ENTRIES HERE DATE FROM JULY 30 2005,
REFERRING TO EVENTS STARTING 1961
Regent Sound
Recording Studios were never 'finished', being in a state of
continual development.for over 10 years in various premises.
Started by Ralph Ellman at 4 Denmark St London, taken on by me for
the 1960's, with a team
that featured over the years: Bill Farley, Glyn Jones, Jimmy Spencely,
Adrian Ibbottson, Eddie Kramer, Ron Pickup, Pete, John, Cindy and the
Irreplaceable Vivien.
Stop
press March 9th 2007: Re. above - memory failure. Australia to the
rescue. An email has just arrived...
[Well, it has been 40 years....]
James,
I was the quiet Aussie you so generously employed at the 4-track Regent
Sound Recording Studios at University Street on 18th July, 1966 and who
owes you so much for the privilege. I want you to know that the
all
too brief time I spent there was one of the best experiences of my
career.
I will try to jog your memory: I worked with Ron Pickup on the
alternate shift and I recorded artists such as The Who for their 1st
rock-opera "A Quick One While He's Away", I did two sessions with
George Martin, the 1st a harmonised vocal of the weather forecast &
the 2nd a demo with Billy J Kramer and a studio full of musos (George
used to take off my Aussie accent). I felt at the time that I had
helped bring the Beatles to Regent (09/2/67) to record "Fixing A Hole"
for the classic Sgt Peppers album (but Adrian was given that session -
and he did a great job, of course!). I have a long list of other
Regent credits but will leave it there for now.
Very best regards
Noel Cantrill
<w1sound66@iinet.net.au>
Noel's
Diary
Extracts
(zoomable
pdf)
Unlike Noel I did not keep a diary
apart from the studio diaries which remained when Kassner Music took
over the business (circa 1968/9?).
But there are a few notes appearing on the
web these days. For a Chronology, try.....
http://www.skidmore.edu/%7Egthompso/britrock/60brchro/60brch61.html#JUL
for the start
date
Update September 2008: Prof Thompson
has brought out the definitive history of those times,
"Please Please Me - Sixties British
Pop, inside out". It's the antidote to pop journalism - recommended.
(why do I always seem to have it in for journalists? They are
not all bad!) http://www.skidmore.edu/~gthompso/grtdata/grt-PPM.htm
Here is a page on the history of London's Tin
Pan Alley
from Chris Nickson's
GUIDE TO BRITISH ROCK
Extract: "The Big Change....Everything shifted when Regent Sound
Studios
opened on Denmark
Street, the first of several to populate the road".
Some nice stuff here with pics of Denmark Street now...
http://thewholocationguide.blogspot.com/2007/08/regent-sound-studios.html
Though in fact THE WHO did more at Regent Studio A in
University St.
November 2010: here's a
lovely bit of 1965 reminiscing from Tom Jones. I hesitated to add it
here without permission from the BBC, Tom or Mark Lawson but on
reflection I am sure that with this acknowledgement I will be forgiven!
Tom
Jones
on
his
first
recording
at Regent Sound
You can blow it up to full screen size.
And a tiny reminder of the boys below in their early days, performing live on air
The first
Rolling Stones tracks were made with an old Vortexion mixer
in 4 Denmark St.
Not long after, we had the first transistorized studio mixer in
London.
Then, in
the
University Street premises off Tottenham Ct. Rd., a better mixer and
the
first Studer 1-inch 4-track outside EMI Abbey Road.
Finally,
according to http://www.queenfans.com/articles/prequeen5.shtml:
" The
eight-track Regent Sound machine was something of a technological
marvel, and
the session was flawlessly recorded, resulting in new versions of "I
Need
Time", "She Was Once My Friend" (which also remixed and edited
for the abandoned single), and "Appointment".
A few links back
to the 1960s - but they only cover a small snapshot.. Take all details
with a pinch of salt as far as accuracy is concerned. As for dates, I
left the diary with Bill and Vivian when I sold the studio about 1970.
Over 8 years of my life - should have taken a few notes, I know, but I
never put pen to paper.
Click Edit>Find> "Regent" in the pages below.
[Addendum 2011 - before doing that,
now there is Wikipedia, check out
this page with about 50: entries. Includes some for Regent Sound
NYC, no relation!]
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Search&ns0=1&redirs=1&search=regent+sound&limit=50&offset=0
Not all the memories are correct. We
never used a Revox tape deck, good
though they were.
http://www.coventgarden.uk.com/featureshistory/fh_streets.php?street=55&submit=Go&submitted=TRUE&p_id=features&c_id=street
http://musicmoz.org/Bands_and_Artists/R/Rolling_Stones/Discography/Singles/Not_Fade_Away/
http://www.timeisonourside.com/chron1964.html
http://www.timeisonourside.com/lpEngland.html
http://www.timeisonourside.com/lpNow.html
http://mypage.bluewin.ch/aeppli/Cool/Rel.html
http://mypage.bluewin.ch/aeppli/Cool/Ent030-037A.html
http://www.munster-records.com/proximamente/info/downlinner_rock_info_ing.htm
http://www.justabuzz.com/ih-0-bio.shtml
http://www.queenpicturehall.com/bootlegs/00hermajestys.shtml
http://www.anthonyphillips.co.uk/biography.htm
http://www.stevesbeatles.com/songs/fixing_a_hole.asp
http://www.math.montana.edu/~griff/sgtpepper/sgt.html
http://math.mercyhurst.edu/~griff/sgtpepper/sgt.html
http://www.genesis-music.com/Archivephase1.htm
http://www.veinotte.com/ozzy/bio3.htm
http://www.jimpress.co.uk/venue1.html
http://www.musicangle.com/feat.php?id=42
http://www.chasmcdevitt.co.uk/Discography.htm
http://www.ralphmctell.co.uk/feat_window.php
http://www.justabuzz.com/va-0-bio.shtml
http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/music/sites/tomjones/pages/tom_talks05.shtml
http://www.ugly-things.com/john.html
http://www.nicholls.co.uk/biography/biography.htm
http://www.leicesterandleicestershire.com/Foursights.htm
http://www.thewho.net/linernotes/30Years.htm
http://www.blazemonger.com/GG/albums/part.of.their.past.html
http://www.darrylread.com/butler.html
http://www.musicoutfitter.com/store/item/077774644228/sgtpepperslonelyheartsclubband.html
http://www.studioexpresso.com/profiles/EddieKramer.htm
http://www.songfacts.com/detail.lasso?id=2114
(Silence
is
Golden
was
recorded
at
4
Denmark
Street - Engineer: James
Spencely)
http://www.terrascope.co.uk/Features/Moonkyte%20interview.htm
http://www.moonkyte.com/biography.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fixing_a_Hole
http://www.tonyrivers.com/castaways/discography.htm
And now the old Studio B is a gueetar shop - with the name just subtly changed...
Here come the Dutch StonesForum on a visit!
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=tlhCPj31e8U
(I have to point out the Studer tape deck shown in the film is not the 4 track 1 inch model from Regent Studio A but an earlier 1/2 inch Studer model)
And here are some diabolical legends:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5i88csvRd4M