Mountain Studios was a commercial

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 enou ...

founded by American singer and composer

Anita Kerr Anita Jean Kerr (née Grilli, October 13, 1927 – October 10, 2022) was an American singer, arranger, composer, conductor, pianist, and music producer. She recorded and performed with her vocal harmony groups in Nashville, Los Angeles, and Eur ...

and husband Alex Grob in 1975 within the Montreux Casino in

Montreux Montreux (, , ; frp, Montrolx) is a Swiss municipality and town on the shoreline of Lake Geneva at the foot of the Alps. It belongs to the district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland, and has a population of approxima ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. The studio was under the ownership of

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

and then long-time Queen producer David Richards, from 1979 until 2013, after which it became the charity museum/exhibition '' Queen: The Studio Experience'', benefitting the Mercury Phoenix Trust.

Background

Singer and composer Anita Kerr and her husband, Swiss businessman Alex Grob, hired Westlake Audio and studio designer

Tom Hidley Tom Hidley (born 27 May 1931) is an American recording studio designer and audio engineer whose companies have been responsible for the design of hundreds of professional studios worldwide since 1965. Hidley coined the term "bass trap", and is cr ...

to build the studio in the Montreux Casino, where it recorded all live performances of the

Montreux Jazz Festival The Montreux Jazz Festival (formerly Festival de Jazz Montreux and Festival International de Jazz Montreux) is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second-largest annual ...

. Additionally, the tax advantages of the studio's location in Switzerland proved popular, with British artists as

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically dr ...

Yes Yes or YES may refer to: * An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no Education * YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US * YES (Your Extraordinary Saturday), a learning program from the Minnesota Institute for Talent ...

Rick Wakeman Richard Christopher Wakeman (born 18 May 1949) is an English keyboardist best known as a former member of the progressive rock band Yes across five tenures between 1971 and 2004, and for his solo albums released in the 1970s. Born and raised ...

, and

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 Queen recording at Mountain Studios over the first few years. In 1979, Queen acquired the studio from Kerr and Grob, and subsequently utilized the studio for several subsequent Queen albums, as well as solo projects from band members

Freddie Mercury Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara; 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991) was a British singer and songwriter, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. Regarded as one of the greatest singers in the ...

Brian May Brian Harold May (born 19 July 1947) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and astrophysicist, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead guitarist of the rock band Queen. May was a co-founder of Queen with lead singer Freddie Mercury and ...

, and Roger Taylor. In 1993, long-time Queen producer, David Richards, bought the studio.Queen Studio Experience: Queen owned the studio between 1979 and 1993.
/ref> Upon Richards' death in 2013, the location of the former studio became the charity museum/exhibition '' Queen: The Studio Experience'', with the Mercury Phoenix Trust being the beneficiary.

Albums recorded at Mountain Studios

* Samael ** ''

Eternal Eternal(s) or The Eternal may refer to: * Eternity, an infinite amount of time, or a timeless state * Immortality or eternal life * God, the supreme being, creator deity, and principal object of faith in monotheism Comics, film and television * ...

'' (1999) *

** ''

Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

'' (1978) ** ''

Hot Space ''Hot Space'' is the tenth studio album by the British rock band Queen. It was released on 21 May 1982 by EMI Records in the UK and by Elektra Records in the US. Marking a notable shift in direction from their earlier work, they employed many ...

'' (1982) ** '' A Kind of Magic'' (1986) ** '' The Miracle'' (1989) ** ''

Innuendo An innuendo is a hint, insinuation or intimation about a person or thing, especially of a denigrating or derogatory nature. It can also be a remark or question, typically disparaging (also called insinuation), that works obliquely by allusion ...

'' (1991) ** '' Made in Heaven'' (1995) *

** ''

Back to the Light ''Back to the Light'' is the debut solo studio album of Queen guitarist's Brian May, released on 28 September 1992 by Parlophone Records in the UK, and on 2 February 1993 by Hollywood Records in the US and Canada. May's second solo release fol ...

