Grosvenor Road Studios (GRS), formerly known as Hollick and Taylor Studios, is a suite of recording studios in Handsworth, [a] Birmingham, England. It is the oldest extant recording studio in the city. [1] [2]
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The studios are in a former five-bedroomed house, 16 Grosvenor Road, which was built in 1872. [b] [2] [3] From 1945 the house was occupied by a married couple, John R. and Joan Taylor, who developed a recording studio there shortly after arriving. [1] [2] The studios became known as Hollick & Taylor when John set up a partnership with Charles Hollick, an engineer. [1]
Both Noddy Holder (with Steve Brett & the Mavericks) and John Bonham (with The Senators) made their first recordings at Grosvenor Road. [1] It was also used by Spencer Davis. [1] Other bands to record there include The Applejacks, The Fortunes, The Moody Blues, The Move, The Rockin' Berries, Steel Pulse, Carl Wayne and the Vikings, and Pat Wayne & The Beachcombers, [1] [4] and others that were part of the city's Brum Beat movement. [2] Jeff Wayne used the studios in 1971 or 1972 to record music for an Ansells beer television commercial, with Chris Spedding on guitar. [5] The Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band recorded their UK No. 2 hit "The Floral Dance" there, and Jasper Carrott's double A-side comedy single "Funky Moped"/"Magic Roundabout", a UK Top 5 chart hit, was produced by Jeff Lynne, with Bev Bevan on drums and backing vocals on the former track. [4] [6] Comedian Ken Dodd recorded his radio shows at GRS, and the actors Gordon Jackson, John le Mesurier and John Nettles all made recordings there. [7] Cliff Richard used the studio to launch his 1976 I'm Nearly Famous album. [4]
Studio clients also included school orchestras, brass bands, military bands, and cathedral choirs. Test pressings and performers' self-funded records were released on the Hollick & Taylor label, with some commercial releases - including a 1972 release by the Bert Weedon Quartet [8] - on the Grosvenor label.
Working together in the studio, John and Joan Taylor also made foley recordings for film and television, including the Gerry Anderson series Thunderbirds and Stingray. [2] Dubbing was also done there including for the 1961 film The Guns of Navarone . [2]
The name Grosvenor Recording Studio Complex was adopted after Hollick's death. [1] Eventually, the Taylor's sons, Christopher and Richard, were brought into the business. In 2003 John and Joan Taylor retired to Peterborough [7] and the studios were acquired by Black Voices as a social enterprise, managed by a voluntary board. [4] In 2008, £1.5 million in grant funding enabled a major refurbishment. [2] The same year the gardens were redeveloped as a community facility, and in November a sculpture of a peony seed pod, by Juginder Lamba in Shropshire oak, was unveiled by Prince Edward, Duke of Kent. [9] For a period from its refurbishment the studio operated under the name Centre for Music & Arts Technology. [3] [10]
As of 2015, the complex had three studios - the largest accommodating up to 50 performers [1] - and was still using its 1950s microphones. [11]