Olympic Studios
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Olympic Studios is a commercial recording studio located at 117 Church Road, in the south-western suburb of Barnes in London, England. The studio is best known for the many famous rock and pop music recordings made there in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
The original Olympic Studios was established in central London in the early 1960s and it was used by a number of important British groups including The Yardbirds. The studio moved to its present location in Barnes ca. 1965.
The building that currently houses the studio was constructed in 1906 as a dance hall, and it remained a popular live entertainment venue until the mid-1960s, when it was purchased by Cliff Adams, who converted it into a recording studio.
Olympic opened in Barnes in 1966. The Rolling Stones were among its first clients, recording six consecutive LPs there between 1966 and 1972, starting with Between the Buttons. The Beatles used this studio to record their song "Baby You're a Rich Man", the first time they ever recorded outside Abbey Road Studios. The Who used the studio to record the classic albums Who's Next, The Who by Numbers, and Who Are You. It was used extensively by Led Zeppelin, who recorded tracks there for all of their studio albums up to and including Physical Graffiti in 1975. Also in 1975 Queen used the studio for their groundbreaking album A Night at the Opera. The studio saw the production of many other landmark albums and singles by artists such as The Small Faces, Jimi Hendrix, Traffic, Hawkwind and Procol Harum, including the latter's megahit "A Whiter Shade of Pale". It was the venue for the recording of the original album version of the rock musical Jesus Christ Superstar in 1970.
One of the prime attractions of Olympic was it being the 'home' of the premier British engineer/producer Glyn Johns,and his brother Andy Johns.
Notable artists who have used Olympic Studios include:
1960s:
- The Beatles
- Blind Faith
- Donovan
- Fairport Convention
- Jimi Hendrix
- Procol Harum
- Led Zeppelin
- Ella Fitzgerald
- The Rolling Stones
- Small Faces
- Barbra Streisand
- Traffic
- Scott Walker
- The Yardbirds w/ Eric Clapton
1970s:
- Barclay James Harvest
- David Bowie
- The Buzzcocks
- Deep Purple
- Eagles
- Fairport Convention
- Andy Fairweather-Low
- Hawkwind
- Humble Pie
- The Jam
- Jesse Davis
- King Crimson
- Led Zeppelin
- Mott the Hoople
- The Pretty Things
- Queen
- Squeeze
- The Stranglers
- Thin Lizzy
- The Tourists
- The Who
1980s:
- Bryan Adams
- Chris De Burgh
- Climie Fisher
- Diesel Park West
- Duran Duran
- Fine Young Cannibals
- Boy George
- Level 42
- Living in a Box
- Paul McCartney
- Kirsty MacColl
- Queen
- Chris Rea
- Roxy Music
- Spandau Ballet
- David Sylvian
- Tears for Fears
- The The
- T'Pau
- Transvision Vamp
- Roger Waters
- Paul Young
1990s:
- 808 State
- Bad Company
- Björk
- Cast
- The Cranberries
- Depeche Mode
- Des'ree
- Sophie Ellis-Bextor
- INXS
- James
- Jesus Jones
- Alison Limerick
- Morrissey
- Oasis
- Beth Orton
- Pet Shop Boys
- Prince
- Simple Minds
- Suede
- Terence Trent D'Arby
- The Verve
- Zucchero
2000s:
