Trident Studios

The former Trident Studios building at St Anne's Court, Soho, London, 2018, with the David Bowie Blue Plaque 51°30′52″N 0°08′03″W / 51.514318°N 0.134243°W / 51.514318; -0.134243
Trident Studios Logo.
Trident Studios Logo
Trident Studios London showing Interior Mixing Desk.
Trident Studios interior circa 1975

Trident Studios was a British recording facility, located at 17 St Anne's Court in London's Soho district between 1968 and 1981. It was constructed in 1967 by Norman Sheffield, drummer of the 1960s group the Hunters, and his brother Barry.

"My Name is Jack" by Manfred Mann was recorded at Trident in March 1968, and helped launch the studio's reputation. Later that year, the Beatles recorded their song "Hey Jude" there and part of their self-titled double album (also known as the "White Album"). Other well-known albums and songs recorded at Trident include Elton John's "Your Song", David Bowie's The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, Lou Reed's Transformer, Carly Simon's No Secrets, and Queen's albums Queen, Queen II and Sheer Heart Attack.

Other artists recorded at Trident included the Bee Gees, Chris de Burgh, Frank Zappa, Genesis, Brand X, James Taylor, Joan Armatrading, Joe Cocker, Golden Earring, Harry Nilsson, Kiss, Tygers of Pan Tang, Lou Reed, Peter Gabriel, Marc Almond, Marc and the Mambas, Smack, Soft Cell, Rick Springfield, the Rolling Stones, Rush, Free, Thin Lizzy, Tina Turner, T.Rex, Van der Graaf Generator, Yes, Black Sabbath and John Entwistle.

The Sheffield brothers had a relaxed working attitude, but also emphasised high standards of audio engineering.[1][page needed] The studio's state-of-the-art recording equipment helped attract many major artists to record there.

The studios are still in operation, now specialising in post-production for TV and Film.

  1. ^ Sheffield, Norman (2013). Life on Two Legs. Trident Publishing Limited. ISBN 978-0957513303.