Chipping Norton Recording Studios

Last updated
Chipping Norton Recording Studios
Type Recording studio
Industry Music industry
Founded1971
Area served
Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, England
Key people
Richard Vernon and Mike Vernon

Chipping Norton Recording Studios was a residential recording studio in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, England, which operated from 1971 until October 1999. [2]

The studios were created by Mike Vernon and Richard Vernon as the in-house studio for Mike Vernon's record company Blue Horizon Records, and operated out of the former British Schools building at 26-30 New Street, a Grade II listed building in the town centre. [3] Further properties were added in adjacent buildings and the studio eventually provided 15 bedrooms with on-site catering for visiting musicians.[ citation needed ]

The studios became a commercial enterprise, and songs recorded there included "Baker Street" by Gerry Rafferty, "In The Army Now" by Status Quo, "Too Shy" by Kajagoogoo, "I Should Have Known Better" by Jim Diamond, "Promise Me" by Beverley Craven, "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" by the Proclaimers, [4] "Perfect" by Fairground Attraction, "(I Just) Died in Your Arms" by Cutting Crew, "Eighteen With A Bullet" by Pete Wingfield, "Hocus Pocus" by Focus and "Bye, Bye, Baby (Baby Goodbye)" by the Bay City Rollers. [4] [5] Duran Duran recorded most of their debut album, Duran Duran (1981), with Colin Thurston as producer. Radiohead recorded their 1993 debut album, Pablo Honey , at Chipping Norton, including their debut single, "Creep". [6]

Co-founders Richard and Mike Vernon beneath the Blue Plaque presented as part of the BBC Music Day, 15 June 2017 Cnrsblue.jpg
Co-founders Richard and Mike Vernon beneath the Blue Plaque presented as part of the BBC Music Day, 15 June 2017

On 15 June 2017, BBC Music Day, broadcast throughout the UK, awarded the studio a blue plaque for its part in the musical heritage of England. [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. They comprise Thom Yorke ; brothers Jonny Greenwood and Colin Greenwood (bass); Ed O'Brien ; and Philip Selway. They have worked with producer Nigel Godrich and cover artist Stanley Donwood since 1994. Radiohead's experimental approach is credited with advancing the sound of alternative rock.

<i>OK Computer</i> 1997 studio album by Radiohead

OK Computer is the third studio album by the English rock band Radiohead, released in the UK on 16 June 1997 by EMI. With their producer, Nigel Godrich, Radiohead recorded most of OK Computer in their rehearsal space in Oxfordshire and the historic mansion of St Catherine's Court in Bath in 1996 and early 1997. They distanced themselves from the guitar-centred, lyrically introspective style of their previous album, The Bends. OK Computer's abstract lyrics, densely layered sound and eclectic influences laid the groundwork for Radiohead's later, more experimental work.

<i>The Bends</i> (album) 1995 studio album by Radiohead

The Bends is the second studio album by the English rock band Radiohead, released on 13 March 1995 by Parlophone. It was produced by John Leckie, with extra production by Radiohead, Nigel Godrich and Jim Warren. The Bends combines guitar songs and ballads, with more restrained arrangements and cryptic lyrics than Radiohead's debut album, Pablo Honey (1993).

<i>Pablo Honey</i> 1993 studio album by Radiohead

Pablo Honey is the debut studio album by the English rock band Radiohead, released on 22 February 1993 in the UK by Parlophone and on 20 April in the US by Capitol Records. It was produced by Sean Slade, Paul Q. Kolderie and Radiohead's co-manager Chris Hufford.

<i>Drill</i> (EP) 1992 EP by Radiohead

Drill is the debut EP by the English rock band Radiohead, released in May 1992. It was Radiohead's first commercial release, and attracted little attention, reaching 101 on the UK Album Chart. Radiohead rerecorded three Drill songs for their debut album, Pablo Honey (1993).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chipping Norton</span> Market town in West Oxfordshire, England

Chipping Norton is a market town and civil parish in the Cotswold Hills in the West Oxfordshire district of Oxfordshire, England, about 12 miles (19 km) south-west of Banbury and 18 miles (29 km) north-west of Oxford. The 2011 Census recorded the civil parish population as 5,719. It was estimated at 6,254 in 2019.

