Pathway Studios was an independent recording studio in

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire. The term ''nor ...

. Founded in 1970, the studio became an early favorite of Stiff Records' Dave Robinson and Jake Riviera, and was the location for early recordings by The Damned, Madness, Elvis Costello, Squeeze,

Lene Lovich Lene Lovich (; born Lili-Marlene Premilovich; March 30, 1949) is an English-American singer, songwriter and musician. She first gained attention in 1979 with the release of her hit single "Lucky Number", which peaked at number 3 on the UK Singl ...

John Foxx John Foxx (born Dennis Leigh; 26 September 1948) is an English singer, musician, artist, photographer, graphic designer, writer, teacher and lecturer. He was the original lead singer of the new wave band Ultravox, before leaving to embark on a ...

, and

the Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Polic ...

History

The 8-track studio, located at 2a Grosvenor Avenue in the North

London Borough of Islington The London Borough of Islington ( ) is a London borough in Inner London. Whilst the majority of the district is located in north London, the borough also includes a significant area to the south which forms part of central London. Islington has ...

, was founded by

producers Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

Peter Ker and Mike Finesilver, who funded the majority of the construction with their co-writing royalties from the hit song, "

Fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition point, flames a ...

". Pathway had a single 25 foot x 25 foot studio with a very small control room. Tim Crowther described it thus: Mark Bedford of Madness recalls that "It was a really thin building - you couldn't really call it a house - on Grosvenor Avenue, close to Stoke Newington. The studio and control room were on the ground floor, then these rickety old stairs led to the office up top. The studio had that old-fashioned aerated board with the holes on the walls, so it was very fifties." Lee Thompson of Madness recalls that "It was just down a cobbled back alley. Unassuming, nothing flash, nothing big; just an oversized garage with a couple of speakers and soundproofed rooms. It was very rough and ready." Working at Pathway as Stiff Records' in-house producer beginning in 1976,

Nick Lowe Nicholas Drain Lowe (born 24 March 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer. A noted figure in power pop and New wave music, new wave,The Damned's debut single "

New Rose "New Rose" by The Damned (band), The Damned was the first single by a British punk rock group, released on 22 October 1976 on Stiff Records, and in 1977 in the Netherlands, Germany and France. Written by guitarist Brian James (guitarist), Brian ...

", the first UK punk rock band single, released in October of that year, as well as their follow-up debut studio album, ''

Damned Damned Damned ''Damned Damned Damned'' is the debut studio album by English punk rock band the Damned. It was released on 18 February 1977 by Stiff Records. Produced by Nick Lowe, ''Damned Damned Damned'' was the first full-length album released by a UK pun ...

''. Other artists who made early recordings with Lowe at Pathway Studios included Madness, Elvis Costello, Squeeze, The Count Bishops with Mike Spenser, The Cannibals and

. On 12 February, 1977, just a couple of weeks before the band's debut live performance,

recorded their debut single, " Fall Out" at Pathway with a budget of £150. In July of the same year, Dire Straits recorded the demo of " Sultans of Swing", with the song's subsequent popularity leading to the band signing a recording contract with Phonogram Records two months later. Also in 1977, Sham 69 recorded their first single " I Don't Wanna", produced by John Cale. John Cleese used Pathway to record

voiceovers 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. ...

for his business training films, and in 1981 the studio was featured in the Madness drama-documentary '' Take It or Leave It''. Pathway Studios closed in the early 2000s, with the building later converted into two small apartments.

Notable recordings

Singles

* Sham 69: " I Don't Wanna" (produced by John Cale) (1977) * Dire Straits: " Sultans of Swing" (demo) (1977) *

The Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Polic ...

: " Fall Out" (1977) * Menace: "Screwed Up / Insane Society" (produced by Kim Turner) (1977) * Menace: "I Need Nothing / Electrocutioner" (produced by John Cale) (1977) * The Flys: "Love and a Molotov Cocktail" (1977) * Siouxsie and the Banshees: "Nicotine Stain" (demo) (1977?) *

: "

Lucky Number In number theory, a lucky number is a natural number in a set which is generated by a certain "sieve". This sieve is similar to the Sieve of Eratosthenes that generates the primes, but it eliminates numbers based on their position in the remain ...

" (1978) * Madness: "

The Prince ''The Prince'' ( it, Il Principe ; la, De Principatibus) is a 16th-century political treatise written by Italian diplomat and political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli as an instruction guide for new princes and royals. The general theme of ''The ...

" (1979) * Ewan MacColl: "

Dirty Old Town "Dirty Old Town" is a song written by Ewan MacColl in 1949 that was made popular by The Dubliners and The Pogues. History The song was written about Salford, Lancashire, England, the city where MacColl was born and brought up. It was original ...

" (1983)

Albums

* Elvis Costello: ''

My Aim Is True ''My Aim Is True'' is the debut studio album by English singer-songwriter Elvis Costello, originally released in the United Kingdom on 22July 1977 through Stiff Records. After years of little success performing in Britain, Costello was signed ...

'' (1977) * The Damned: ''

'' (1977) * Dave Edmunds: '' Get It'' (1977) *

Nick Lowe Nicholas Drain Lowe (born 24 March 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer. A noted figure in power pop and New wave music, new wave,Jesus of Cool'' (1978) *

The Motors The Motors were a British pub rock band formed in London in 1977 by former Ducks Deluxe members Nick Garvey and Andy McMaster together with guitarist Rob Hendry (who was replaced in May 1977 by Bram Tchaikovsky) and drummer Ricky Slaughter. Th ...

: '' Approved by the Motors'' (1978) * Squeeze: '' Squeeze'' (1978) *

: ''

Metamatic ''Metamatic'' is the debut solo album by John Foxx, released in 1980. It was his first solo project following his split with Ultravox the previous year. A departure from the mix of synthesizers and conventional rock instrumentation on that ban ...

'' (1980) * Anne Clark: ''The Sitting Room'' (1982) * Link Wray: ''Apache'' (1990)

Film

* Madness: '' Take It or Leave It''

References

External links

Early recordings by MadnessList of some recordings at Pathway
{{Authority control Former buildings and structures in the London Borough of Islington Recording studios in London