Grosvenor Road Studios

Hollick and Taylor compliments slip, used in 1951 - note "Handsworth" address

Grosvenor Road Studios (GRS), formerly known as Hollick and Taylor Studios, is a suite of recording studios in Handsworth,[a] Birmingham, England. It is the oldest extant recording studio in the city.[1][2]

The studios are in a former five-bedroomed house, 16 Grosvenor Road, which was built in 1872.[b][2][3] From 1945 the house was occupied by a married couple, John R. and Joan Taylor, who developed a recording studio there shortly after arriving.[1][2] The studios became known as Hollick & Taylor when John set up a partnership with Charles Hollick, an engineer.[1]

Both Noddy Holder (with Steve Brett & the Mavericks) and John Bonham (with The Senators) made their first recordings at Grosvenor Road.[1] It was also used by Spencer Davis.[1] Other bands to record there include The Applejacks, The Fortunes, The Moody Blues, The Move, The Rockin' Berries, Steel Pulse, Carl Wayne and the Vikings, and Pat Wayne & The Beachcombers,[1][4] and others that were part of the city's Brum Beat movement.[2] Jeff Wayne used the studios in 1971 or 1972 to record music for an Ansells beer television commercial, with Chris Spedding on guitar.[5] The Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band recorded their UK No. 2 hit "The Floral Dance" there, and Jasper Carrott's double A-side comedy single "Funky Moped"/"Magic Roundabout", a UK Top 5 chart hit, was produced by Jeff Lynne, with Bev Bevan on drums and backing vocals on the former track.[4][6] Comedian Ken Dodd recorded his radio shows at GRS, and the actors Gordon Jackson, John le Mesurier and John Nettles all made recordings there.[7] Cliff Richard used the studio to launch his 1976 I'm Nearly Famous album.[4]

Studio clients also included school orchestras, brass bands, military bands, and cathedral choirs. Test pressings and performers' self-funded records were released on the Hollick & Taylor label, with some commercial releases - including a 1972 release by the Bert Weedon Quartet[8] - on the Grosvenor label.

Working together in the studio, John and Joan Taylor also made foley recordings for film and television, including the Gerry Anderson series Thunderbirds and Stingray.[2] Dubbing was also done there including for the 1961 film The Guns of Navarone.[2]

The name Grosvenor Recording Studio Complex was adopted after Hollick's death.[1] Eventually, the Taylor's sons, Christopher and Richard, were brought into the business. In 2003 John and Joan Taylor retired to Peterborough[7] and the studios were acquired by Black Voices as a social enterprise, managed by a voluntary board.[4] In 2008, £1.5 million in grant funding enabled a major refurbishment.[2] The same year the gardens were redeveloped as a community facility, and in November a sculpture of a peony seed pod, by Juginder Lamba in Shropshire oak, was unveiled by Prince Edward, Duke of Kent.[9] For a period from its refurbishment the studio operated under the name Centre for Music & Arts Technology.[3][10]

As of 2015, the complex had three studios - the largest accommodating up to 50 performers[1] - and was still using its 1950s microphones.[11]

Notes

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  1. ^ Some sources give the location as Perry Barr, the studio being much closer to its modern-day centre than to that of Handsworth. The studio's communications consistently gave its address as Handsworth; its modern postal address is also Handsworth.
  2. ^ Until 1911, when it was absorbed into Birmingham, in Warwickshire, Handsworth was part of Staffordshire.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Grosvenor Road Studios". Birmingham Music Archive. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Birmingham's Oldest Recording Studios Rocks On". Grapevine Birmingham. 10 January 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  3. ^ a b Brady, Poppy (6 May 2008). "New life for Brum beat HQ; MUSIC: Thunderbirds recording studios are go for 21st century". Birmingham Mail.
  4. ^ a b c d "VOTI - History of Grosvenor Road Studios - John Taylor's 100th birthday". ConnectsMusic. 30 January 2021. Archived from the original on 25 January 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  5. ^ Jeff Wayne - The Bittermen Theme, retrieved 15 January 2023
  6. ^ Bevan, Bev (27 March 2011). "The March of time goes on". Sunday Mercury.
  7. ^ a b Brady, Poppy (13 September 2003). "Thunderbirds Are Going!; TV Effects Couple Set to Take Off". Birmingham Evening Mail.
  8. ^ GRS 1015: "Watch Your Step" / "Safe and Sound" ["As The Bert Weedon Quartet with Roy Edwards Vocal"] 7" (1972)
  9. ^ "Duke of Kent unveils Handsworth sculpture". Birmingham Mail. 7 November 2008.
  10. ^ "Ammo Talwar: Radical change is here to stay". Business Live. 26 October 2009. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  11. ^ "Grosvenor Road Studios - GRS - Mikey Godfrey". Record Production. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
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52°30′49″N 1°54′44″W / 52.513611°N 1.912222°W / 52.513611; -1.912222

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