Trident Studios (the visit)
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Hello. This is Part 2 of a visit i made to Trident Studios in London. As you all probably know The Beatles recorded Hey Jude, in Trident Studios, and several other songs too. As well as some solo stuff. Unfortunately I've started with Part 2, simply because I can't find Part 1
There is a Part 3 aswell, should you wish to see more.
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@wandy In 2011:
Sign outside Trident showing which songs were recorded there and when like Hey Jude in July (not August like the guy said) 1968.
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@wandy That must have been really cool! Was this 2008 and how did you get to do this?!
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@njr I can't remember the year now, it might have been 2008. At the time the studio was owned by the guy talking in the clip I have posted here. His name is Peter Hughes. Anybody could book a tour of Trident Studios. The tours took place on Thursdays at about 6.pm. I believe it was Richard Porter that arranged the tour, and I think it cost about £10. Now I think Peter has sold Trident Studios, and there are no tours. But obviously to find out for sure its probably best to check on-line. It's not in my clip I posted here, but they played the Master recording of Hey Jude, it was like the Beatles were there playing for us personally.
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@wandy said in Trident Studios (the visit):
@njr I can't remember the year now, it might have been 2008. At the time the studio was owned by the guy talking in the clip I have posted here. His name is Peter Hughes. Anybody could book a tour of Trident Studios. The tours took place on Thursdays at about 6.pm. I believe it was Richard Porter that arranged the tour, and I think it cost about £10. Now I think Peter has sold Trident Studios, and there are no tours. But obviously to find out for sure its probably best to check on-line. It's not in my clip I posted here, but they played the Master recording of Hey Jude, it was like the Beatles were there playing for us personally.
The clip has the beginning of Hey Jude - sounded great!
The reason I said 2008 was because that was the year you said you had last been in London.
I am friends on FB with Richard Porter but never went on any of his tours. I’ll have to ask him about Trident.
In 1980, 1993 & 2006 I was our tour guide! Then in 2011 used beatletour.com and in 2016 used Charles Rosenay’s Magical History Tour (Liverpool Productions)http://www.toursandevents.com/liverpool/index.html
In 2022 I was again the tour guide and Charles just got us our Beatleweek Gold Package tickets. We bought them in early 2020 and he was kind enough to roll them over twice (no extra charge!) until we could go in 2022.
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@njr There is now a blue plaque on the building remembering David Bowie. Trident Studios is practically as renound as Abbey Road. Yes I have seen that list of artists, in the window, many times. Rick Wakeman started there as just a session musician. He played on many recordings unname checked. The Beatles only recorded there because the Trident Set up had more recording tracks than Abbey Road. AR had 4 tracks. Trident had 8. One hot summer night, the studio door was open. The Beatles were inside, shall we say, smoking err, strange cigarettes. 2 police officer's walking by smelled, the err, aroma. They went inside, and were so astonished to see the Beatles there, they forgot the reason why they went inside. They got the Beatles autographs and left.
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@wandy Yes, I know Trident had 8 track and Abbey Road only had 4 track. Hadn’t heard the cop story before - pretty funny! They must have been younger cops.
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@njr Yes I think the cops were young too. Same as the cops who went on the roof of Apple in 1969 to try to arrest the Beatles for playing the concert. There is a radio documentary ( I have it on cassette) about that concert, and one of the surviving police officers was interviewed. He said he was only 21, and a massive Beatles fan, the other officer's were also 21, and massive Beatles fans, he said "we were so in awe of being on the roof with the Beatles, that we didn't know what to do, we were just glad we managed to persuade them to stop because we were SO reluctant to arrest them" ( unquote) I personally can't understand why a TV documentary has never been made about that rooftop concert, I would imagine pretty much everybody concerned, including 2 Beatles, have now passed away. A terrible waste of an opportunity to look back on that day in January, at such an historic (Beatles) event
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@wandy I agree! I saw that interview with the cop who is now about 74 years old now. It is a shame, only Paul, Ringo and Yoko for sure are still alive. Ken Mansfield (in the white jacket) just passed away Nov. 17, 2022 at age 85. Of course Maureen (“Thanks Mo!”) passed from leukemia on Dec. 30, 1994 at age 48! Who else do we know was up there? Chris O’Dell? She’s still alive.
