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THIS PAGE WILL BE DEDICATED TO THE STAFF AND ALL THOSE THAT WORKED AT IBC

I have written it for those who are interested in IBC and those that I knew, who I hope won't mind
me sharing my memories with strangers. I think they should all be remembered for working in a
great studio. I'll start with Brian Carroll (that's me) Living in North London, married with four children and still trying new things, such as this web site. I thought I would do it as if not, all that happened would be forgotten as well as it gives me the chance to show my kids how their dad looked when he thought it was cool to have long hair..

The engineers were the unsung heroes that made sure that every record they worked on was done in a professional manner. Today many of those engineers would be well known or perhaps recording on a computer in a bedroom with the chance of stardom.
This then is a list of people I remember and I am sure that more will be added. If any of ex staff wants a more detailed description
of what you have been up to please get in touch and share your story with music lovers of the Internet (ask your kids if you don't know what that is)
I should mention that "The Dover Castle" mentioned below is the pub in the mews at the back of the building with only a little road between it and the back door. Most of those mentioned below have sunk a few in The Dover.

I want to start out this list with the best person I ever meet at IBC and that was ERNIE CRIMMINS, our caretaker( that's me and him in the photo).
An ex navel man Ernie ran the studio and if you upset him and then asked for toilet paper there would be a sudden shortage. He organised the session men getting in the lift to Studio A and if you were short at the end of the month he would always lend you a sub.
One of the best moments I remember with him was when the staff were called into the MDs office, who was about to tell us that the studio was being sold and he did not know what was going to happen to us. This was all done with that caring attitude of someone who was all right jack and he hit a nerve when he said he cared about us. (good reason to sell the studio)

it was then (after a few jars over the Dover Castle) that Ernie told him that was rubbish and that he will still be driving his jag home to his big house and get a few rounds of golf in at the weekends.
Silence, but everybody in the room must have thought, "I wish I had said that".
But that was Ernie and not even the MD could dislike him and he was one of the last to leave the building prior to it becoming offices many years later. He always told me he would never get the bullet as he had the keys.

A funny man, a compassionate man. He was proud to work there and he DID care about other people. I could write a chapter of my stories about Ern and sadly he died a few years ago shortly after his retirement from the studio and after over 20 years of brewing up a great cup of tea for all those musicians that sat in the tea lobby at number 35.

I suppose in order of rank and longevity I would next have to mention ANGELA PEBERDY, who all the engineers will remember as the head of the office. Angela was there for years and knew them all in her capacity of running the administration side of things including the booking of clients.
She could upset you or wrap you round her little finger. She was smart, intelligent and a laugh. I do not want to write too much about her as I still feel she will tell me off if I write something I shouldn't. I just want to say I enjoyed my years working with her even when she wore that mauve hat! Now lives in the USA with Fred (and my bike) I hope she has some memories she can share.

Me and Angela at our Christmas party.

Now I have to mention another friend LESLIE WARMISHAM,second in command to Angela until she took over and great companion over at the Dover Castle. Leslie was the girl that everyone liked as she hardly said a bad word about anyone (you know who you are if she did!) I am still in touch with her and hope to get some of her stories. Leslie was the one people went to if they had any trouble and she would usually come up with a sensible answer by the end of the conversation. Living in North London.

Next up is real old friend (I hope) DAMON LYON SHAW who was also my song writing partner. A multi talented musician, who could play guitar, bass, drums and keyboards, which he would overdub in all the tracks we made.
Not only that but he was a top engineer who has worked with many of the songs mentioned on this site. He has worked on tracks by the Stones, Bee Gees, Cream, Small Faces, Lee Hazelwood, Pentangle, Bob Dylan and many more. He was the engineer on "Tommy" and ended his career engineering and producing for Status Quo. Perhaps it was these session that left him with an ear complaint that meant he could no longer do the job he loved.

