Maida Vale Studios

It has been used to record thousands of classical music, popular music and drama sessions for BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio 6 Music from 1946 to the present. On 30 October 2009, BBC Radio 1 celebrated 75 Years of Maida Vale by exclusively playing 75 tracks recorded at the studios over the years. Snow Patrol played a live set from the studio with Fearne Cotton to celebrate 75 years of live music from the venue.


In June 2018, the BBC announced the closure of the studios.^[1] In May 2020, Historic England designated it as a Grade II Listed Building.^[2] The BBC plans to vacate the premises by 2025,^[3] moving into a new development which is part of the Olympic Park, offering high-tech facilities and two spaces for public concerts.^[4]


In August 2023, the studios were sold to a partnership between Tim Bevan & Eric Fellner, and Hans Zimmer & Steven Kofsky.^[5]

History[edit]

The complex was built in 1909^[6][7] as the Maida Vale Roller Skating Palace and Club.^{[8][9][6][10]} Over a period of 15 months in 1933/1934, one hundred men reduced the skating rink to a shell, then rebuilt it.^[11] The arches at the doorway were preserved. It was one of the BBC's earliest premises, and was the centre of the BBC News operation during World War II.


It has been the home of the BBC Symphony Orchestra since 1934, where the orchestra has given invitation concerts, usually free. As a schoolboy, conductor Vernon Handley learned some of his technique by watching Sir Adrian Boult conduct the BBC Symphony Orchestra here. Studio MV1 has room for an orchestra of over 150 musicians and an audience of over 200. An unusual feature of these concerts is that they were often recorded, which means that in later years the orchestra was sometimes able to do re-takes. It is the largest classical music studio in London.^[12]


The BBC Third Programme (which became BBC Radio 3 in 1967) was created in September 1946. By the 1950s, it was frequently broadcasting concerts from this venue, including the first broadcast performance of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana, given by the resident orchestra with the Goldsmiths Choral Union and soloists. Some premieres of British classical music were recorded in studio MV1, including works by Robert Simpson, Arnold Bax, Nicholas Maw, Alan Rawsthorne and Sir Arthur Bliss. Many of them later became available on vinyl or CD. Olivier Messiaen's Turangalîla-Symphonie was rehearsed here, before its UK premiere at the Royal Festival Hall.


In 1958, the BBC Radiophonic Workshop was created, and based at Maida Vale Studios until its closure in 1998; the pioneering Delaware synthesiser made by EMS takes its name from the studios' address. The workshop's rooms are now used as a small TV studio for the Film programme, audio archiving facilities, engineering workshops and office space. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the radio programme Movie-Go-Round was broadcast from here, in which Peter Haigh played sound clips from major films. The Beatles used studio MV5 several times in 1963 to record sessions for BBC Radio. The sessions for John Peel's BBC Radio 1 programme as well as Peter Clayton's Sounds of Jazz (broadcast on Sunday evenings using the BBC Radio 2 VHF transmitters) were also recorded at Maida Vale.^[13]


The studios have been under regular threat of closure by BBC management: the building is in need of constant maintenance and due to its location in a residential area there are limits to the hours of operation and access. In July 2007, the BBC announced that the studios were "wholly unsuitable for the 21st century", and it was reported that it would be sold to property developers as part of cost-cutting measures.^[14]


On 5 June 2018, the BBC announced that the studios would close by 2023.^[1] The intention is for the BBC's live music base to be relocated in Stratford, east London.^[15] It plans to move staff to a new development in Stratford by 2025.^[16] The decision drew criticism from Geoff Barrow of Portishead and Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich.^[17]


The COVID-19 outbreak led to the BBC closing the building temporarily, with effect from 27 March 2020. The building has since been re-opened.


On 5 May 2020, the studios were added to the List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest by Historic England.^[2] In September 2020, it was revealed that the BBC were lodging an objection to the listing, reportedly so that it could sell off the property.^[18] It was reported in February 2022 that the UK's Department for Culture, Media and Sport had turned down the appeal.^[19] The building is Grade II listed.^[2]


In November 2022, the studios went on sale for over £10.5 million.^[20] The studios were subsequently sold to a partnership between Tim Bevan & Eric Fellner, and Hans Zimmer & Steven Kofsky for £10.5 million.^[5]

Notable performers[edit]

Other BBC disc jockeys invited artists to perform at Maida Vale: Led Zeppelin recorded for Alexis Korner's Rhythm and Blues programme in 1969, Walter Trout and Rob Tognoni recorded for Paul Jones's R & B show, Marillion recorded for Radio 2 DJ Bob Harris and Jo Whiley invited Hard Fi to play at the studios. The venue is also the home of the BBC Elstree Concert Band. The Radio 3 Jazz Line Up sessions were recorded here.


In October 1996, George Michael recorded a rehearsal for, what would be days later, his hit MTV Unplugged performance.


In 1994, the Beatles' album Live at the BBC was released, with most of the material having been recorded at Maida Vale. Several other albums, sometimes named after the studios, were recorded in studio MV4. Van der Graaf Generator released an album called Maida Vale in 1994. Portions of October 1990 and September 1991 sessions by Nirvana were released in 2004 on the band's With the Lights Out box set. In 2006, the group Hefner released an album called Maida Vale, which was recorded here. The White Stripes included their version of the Dusty Springfield classic "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself", recorded for The Evening Session in MV4 by Miti Adhikari on their album Elephant. In 2002, Andrea Bocelli's Sentimento was made at the studios. The label Maida Vale Records, a subsidiary of Cooking Vinyl, has a policy of releasing material from various radio stations. Radiohead recorded their 2011 live video The King of Limbs: Live from the Basement at Maida Vale.^[23]