<i>My Iron Lung</i> 1994 EP by Radiohead

My Iron Lung is the third EP by the English rock band Radiohead, released on 26 September 1994 by Parlophone Records in the UK and by Capitol Records in the US. It was produced by Radiohead, John Leckie and Nigel Godrich. It marked Radiohead's first collaborations with Godrich and the artist Stanley Donwood, who have worked on every Radiohead release since.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Creep (Radiohead song)</span> 1992 single by Radiohead

"Creep" is the debut single by the English rock band Radiohead, released on 21 September 1992. It was included on their debut studio album, Pablo Honey (1993). Radiohead took elements from the 1972 song "The Air That I Breathe" by Albert Hammond and Mike Hazlewood. Following legal action, Hammond and Hazlewood were credited as co-writers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drugstore (band)</span> Alternative and dream pop band

Drugstore are a London-based alternative and dream pop band, led by Brazilian singer-songwriter and bassist Isabel Monteiro, formed with Dave Hunter on guitar and Mike Chylinski on drums.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trident Studios</span> British recording facility

Trident Studios was a British recording facility, located at 17 St Anne's Court in London's Soho district between 1968 and 1981. It was constructed in 1967 by Norman Sheffield, drummer of the 1960s group the Hunters, and his brother Barry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stop Whispering</span> 1993 single by Radiohead

"Stop Whispering" is a song by the English alternative rock band Radiohead, included on their debut album, Pablo Honey (1993). It was released as a single in the US in October 1993. Radiohead rerecorded it for the single release, as they were unsatisfied with the album version.

Tractor is an English rock band founded in Rochdale, Lancashire by guitarist/vocalist Jim Milne and drummer Steve Clayton in 1971. Both had been members of a beat group, The Way We Live, since 1966. They are notable both for their appreciation by John Peel and Julian Cope, but also for their longevity because as of 2007, they were still performing. The band was produced initially by schoolfriend sound engineer John Brierley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Vernon (record producer)</span> Musical artist

Michael William Hugh Vernon is an English music executive studio owner, and record producer from Harrow, Middlesex. He produced albums for British blues artists and groups in the 1960s, working with the Bluesbreakers, David Bowie, Duster Bennett, Savoy Brown, Chicken Shack, Climax Blues Band, Eric Clapton, Fleetwood Mac, Peter Green, Danny Kirwan, John Mayall, Christine McVie and Ten Years After amongst others.

Blue Horizon Records was a British blues independent record label, founded by Mike Vernon and Neil Slaven in 1965, as an adjunct to their fanzine, R&B Monthly, and was the foremost label at the time of the British blues boom in the mid to late 1960s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maida Vale Studios</span> Broadcasting facility in London, England

Maida Vale Studios is a complex of seven BBC sound studios, of which five are in regular use, in Delaware Road, Maida Vale, west London.

David Mackay is an Australian record producer, arranger and musical director. He began his music career at the age of 15 in a production of Bye Bye Birdie for J. C. Williamson Theatre Company. He also worked for a time recording musical sessions for local radio.

<i>Madison Blues</i> (album) 2003 compilation album by Fleetwood Mac

Madison Blues – Live & Studio Recordings is a compilation album by British blues rock band Fleetwood Mac, released in 2003. It is a compilation of BBC session tracks and live concert material from the band's first post-Peter Green line up, none of which had previously been officially released. The album focuses on the period between the successful Peter Green period and the start of the Bob Welch period which eventually led to another successful period for the band in the mid to late 1970s. Packaged as a double CD with a DVD interview with guitarist Jeremy Spencer, it came in a cardboard box with a foldout inner sheet.

<i>Life Goes On</i> (Gerry Rafferty album) 2009 studio album by Gerry Rafferty

Life Goes On is the tenth studio album from Scottish soft rock musician Gerry Rafferty. Released on 30 November 2009 by Hypertension Music, it was the singer's final recording published before his 2011 death.

References

  1. 1 2 "David Bowie, Sandy Denny and John Peel honoured by BBC Local Radio with 47 Blue Plaques for BBC Music Day". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
  2. "Chipping Norton Recording Studios 1971-1999". Chipping Norton Town Council. Archived from the original on 2011-12-22. Retrieved 2012-01-22.
  3. "Chipping Norton Recording Studios, Chipping Norton". www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-01-22.
  4. 1 2 "Chipping Norton Recording Studios". Discogs.com. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  5. "Chipping Norton Recording Studios". musicalphabet.com. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  6. Runtagh, Jordan (2018-02-22). "Radiohead's Pablo Honey: 10 things you didn't know". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on 2020-11-09. Retrieved 2021-10-21.

51°56′29″N1°32′53″W / 51.9414°N 1.5480°W / 51.9414; -1.5480