The BBC separates from its famous Maida Vale studios

2023-08-15T06:06:11.898Z

Highlights: The Arctic Monkeys, Beyoncé, Led Zeppelin and David Bowie performed on the stage of the legendary Maida Vale studios. Owned by the BBC since the 1930s, the building housed concerts, recordings of cultural broadcasts and rehearsals for the BBC Symphony Orchestra. The building, listed as a British architectural heritage and infested with asbestos, would have cost too much to renovate. The BBC said in a statement that it had sold the studios to British producers Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner as well as composer Hanz Zimmer.

The BBC separates from its Maida Vale studios, studios as important to the history of English music as Abbey Road. The British public broadcaster had announced its intention...

The BBC separates from its famous Maida Vale studios

The BBC separates from its Maida Vale studios, studios as important to the history of English music as Abbey Road. Britain's public broadcaster announced plans to sell five years ago. A page of music-media history is turning.

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The BBC recording studios in Maida Vale, west London, August 14, 2023. AFP - HENRY NICHOLLS

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The Arctic Monkeys, Beyoncé, Led Zeppelin and David Bowie performed on the stage of the legendary Maida Vale studios. Owned by the BBC since the 1930s, the building housed concerts, recordings of cultural broadcasts and rehearsals for the BBC Symphony Orchestra, explains our correspondent in London, Emeline Vin.

It was also the site of the legendary "Peel Sessions", a cult show by DJ and radio host John Peel, broadcast for four decades on Radio One, between 1967 and 2004. Quickly becoming an institution, this show introduced British audiences to genres such as punk, reggae and hip-hop and has always remained in touch with pop and rock creation and avant-garde.

A renovation too expensive

In 2018, Beeb's announced plans to move its orchestra and studios to North London, in the 2012 Olympic Village. The building, listed as a British architectural heritage and infested with asbestos, would have cost too much to renovate. It is then put on sale for a dozen million euros last November.

This is not the end of the song for Maida Vale Studios, however. The BBC said in a statement that it had sold the studios to British producers Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner as well as composer Hanz Zimmer and his long-time business partner, Steven Kofsky. The premises should host, after renovations, a music academy. "We are so pleased to secure a sale that will continue the bright and vibrant future of music creation in this iconic building," Lorna Clarke, head of music at the BBC, said in a statement.

The BBC separates from its famous Maida Vale studios

The BBC separates from its famous Maida Vale studios

A renovation too expensive

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