Cargo 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 ...
located on Kenion Street, off Drake Street,
Rochdale
Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...
,
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...
, England. It was opened in 1977 by John Brierley (who had gained notoriety in the early 1970s as producer of
Tractor
A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or construction. Most common ...
's first two albums) and lasted in its first incarnation until 1984. The studio is synonymous with the rise of the
post-punk
Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...
music scene in the North of England and as the incubator of many bands that would go on to make their mark in the UK and worldwide, including
Joy Division
Joy Division were an English rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist Ian Curtis, guitarist/keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris.
Sumner and Hook formed the band after attend ...
,
the Fall,
the Teardrop Explodes
The Teardrop Explodes were an English post-punk/neo-psychedelic band formed in Liverpool in 1978. Best known for their Top Ten UK single "Reward", the group originated as a key band in the emerging Liverpool post-punk scene of the late 1970s. T ...
,
Blue Orchids
Blue Orchids are an English post-punk band formed in Manchester in 1979, when Martin Bramah left the Fall, after playing on the band's debut album ''Live at the Witch Trials''.
Christened by Salford-based punk poet John Cooper Clarke the band ...
,
the Membranes
The Membranes are an English post-punk band formed in Blackpool, Lancashire in 1977, the initial line-up being John Robb (bass guitar), Mark Tilton (guitar), Martyn Critchley (vocals) and Martin Kelly (drums).Larkin, Colin: ''The Guinness Who ...
Echo and the Bunnymen, Flight and
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) are an English electronic music, electronic band formed in Wirral Peninsula, Wirral, Merseyside, in 1978. The group consists of co-founders Andy McCluskey (vocals, bass guitar) and Paul Humphreys (keyboar ...
.
One of the best known songs recorded at the studio is Joy Division's
"Atmosphere".
On 23 September 2009, a
Blue plaque
A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...
was placed on the building,
in recognition of the role it played in the British music scene.
References
External links
Cargo studios- official site
- JoyDivisionCentral.com
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Recording studios in Greater Manchester
Organisations based in Rochdale Borough