Don't think many of the artists he worked with bothered to check him out and he drifted away from the business. But he did end up marrying PAULINE, who also worked in the office and they are living down in Dorset surrounded by their children. I am still in touch with him and hope he can remember a few things.

The rest of this list are of people I worked with and some that I did not, Some liked me and some didn't and as I have learnt in the past, that sometimes the written word is not taken in the light hearted way it was meant to be, any comments I make here are how I saw it and no offence is meant.

One of those that had left IBC when I joined was HOWARD BURROW, who was later my studio boss when I went to work for Pye Studios in Marble Arch in the late seventies. I hope I can class him as a friend as we have shared a few pints and laughs, especially in the company of MALCOLM DAVIES (Abbey Road and Apple) I am hoping to get in touch with him and perhaps get more information about the early years. Founder member of the Dorothy Squires fan club!

MIKE CLAYDON was the studio manager at IBC from the day I started till the day I left. He gave me the chance to get into a career that involved some of the best times of my life.
Mike was the "Orchestral " man and you can hear his work on many of the Bee Gees early hits. He worked with Johnny Mathis, New Seekers, Gerry Marsden, The Peddlers, Tony Blackburn, Paul and Barry Ryan, David McWilliams (Days of Pearly Spencer), engineered the live Bob Dylan tour, which included the words "Judas. When anyone wanted an engineer who could get a good string sound Mike was up there with the best of them.
I heard recently that he died a few years ago and that was bad news. ( see tribute on memories page)

It was Mike and ALAN STAG (who went on to manage Abbey Road Studio) who interviewed me for a job that I had wanted to do ever since I use to watch GUS DUGGEON edit tapes, when I use to work for Transatlantic Records prior to joining IBC.
GUS was another popular engineer with top artists such as Elton John and his wife Sheila also worked for Transatlantic.
Tragically they both died in a car crash and as I only knew them in the early days I still remember what nice people they were,

So there I was thrown in at the deep end. They had no vacancies for a junior engineer at that time but there was a position for an assistant disc-cutting engineer. I had no idea what they were talking about, although I kept nodding as if I did, but I jumped at the chance of working right there in the creation of music.
The man that taught me and suffered my ignorance was PAUL CLAY, producer of the first "Yes" album and he was cutting some
of the Atlantic labels classic releases from the sixties. With his Afghan Hound and sports car he was probably the most dashing disc cutter I have ever meet. I hear lives in California and maybe he can remember those early years.

JOHN PANTRY was another engineer I worked with and liked but I did not spend that much time with him, as he was always busy.
He did some great Small Faces tracks and hung out with them for a while I think. He went on to form "Sounds Around and "Peter and the Wolves" and helped me and Damon out on a couple of "Factory" tracks that he wrote.
A very talented man who had my respect and was always up for a laugh. Hope to get in touch with him. Watch this space.

That was about the crew who were either engineering or working in the office when I first started, with (fat) PAT CLARK being Angela's number two. Pat was fun and for a young man like myself I thought she was good looking but unobtainable.
Both the girls in the office kept me in my place until I had been there long enough not to fear them!!!!!

After Ernie the most important part of the studio was "The Workshop" down in the basement, where there were a bunch of guys who were the boffins of the organisation. What they did not know they found out about and they saved many a session.
Any trouble and you called the workshop and they would come up armed with tools and oscillators. Some found them hard to get to know but from an early stage they knew I knew nothing about the inside of a mixing console, which they also built.

Leader of the squadron was DENIS KING, a wise man who would not suffer fools gladly. I always looked upon Denis as a kind man who would get me out of trouble if I had an irate client.
His Assistant was PETER SMITH who was nearly always by his side when something went wrong, sometimes with forty musicians in the studio waiting to get started. Peter had a wry sense of humour as did they all in a workshop that scoffed at upstart pop stars.
It was another world down there and my only hope was to crack a joke or two and get them on my side. Once you had their trust you were allowed to enter their world.

