Portland
Place is a street in the Marylebone district of central London.
It was laid out by the Adam Brothers in the late 18th century, and
in the early 19th century it was incorporated into the royal route
from Carlton House to Regent's Park developed for the Prince Regent
by John Nash. Many of the houses are occupied by company headquarters
and and embassies, including the Chinese embassy.
The northern end of Portland Place opens into Nash's elegant stucco
semi-circle Park Crescent, which in turn leads on to Park Square
and Regent's Park. There are two landmark buildings at the south
end of the street, the grand late Victorian Langham Hotel, and BBC
Broadcasting House.
At number 35 Portland Place it use to be quite noisy
 |
I
joined IBC studio sometime in 1966, when London was the
place to be, to hear the music of a young generation that
had something new to say. The capital was alive and although
still run by the "Big Five" record companies (Decca,
EMI, Phillips, Pye and CBS) the music business was changing
as new labels emerged, as did young producers with fresh ideas.
The major record companies all had their own studios but opposite
the BBC in Great Portland Street there was a small independent
recording studio that played its part in music history,as
can be seen by the list above.
This was the INDEPENDENT BROADCASTING CORPORATION at 35 Portland
Place London WC1, where the best musicians in the UK must
have worked in at some time in their musical career. |
I
can only write this through my eyes, which started as a 18 year
old Who fan from North London, and ended 12 years later when I
moved on. I joined a few years after the days when engineers had
to wear white coats with ties and left when you could have your
pick from hundreds of studios that had shot up all over the country.
London was no longer the centre of music although the major
record companies still maintained offices in the capital, moving
west and away from the buzz of Oxford Street and Soho.
But it would never be like the old days. It was like a small community
with studios lending tape or lacquers if another studio had run
out. I remember standing in studio A with the engineers and the
technical staff trying to work out how the Small Faces had got
the phasing on "Lazy Sunday" which was recorded at Olympic
Studio. Since Sgt Pepper, studios were always on the look out
for new sounds or gadgets which would impress the client. I think
it took an afternoon before the workshop came back with the answer
which was quite simple really. Today you can get any effect with
the push of a button.
With
four children I have had to keep in touch with what ever they
have been into in music but without sounding like our fathers,
most of it is not as good as the old stuff. There are and have
been some very good bands to come out of this country since my
studio days, but I'm afraid I am one of those sad people who actually
believes that the music of my youth was better (just like the
cartoons of my youth).
What put down would a panel on one of those annoying pop idol
shows have given if Mama Cass sang in front of them or if a band
from West London suddenly smashed up their gear after their performance.
Could you imagine if the one with the high belt had said something
negative about their drummer!
Maybe it was a sense of humour thing but it did not seem so serious
and the only bitch written about really was a dog. I
can only sum up the feeling of the times by comparing it to a
modern day top ten that consisted solely of tunes that you can
whistle?? I rest my case!
It was also the experimentation that went with creating new sounds
which eventually led to digital and the retirement of some of
the old hands such as myself.
At heart I was a mono man as it was the mono disc cutting room
that I started out in. Not many bands had thought about cutting
in stereo as you could not get the level that you could with a
single signal that came with mono. With a 100 watt Lockwood speaker
in the corner of my disc cutting room, I could crank the sound
up and not worry about my dad telling me to turn it down. Mono
records were always louder than stereo especially the old London
label that released classic tracks from America. Jimi Hendrix's
first album and
four singles were mono as were most of the early Who tracks. The
stereo room was mainly used for mastering classical music until
the bands and the fans put on their headphones and discovered
that stereo does work
in Rock and Roll,especially if both parties had taken similar
substances. But the stereo
room was not a rock
and roll room and clients went else where to specially designed
cutting
rooms that were equipped to cater for the extra dynamics that
had to be cut to precision. When the mono room was closed down
all the work shifted to the stereo room and although still badly
designed it started attracting the big names again through engineers
such as Dennis Blackham,Melvin Abrahams and George ( Porky)
Peckham.
.
This
is a close up of a Stereo groove that cant take that rock 'n roll
There were two studios at IBC, Studio A and B. Studio B was mainly
a dubbing/mixing studio where artist could add instruments or
vocals and this is how the studio
was advertised in those days: (
see more pictures on History page)
STUDIO A: Has 8 track, 4 track, 3
track 2 track and mono, a fabulous 24 channel mixer with all the
limiter,equalisation, and echo facilities you could ask for.
STUDIO B: Has 8 track, 4 track, 3
track reduction facilities to mono and stereo, and voice to track,
in a luxurious and relaxed atmosphere.
DISC CUTTING: Mono and stereo acetates
and masters cut to highest professional standard.
Studio A was much larger with
two pianos , a Grand (Steinway) and a upright. A Mellotron was
usually handy and it could fit a forty piece orchestra.
There was definitely a buzz about the place, such as when I
saw The Small Faces coming out of studio B and bumping into the
Who coming out of A which resulted in loads of West and East London
banter. (know what I mean?)
One of the tracks not listed on this site was a version of a song
called "(Fly) Translove Airways" which was recorded
one night by a bunch of musicians including The Small Faces and
Donovan. Ahh, if only I had an acetate of that session.
I never kept much from my studio days as I never knew that someone
would come up with an idea called E-Bay and to be truthful when
you are in your twenties thinking about years ahead in the last
thing on your mind. I know of some cutting engineers who kept
copies of what they had mastered but to be honest I turned off
from music after work and preferred a pint with my mates talking
about football or girls.
We were taught in my early years not to pester artists that we
worked with but sometimes you hit it of with a client and shared
a few over the Dover. Sometimes I did take home an acetate of
something like Otis Redding's latest single that I had cut but
mostly it was done to impress my mates rather than judge the quality.
What would an acetate of "Hey Joe" or "Purple Haze"
be worth today? Doh!
If it is possible I would like to add to this site with reflections
from people who worked there so that the history of the building
is preserved. I have not been back there for years although the
Dover is still a regular stop if I am in town. The studio is now
offices and I often wonder if they ever took down the false ceiling
to reveal the Adams ceiling that was covered over and is a work
of art.
I have tried to get as much information as I can and if there
is anyone out there who can fill in some more gaps please get
in touch, either by phone, e-mail or a meeting at "The Dover
Castle"
If I get anything wrong or upset someone I can only apologise.
(and hope that in the next life you lighten
up and appreciate the freedom of music). If I have forgotten anything
please let me know. If
you do not like this site, start your own, as long as you preserve
the history of music.
If
you have stories of IBC press MEMORIES
and share those times. If you
want links to your site regarding anyone who worked at the studio
please let me know
Someone
who remembers IBC is the Who's PETE TOWNSHEND
who recorded some of the bands greatest tracks at number
35. Here are a few answers he gave to questions about IBC Studio.
While working at IBC I was a partner in a production company with
fellow engineer and friend DAMON LYON SHAW. This was HOMEGROWN
MUSIC Which (if you are interested) recorded THE
FACTORY - FIVE DAY RAIN
and ONE WAY TICKET.
All were recorded at IBC between 1968 and 1975 and shows the many
influences we picked up from working with some of the best songwriters
of our time.
I hope you enjoy this IBC web site as I think the old place deserves
to be remembered. Not only for having mad musicians on the prowl
in this old house but also for the talent of Townshend, Clapton,
Page, Harrison, Big Jim Sullivan, Nicky Hopkins and all the other
fine musician who recorded there.
Brian Carroll 2005
