Arts & Entertainment

Abbey Road studio celebrates glorious legacy

By Raul Bobe

London, Aug 11 (EFE).- Abbey Road, which owes its worldwide fame to The Beatles, is marking its 90th birthday with an unprecedented week-long open house.

“The first purpose-built recording studio in the world,” according to a sign inside the structure on London’s Abbey Road, began life in 1931 and was known for the first few decades of its existence as EMI Recording Studios.

It was after the success of the Beatles’ 1969 “Abbey Road” album that management decided to rebrand as Abbey Road Studios.

As Efe arrives, several youths wait impatiently for a break in the traffic so they can re-enact the album’s iconic cover image of the Fab Four’s procession in single file on the crosswalk in front of the studios.

For the duration of Abbey Road: Open House, anyone willing to part with 100 pounds (115.60 euros/$138.66) can enjoy a tour of the facility that begins in Studio Three, the building’s most intimate space, to the strains of one of the songs recorded there, the late Amy Winehouse’s duet with Tony Bennett on “Body and Soul.”

Tracks from classics such as Pink Floyd’s “The Dark Side of the Moon” and Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” were also laid down in Studio Three, where a visitor can tickle the ivories of a Challen upright piano that bears cigarette burns attributed to John Lennon.

The next stop is Studio Two, the venue for most of the Beatles’ work.

One corner is occupied by a tableau of instruments including a drum-kit with “The Beatles” emblazoned on the front of the bass drum and the 1905 Steinway piano played by Paul McCartney on “Penny Lane.”

A collection of movie posters signifies the more than 100 film soundtracks recorded in Studio One, a vast space with room for a full orchestra.

“Indiana Jones,” “The Lord of the Rings” and installments in the “Harry Potter” saga are among the movies that have been scored in Studio One, which was also where Pablo Casals recorded Bach’s cello suites in 1936. EFE

rb/dr

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