There was DAVE ANGEL and BRIAN STOTT (who later went on to engineering) and they both had that "smirky" workshop humour which mocked those that knew less than them. A great bunch of lads who were the engine of the studios. They kept it updated and invented things that you needed. It was Peter who sent some of the IBC pictures. I will see if they have any memories and receive flack for mentioning "smirky" workshop humour.

The guy who took over from me in the disc cutting department was DENIS BLACKHAM but as he never mentioned me on his site I wont mention him on mine, only to say he became one of the best disc cutters in town. If you want to visit his site go to www.skymastering.com and if he writes about me nicely on his site I will remove this picture! (only joking Den)

Over the years new junior engineers came in to be tape ops until the day there were thrown into the deep end.
ANDY MILLER was one of these and like quite a few of the boys he was a talented musician, songwriter and singer. Always with a smile on his face Andy went on to engineer Status Quo and many other top bands. If I get in touch with him I am sure he will remember most of his session.

Two other talented tape ops who went on to engineer and produce, as well as being talented musicians were HUGH JONES and ANDY KNIGHT. I knew Hugh better than Andy which is probably my fault but I do remember their love of music and Andy going off with Ronnie Lane and his travelling circus.

To make up the band of musicians/engineers there was CHRIS WEST and probably due to the age difference to all of these guys I preferred the company of Ernie, propping up the Dover Castle bar.
There was another couple of younger engineers who I got on well with in KEITH BESSY and JOHN HOLBROOK. Both went on to another level with Keith engineering many Cliff Richard hits and John leaving the country to go and work for Todd Rundren at his Bearvilles studios.
John played a mean guitar and can be heard on some of the "Five Day Rain" tracks (see Homegrown Music)
Shared a flat in Crouch End with Leslie and Keith and I enjoyed working with them all.

There were other names like Philip Wade, Melvin Abrahams, Richard Mainwaring, Kevin Barry and Ted Sharpe (He helped with the handclaps on "Something in the Air") who I never really got to know (or they never really got to know me) because we worked in different parts of a very large building (on either side of us were embassies,including The Swedish and the Chinese).

If I was a flash git I apologise (or do I???) Anyway they were all trained in the proper manner, which is why IBC had a good reputation for many years. The demise of that was IBC lost its name and it was up to the likes of Andy Miller, Hugh and Keith to keep it going through new owner ship (see history)
If there is anyone I have forgotten it is because I have many years to remember (Who was DUFFY?)
I hope if you are a visitor to this page you might appreciate these people, as working in a studio could be very stressful, working to a schedule and knowing that they always had to deliver.

THEN
From left to right: Damon Lyon Shaw, Andy Knight,
Ted Sharpe,Denis Blackham, BC, Kevin Barry, John Pantry, (John Caldwell,I think)

     AND NOW
            BC, Leslie, Keith and Andy Miller                                                 Keith, BC, Andy M, Angela and Hugh

And to those chums from above if you read this site and do not like what I have written you can notify me and I will just leave out your name and send a book called "Its later than you think".
Thanks to all I worked with, you suffered me well.........

(As an after thought it was Malcolm Davies who has come up with the answer to the rarity of " a cracking joke" Back in the sixties you would always hear a classic joke every few weeks and Mals theory is the demise of the live studio musician who would spend most of his day travelling from one studio to another to do a session.
Forty men in a room and the odds of one of them having the whole studio in fits of laughter was quite high. I believe Mal as without harping on about how good the sixties were, there was a time in there when things were vibrant,while there was a buzz about creating new sounds and just being there, although engineers were still regarded as technicians.

I think it is because they were happy times, when a real string sound was the norm and before the lawyers took over the music.
One week you could be recording or mastering classical music and the next it could be a radio jingle. Number ones and hopeful misses were all recorded at number 35 and I hope some of the above can add a few more stories so that those interested in these times have something that is interesting and factual.

Brian

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