Advision Studios was a

recording studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for sound recording, mixing, and audio production of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large enoug ...

Fitzrovia Fitzrovia () is a district of central London, England, near the West End. The eastern part of area is in the London Borough of Camden, and the western in the City of Westminster. It has its roots in the Manor of Tottenham Court, and was urban ...

central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local government. Its characteris ...

, England.

Origins

Founded in the 1960s by Guy Whetstone and Stephen Appleby, Advision originally provided

voiceover Voice-over (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production technique where a voice—that is not part of the narrative (non-diegetic)—is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, theatre, or other presentations. ...

s and

jingle A jingle is a short song or tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. Jingles are a form of sound branding. A jingle contains one or more hooks and meaning that explicitly promote the product or service being advertised, usually t ...

s for television advertisements. The studio was initially located at 83

New Bond Street Bond Street in the West End of London links Piccadilly in the south to Oxford Street in the north. Since the 18th century the street has housed many prestigious and upmarket fashion retailers. The southern section is Old Bond Street and the ...

, but moved to 23 Gosfield Street in 1969. The studio complex was built to be able to house a 60-piece

studio orchestra A studio orchestra is an orchestra that exists only for the purpose of studio recording. That is, it does not perform in public concerts or for audiences generally. Studio orchestras are typically run by movie and television studios to produce fi ...

and had a

35mm film 35 mm may refer to: * 135 film, a type of still photography format commonly referred to as 35 mm film * 35 mm movie film, a type of motion picture film stock * 35MM 35 mm may refer to: * 135 film, a type of still photography format ...

projector screen for synchronising with motion picture images. Producer

Martin Rushent Martin Charles Rushent (11 July 1948 – 4 June 2011) was an English record producer, best known for his work with The Human League, The Stranglers and Buzzcocks. Early life Rushent was born on 11 July 1948 in Enfield, Middlesex. His father ...

began his career as a projectionist at Advision.

History

By the mid-1960s, Advision had become one of the top London studios for rock and pop music.

The Yardbirds The Yardbirds are an English rock band, formed in London in 1963. The band's core lineup featured vocalist and harmonica player Keith Relf, drummer Jim McCarty, rhythm guitarist and later bassist Chris Dreja and bassist/producer Paul Samwell ...

recorded their 1966 album ''

Roger the Engineer ''Roger the Engineer'' (originally released in the UK as ''Yardbirds'' and in the US, Germany, France and Italy as ''Over Under Sideways Down'') is the only UK studio album and third US album by English rock band the Yardbirds. Recorded and rel ...

'' at Advision on a four-track machine.

The Move The Move were a British rock band of the late 1960s and the early 1970s. They scored nine top 20 UK singles in five years, but were among the most popular British bands not to find any real success in the United States. For most of their caree ...

recorded some of their early hits at Advision, engineered by Gerald Chevin, including "

Flowers in the Rain "Flowers in the Rain" is a song by English rock band The Move. The song was released as a single and reached number two in 1967 on the UK Singles Chart, and number four in Ireland. It achieved its own place in pop history by being the first recor ...

" in July 1967. In early 1968, Advision became one of the first studios in the United Kingdom to obtain an eight-track machine. The Advision unit was built in the United States by

Scully Recording Instruments Scully Recording Instruments was an American designer and manufacturer of professional audio equipment for recording studios and broadcasters. History Background John J. Scully was a machinist who worked for sewing machine manufacturer Wheeler ...

. Among the first artists to use the eight-track machine were T. Rex,

the Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

and Caravan. In 1970, the studio used a custom 24-channel desk with an eight-track recorder. Advision was also among the first studios in the UK to install 16- and 24-track machines in the early 1970s. In 1971, a 20-channel Neve console was added to the mixdown suite. During the 1970s the studios' focus moved towards

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

music, and the company began producing music for bands such as Yes,

Gentle Giant Gentle Giant were a British progressive rock band active between 1970 and 1980. The band were known for the complexity and sophistication of their music and for the varied musical skills of their members. All of the band members were multi-inst ...

Emerson, Lake & Palmer Emerson, Lake & Palmer (informally known as ELP) were an English progressive rock supergroup formed in London in 1970. The band consisted of Keith Emerson (keyboards), Greg Lake (vocals, bass, guitar, producer) and Carl Palmer (drums, percus ...

and

Premiata Forneria Marconi Premiata Forneria Marconi (PFM) (translation: ''Award-winning Marconi Bakery'') is an Italian progressive rock band founded in 1970 which continues to the present day. They were the first Italian group to have success internationally. The group ...

, as well as ''

Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds ''Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds'' is a studio double album by American-born British musician, composer, and record producer Jeff Wayne, released on 9 June 1978 by CBS Records. It is an album musical adapted from the sci ...

''. A 1974 re-fitting gave the studio a console built in California by Quad-Eight Electronics for

quadraphonic Quadraphonic (or quadrophonic and sometimes quadrasonic) sound – equivalent to what is now called 4.0 surround sound – uses four audio channels in which speakers are positioned at the four corners of a listening space. The system allows for th ...

mixing, and the UK's first computer-aided mixdown desk. Producers and engineers who worked at Advision include

Eddy Offord Eddy Offord (born 20 February 1943) is a retired English record producer and audio engineer who gained prominence in the 1970s for his work on albums by the progressive rock bands Emerson, Lake & Palmer and Yes. Life and career Offord studied phys ...

Eddie Kramer Edwin H. Kramer (born 19 April 1942) is a British recording producer and engineer. He has collaborated with several artists now in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, including Jimi Hendrix, the Beatles, David Bowie, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin ...

, Martin Rushent,

Paul Northfield Paul Northfield is a prolific British record producer and sound engineer, who has worked on albums by bands such as Dream Theater, Queensrÿche, Rush, Porcupine Tree and Suicidal Tendencies. Northfield worked at Advision Studio, London from 197 ...

"Paul Northfield (Producer) 2013 Interview on the Signals of Intuition". The Signals of Intuition. 99.1 CJAM-FM. 2013-08-27. Retrieved 2013-08-28. and

Hugh Padgham Hugh Charles Padgham (born 15 February 1955) is an English record producer and audio engineer. He has won four Grammy Awards, for Producer of the Year and Album of the Year for 1985, Record of the Year for 1990, and Engineer of the Year for 1 ...

. The Gosfield Street location has been occupied since 1993 by a studio called The Sound Company.

Partial discography

The following is a partial list of work either recorded, mixed or mastered at Advision Studios between 1966 and 1986, taken from

References

External links

Photograph from Advision Studios in New Bond Street (Photo was taken in December 1968. The Scully 8-track recorder can be seen in the background.)The Sound Company Ltd History of 23 Gosfield Street London
at sound.co.uk (with full Advision client list) {{Authority control Year of disestablishment missing Recording studios in London Former recording studios