Beatles' Abbey Road studios up for sale

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Beatles' Abbey Road studios up for sale
By Tina Miles


THE Abbey Road studios – where The Beatles recorded most of their albums – is up for sale, it was reported.

The world-famous studios are to be sold by cash-strapped music group EMI.

EMI’s private equity parent Terra Firma is said to be hoping a sale of the studios – made famous by the 1969 Beatles album and zebra crossing cover shot – could raise tens of millions of pounds.

It is not clear if the sale plans would also include the Abbey Road brand as well as the property.

The move would help EMI to pay down some of the mammoth debts it was saddled with after Terra Firma’s highly-leveraged 2007 takeover.

Abbey Road has hosted artists including Liverpool singer Cilla Black.

Gerry and the Pacemakers recorded You’ll Never Walk Alone and Ferry Cross the Mersey at the studios.

The Beatles used Abbey Road for 90% of their recordings, naming their final album after the studios in 1969.

The world-famous album cover features the celebrated photo, taken by Iain Macmillan, of the band wandering across the pedestrian crossing in the road outside the studios.

It became one of the most copied album covers in history – with hundreds of Beatles fans visiting the site to re-create the famous cover. There were calls for the crossing to be moved over fears fans flocking to be snapped on the road were causing crashes. EMI used the studios for last year’s release of remastered Beatles albums.

However in recent years the studios have faced cheaper competition from recording facilities in other countries.

Recent recording advances have also added pressure to Abbey Road.

But it is one of the few venues able to accommodate a full orchestra, which has allowed producers to record scores there for films including Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and Lord of the Rings.

A sale of the studios would raise much needed cash for its owner.

EMI, which counts Robbie Williams among its artists, posted a £1.75 billion loss for the year to March 2009 in accounts earlier this month.

EMI was touting for interested buyers to acquire the studios at number 3 Abbey Road in St John’s Wood, according to the Financial Times.

The group today remained tight-lipped on any sale of Abbey Road or if it was part of a wider asset sale.


SOURCE: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk