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Britannia Row?

There is only one road in London known as Britannia Row (click on the name to see where it is), but there are many companies bearing this name. If you came here by accident, let us help you find what you were looking for.

RE-DIRECTIONS

Britannia Row Studios – is a recording studio in Wandsworth, London SW6. It is the direct discendent of the original Pink Floyd's studio.

BritanniaRow Productions – is a sound rental company, probably one of the largest in the world, based in Wandsworth, London SW18.

Britannia Row – based in Britannia Row, London N1, it is Nick Mason's real-estate small empire, now including commercial, residential and storage facilities. They're cool people and we can certainly recommend them as landlords.

London School of Sound (no need for a link, you are already here) – we are the only ones not having a claim to the name, but actually occupying the space where all this Britannia Row business started, and there is still a lot of the original place to be enjoyed.

 

And if you are curious to know how so many Britannia Rows came to exist, read on...

Britannia Row: an history (part one)

This is very much work in progress. At the moment only th efirst part has been written, and a lot of information is missing. If you have worked at Britannia Row or if youhave any additional information about this studio we would really appreciate hearing from you.

For corrections, critics, suggestions and any other feedback, please contact admin@londonschoolofsound.co.uk.

 

* 1975 > 1982 : Pink Floyd's Britannia Row
* 1983 > 1995 : Britannia Row Studios
* 1995 > 2000 : ?
* 2001 > 2005 : Century 21 / Pharoah records
* 2005 > present day : London School of Sound

 
Britannia Row and Pink Floyd

The large three-storey building at number 35 of Britannia Row was originally part of St.Mary's Church (the church still exist, at the bottom of Britannia Row), but having suffered heavily from bombardment during the Second World War, it had later been adapted to become some sort of factory or warehouse (awaiting information on the subject). As such it must have been already in disuse for a few years when in 1975 Pink Floyd arrived to buy the lot and convert it in to their personal headquarter.
Until that time, the band had enjoyed unlimited access to Abbey Road's studios as part of an unusual deal with EMI, where the cost of the studio was offset against a large percentage of their profits.

Having just finished recording what was to become one of the best selling albums of all times – The Dark Side of The Moon – they decided it was about time to have al their things under one roof. The studio was quickly built on the ground floor, while the rest of the building was to be used to accommodate accountants (you need accountants), pool tables (you need pool tables), and all the equipment they had accumulated over the years. A photographic studio was added a little later, not the first attempt for the band to get involved in to business ventures other than producing music.

In fact, the idea of having a recording studio was also considered as an investment, so from the start Britannia Row was intended to be a profitable commercial studio. They also expected to generate some money hiring out their touring equipment, only to find that the no one apart from Pink Floyd could afford such a massive amplification system; this was nevertheless the start of what went on to become the UK's largest sound reinforcement company, Britannia Row Productions, now a completely separate entity.

This period is recalled by Nick Mason in his book 'Inside Out: A Personal History of Pink Floyd' (chapter eight, see link below), where he provides a very enjoyable read with details about the construction of the studio, the recording of Animals, the business ambitions and internal tensions of the band, not to mention the story of how he came to be the unlikely producer for a punk band.

Google Book Search has a preview of this chapter, which contains also pictures of the studio at the time: chapter 8, The Baloon goes Up.

The people

Nick Griffiths
Michael Johnson
Brian Humphries
Nigel Taylor

At the moment we have very scarce information as to the people involved in the construction and running of the studio. Please get in touch if you can help.

The music

The first album to be entirely record and mixed at Britannia Row studio was 'Animals'. One year after its release the studio was being used by Nick Mason to record 'Music For Pleasure' by the Damned, and it is likely that David Gilmour would have used the studio to record early demos of Kate Bush and other artists he was developing.
As the studio gained notoriety it started to attract more clients, and in particular a few from Manchester's now legendary Factory, the record label created by Tony Wilson.
Joy Division recorded a few songs for 'Closer; and later had the classic 'Love will tear us apart' remixed here for what was to become the definitve release. Other Factory artists to use the studio were Section 25 and the Durutti Column.

Apparently Robert Wyatt did some recordings here, although we have no evidence of which sessions and when.

Finally, other records worth of note from this early period are: 'The Hapless Child' by Michael Mantler, 'Green' by Steve Hillage, 'Expresso 2' by Gong.

 

The Offspring

Britannia Row Studio, Britannia Row Productions, Britannia Row Limited: coming soon.

 

Check this psace for updates, if you have any information, comments, corrections about Britannia Row studio please contact admin@londonschoolofsound.co.uk