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@njr Yes. Billy Preston has gone. Its amazing how cancer has appeared in the lives of the Beatles. George. Neil Aspinal, Press Officer, Alistair Taylor. Maureen ( Little Willow) Linda Macc. Going back further, Paul's Mother, Mary. There's probably more I have forgotten
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@wandy Derek Taylor died of cancer at age 65 in 1999, Neil Aspinall of lung cancer at age 66 in 2008, Billy Preston of kidney failure at age 59 in 2006 and Alistair Taylor in his sleep of bronchial illness at age nearly 69 in 2004.
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@njr Did you know John wore Yokos fur coat, and Ringo wore Maureen's red plastic mac, on that roof it was so cold.
First time I went inside 3 Savile Row ( the clip I posted here on Maccaboard) I got chatting to a guy who worked there. I offered him £30 ( but he still refused to speak on camera) allow me to film him, telling me of his experiences of working there, long after the Beatles had vacated the building, of fans knocking on the door. One Japanese guy wanted to play on the roof, "like the Beatles maaaaan"!! in his band. He duly got permission and arrived with his band, set up the equipment and they started playing. Problem was the band was a heavy metal band, and the whole building started shaking from the sheer volume of the heavy metal music. The guy telling me the story said he had to rush up to the roof to tell them to stop before the building collapsed.
Lady Hamilton mistress of Admiral Nelson once lived in 3 Savile Row. So did the Duke of Wellington, albeit very briefly. And the origination of that great British icon the bowler hat ( Steed of the Avengers TV series) started in 3 Savile Row. -
@wandy I have a journal I keep about The Beatles and any Beatles-related people. I keep adding to it: marriages, births, deaths, etc. You would be stunned at the number of deaths. If you want to know about anyone/anything, send me a PM.
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@wandy said in Trident Studios (the visit):
@njr Did you know John wore Yokos fur coat, and Ringo worse Maureen's red plastic mac, on that roof it was so cold.
First time I went inside 3 Savile Row ( the clip I posted here on Maccaboard) I got chatting to a guy who worked there. I offered him £30 ( but he still refused to speak on camera) allow me to film him, telling me of his experiences of working there, long after the Beatles had vacated the building, of fans knocking on the door. One Japanese guy wanted to play on the roof, "like the Beatles maaaaan"!! in his band. He duly got permission and arrived with his band, set up the equipment and they started playing. Problem was the band was a heavy metal band, and the whole building started shaking from the sheer volume of the heavy metal music. The guy telling me the story said he had to rush up to the roof to tell them to stop before the building collapsed.Remember I told you I know most stuff? Yes, knew about the coat situation. Ringo still looked like he was freezing! Paul only had on his suit jacket but he looked fine. And George was the only smart one with that heavy black coat he wore that day!
Did the guy you offered the £30 tell you the story about the Japanese guy? -
@njr Yes, how ironic, that George was the only one who dressed sensibly ( although those green pants still give me bad dreams even now) against the cold, YET he was the only one who DIDN'T want to even play on the roof. Luckily they managed to persuade him at the last moment. Yes the guy who I offered the £30 to told me the story of the heavy metal band on the roof. Strange thing about the guy who told me that story was, for about 15 mins BEFORE I offered him the money, he spoke quite freely and happily about things that had happened there, to do with fans knocking on the door. All he had to do was tell me all over again, on camera. He refused. Too shy. That's why i offered him the money. He was still too shy. I didn't have anymore money on me to offer him LOL!!!
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@wandy Maybe the guy thought he’d get in trouble if he spoke on video and it got out. I went in there in 2016 when it was an Abercrombie Kids store. There was a bunch of Beatles stuff in the lobby - did you ever see it? I offered a store clerk £100 to let us up on the roof - no luck!
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@njr Lol!! No, he was nothing to do with Apple or the Beatles. He was just camera shy. Yes, we went inside 3 Savile Row on the day it opened as a clothes store. One of the staff said we can go up on the roof. However, as we went to go through, another staff member said we couldn't. We didn't argue. I wasn't too upset, as I had been up there twice, but my friends were a bit disappointed. Another person working there said the roof was going to be opened to the public as a cafe/restaurant type deal, but so far, nothing. I can't see it happening, that roof area is so small that by the time word has got round among Beatles fans, you would be quing up for hours, right around the block. Or it would be like some top restaurant where you have to book a year, or 2 years in advance to get a seat. I know fans would do that, but as I have already been up there, I wouldn't bother, myself.
