Chipping Norton Recording Studios

Chipping Norton Recording Studios
Company typeRecording studio
IndustryMusic industry
Founded1971
Area served
Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, England
Key people
Richard Vernon and Mike Vernon

Chipping Norton Recording Studios was a residential recording studio in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, England, which operated from 1971 until October 1999.[2]

The studios were created by Mike Vernon and Richard Vernon as the in-house studio for Mike Vernon's record company Blue Horizon Records, and operated out of the former British Schools building at 26-30 New Street, a Grade II listed building in the town centre.[3] Further properties were added in adjacent buildings and the studio eventually provided 15 bedrooms with on-site catering for visiting musicians.[citation needed]

The studios became a commercial enterprise, and songs recorded there included "Baker Street" by Gerry Rafferty, "In The Army Now" by Status Quo, "Too Shy" by Kajagoogoo, "I Should Have Known Better" by Jim Diamond, "Promise Me" by Beverley Craven, "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" by the Proclaimers,[4] "Perfect" by Fairground Attraction, "(I Just) Died in Your Arms" by Cutting Crew, "Eighteen With A Bullet" by Pete Wingfield, "Hocus Pocus" by Focus and "Bye, Bye, Baby (Baby Goodbye)" by the Bay City Rollers.[4][5] Duran Duran recorded most of their debut album, Duran Duran (1981), with Colin Thurston as producer. Radiohead recorded their 1993 debut album, Pablo Honey, at Chipping Norton, including their debut single, "Creep".[6]

Co-founders Richard and Mike Vernon beneath the Blue Plaque presented as part of the BBC Music Day, 15 June 2017

On 15 June 2017, BBC Music Day, broadcast throughout the UK, awarded the studio a blue plaque for its part in the musical heritage of England.[1]

  1. ^ a b "David Bowie, Sandy Denny and John Peel honoured by BBC Local Radio with 47 Blue Plaques for BBC Music Day". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
  2. ^ "Chipping Norton Recording Studios 1971-1999". Chipping Norton Town Council. Archived from the original on 2011-12-22. Retrieved 2012-01-22.
  3. ^ "Chipping Norton Recording Studios, Chipping Norton". www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-01-22.
  4. ^ a b "Chipping Norton Recording Studios". Discogs.com. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  5. ^ "Chipping Norton Recording Studios". musicalphabet.com. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  6. ^ Runtagh, Jordan (2018-02-22). "Radiohead's Pablo Honey: 10 things you didn't know". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2020-11-09. Retrieved 2021-10-21.