Changing values

Fifteen years ago a state-of-the-art recording studio would have cost well north of a million pounds. Mix consoles were vast and needed continuous maintenance by ex-NASA scientists. Even a pair of the requisite two-inch tape machines with Dolby could cost more than a house. Mind you, houses were quite cheap back then. Studios featured endless corridors of doors that led to specially designed rooms housing reverb plates, power supplies and air-conditioning units. A/C was essential to offset the heat generated by miles of hot circuitry buzzing in the heavily insulated soundproofed chambers. The cost of investing in all that equipment — allegedly more than a million pounds on doors alone at Air Studios — meant that decent studios were only to be found in the nicer parts of town where the buildings were worth investing in — St John’s Wood, Primrose Hill, Soho, Bloomsbury, Fulham, Hampstead — and making a record was like boarding a luxury cruise liner with bar, brasserie and legions of helpful staff.