'' (1992) *

Montserrat Caballé Montserrat Caballé i Folch or Folc (full name: María de Montserrat Bibiana Concepción Caballé i Folch (, , ; (12 April 1933 – 6 October 2018), known simply as Montserrat Caballé, was a Catalan Spanish operatic soprano. She sang a wide v ...

** ''

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

'' (1988) * Roger Taylor ** '' Fun in Space'' (1981) ** '' Strange Frontier'' (1984) *

The Cross A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars. Cross or The Cross may also refer to: Religion * Christian cross, the basic symbol of Christianity * Cross necklace, a necklace worn by adherents of the Christian r ...

** '' Shove It'' (1988) ** '' Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know'' (1990) *

AC/DC AC/DC (stylised as ACϟDC) are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock, and heavy metal, but the band calls it ...

** '' Fly on the Wall'' (1985) *

** '' Lodger'' (1979) ** '' Never Let Me Down'' (1987) ** '' Black Tie White Noise'' (1993) ** '' The Buddha of Suburbia'' (1993) ** '' Outside'' (1995) *

Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. Called the " Godfather of Punk", he was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band The Stooges, who w ...

** ''

Blah Blah Blah Blah, blah blah etc. may refer to: Music * ''Blah-Blah-Blah'' (Iggy Pop album), 1986, or its title song * ''Blah Blah Blah'' (Blahzay Blahzay album), 1996 * ''Blah Blah Blah'' (EP), 2018 by Armin van Buuren or the title song * ''Blah Bla ...

'' (1986) *

Chris Rea Christopher Anton Rea ( ; born 4 March 1951) is an English rock and blues singer and guitarist from Middlesbrough. A "gravel-voiced guitar stalwart" known for his slide guitar playing, Rea has recorded twenty five solo albums, two of which t ...

** '' Water Sign'' (1983) ** '' Wired to the Moon'' (1984) ** '' Shamrock Diaries'' (1985) ** '' On the Beach'' (1986) *

** '' Black and Blue'' (1976) *

** '' Going for the One'' (1977) *

** ''

Rick Wakeman's Criminal Record ''Rick Wakeman's Criminal Record'' is a studio album by English keyboardist Rick Wakeman, released in November 1977 on A&M Records. After touring his previous album '' No Earthly Connection'' in August 1976, Wakeman rejoined the progressive rock b ...

'' (1977) * Magnum ** ''

Vigilante Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without legal authority. A vigilante (from Spanish, Italian and Portuguese “vigilante”, which means "sentinel" or "watcher") is a person who ...

'' (1986) * Smokie ** ''

The Montreux Album ''The Montreux Album'' is the fifth studio album by the English rock band Smokie, released in 1978. Recorded primarily at Mountain Studios in Montreux (hence the album's title) between 6 and 24 February 1978, it was the band's last album to be ...

'' (1978) *

Status Quo is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, political, religious or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the current state of social structure and/or values. ...

** ''

1+9+8+2 ''1+9+8+2'' (official title in other sources as 1982) is the fifteenth studio album by the English rock band Status Quo, released on 16 April 1982. It was the first to include new drummer Pete Kircher, who had recently replaced John Coghlan ...

'' (1982) *

** ''

Works Volume 1 ''Works Volume 1'' is the fifth studio album by English progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer, released as a double album in March 1977 on Atlantic Records. Following their world tour supporting '' Brain Salad Surgery'' (1973), the gro ...

'' (1977) *

Bluvertigo Bluvertigo were an Italian alternative rock band from the Milan metropolitan area. Originally formed in 1992 with the name "Golden Age", the band switched to the name Bluvertigo shortly before recording their first album. The founding members are ...

** '' Zero - ovvero la famosa nevicata dell'85'' (1999) * Christine McVie **'' Christine McVie''(1984)

References

External links

Official website
* http://www.mercuryphoenixtrust.com/studioexperience/ * https://www.montreuxcelebration.com/en-11-mountain-studios.html {{Coord, 46.5159, 6.8488, region:CH_type:landmark, display=title Queen (band) Recording studios in Switzerland

Background

Albums recorded at Mountain Studios

See also

References

External links