BLOG | APR. 1, 2012

Calling All Veterans of the British Studio Scene!

THE GREAT BRITISH RECORDING STUDIOS

Howard Massey, an excellent author and recording engineer, is putting together what should be an important book on the British record studio scene of the sixites and seventies. If you were involved in this world drop him a line! See more info below:

Producers, balance engineers, maintenance engineers, assistant engineers, tape ops and teaboys who worked at a British recording studio in the 1960s or 1970s and would like to share their memories or photographs can contact Howard Massey.

[email him at gbrs@aprs.co.uk]

Music journalist Howard Massey has embarked on an historic project in collaboration with the UK-based APRS (the Association of Professional Recording Services) which will memorialize the iconic English studios of the 1960s and 1970s in a book to be called The Great British Recording Studios. Each chapter of the book will focus on a well-known English studio of the '60s and '70s (including Abbey Road, Olympic, Trident, IBC, Decca, Pye, and more than a dozen others) and will provide comprehensive descriptions of physical facilities and layout, along with equipment and configuration, as well as discussions about the main recording techniques and technical innovations developed at each studio. Equally important will be the people side: listings of key personnel, dozens of photographs, and anecdotal "stories from the studio" that reveal the inner workings behind many of the world's best-loved and most enduring recordings. The Great British Recording Studios will be published by the Hal Leonard Corporation in both hardcover and paperback (as well as eBook format) and will be distributed worldwide.

Massey is best known as the author of the two Behind The Glass collections of interviews with the world's leading engineers and producers. He also co-authored Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick's 2006 memoir Here, There and Everywhere, and has written hundreds of articles for audio magazines. He started his career as a musician and engineer/producer in England, working at Trident, SARM, Pathway and other facilities with artists such as Elvis Costello, The Fixx, Madness, Thomas Dolby and Spandau Ballet.

Tape Op is a bi-monthly magazine devoted to the art of record making.

Or Learn More

Tape Op Podcast LISTEN NOW
Latest Podcast Episode

NEW! EP108: REGINA SPEKTOR

MORE ENTRIES

Happy International Women's Day

BLOG

Happy International Women's Day

March 8, 2026

For International Women's Day, I was going to share our collection of articles featuring women in audio. That collection is currently being...
Fugazi: Albini Sessions

BLOG

Fugazi: Albini Sessions

By Corey Reidy

March 8, 2026

For decades, the existence of Fugazi’s Albini Sessions was mostly rumor, bouncing between friends, sometimes as legend and other times as a...
Talking Heads' Tentative Decisions: Demos & Live

BLOG

Talking Heads' Tentative Decisions: Demos & Live

By Geoff Stanfield

March 8, 2026

As a music creator and fan, I am always interested in the transformation from the seed of a song, the demo stage, and the version that was released as...
Remembering Bob Power

BLOG

Remembering Bob Power

By Allen Farmelo

March 5, 2026

When a life is big, the details that make a person special tend to get washed away in the broad strokes of their success and influence. This has been...
New Releases from The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis, Willow, Jacob Collier and More!

BLOG

New Releases from The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis, Willow, Jacob Collier and More!

By Geoff Stanfield

February 21, 2026

It's a good week for new music! Jacob Collier [Tape Op#151] released Something Heavy, an EP with three versions of "Something Heavy."...
The Stooges: Fun House Vinyl Reissue

BLOG

The Stooges: Fun House Vinyl Reissue

By Geoff Stanfield

February 20, 2026

I appreciate a reissue of an album I have not listened to in years. In the case of Rhino High Fidelity's new vinyl version of The Stooges'...
Remembering Greg Brown of CAKE

BLOG

Remembering Greg Brown of CAKE

By John Baccigaluppi

February 9, 2026

I just found out that Greg Brown, the guitarist for the band CAKE, passed away this weekend. I had not talked to Greg in many years, but knew him...
NYC Studio Photo Essay: Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?

BLOG

NYC Studio Photo Essay: Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?

By Geoff Stanfield

February 8, 2026

Photographer Stephen Jess has created an in-depth project of images and overview histories of historic New York City recording studios titled...
Rose Colored Moon: An Evening Tribute to Elliott Smith in Film and Music

BLOG

Rose Colored Moon: An Evening Tribute to Elliott Smith in Film and Music

By Larry Crane - editor

February 5, 2026

March 19th in Portland, Oregon, at The Tomorrow Theater, this event is sponsored by Tape Op editor/founder Larry Crane's Jackpot! Recording...