band Clan of Xymox, released 1 July 1985 by 4AD.
Stephen John Pearce, commonly known as Stevo, is a British record producer and music industry executive, best known as the owner of indie record label Some Bizzare Records.
Daniel Otto Joachim Miller is an English music producer and founder of Mute Records.
Reset Records was a British record company founded in 1983 by Vince Clarke and Eric Radcliffe.
