The Manor Studio
The Manor Studio (aka The Manor) was a recording studio in the manor house at the village of Shipton-on-Cherwell in Oxfordshire, England, north of the city of Oxford.
Contents
Overview[edit]
The Manor was the second residential recording studio in the United Kingdom. The first being Rockfield Studios in Monmouthshire[citation needed] The concept was pioneered in 1969 by French musician Michel Magne in the Château d'Hérouville.
The manor house was owned by Richard Branson and used as a recording studio for Virgin Records, although artists signed to other labels also used the studios.
Albums recorded here include Tubular Bells by Mike Oldfield during 1972–73 when Oldfield was given a week to record the album at the studio. The Bonzo Dog Band were recording there immediately afterwards (hence the inclusion of vocals by Viv Stanshall on Tubular Bells).[1] Sandy Denny also began her second solo album Sandy there in March 1972.
In April 1995, after the takeover of Virgin Records by EMI, The Manor Studio was closed as a recording studio by EMI. It is now the country home of the Marquess of Headfort.
In 2010, NME reported that the Manor was up for sale for £5.75 million.[2]
Studio facilities[edit]
The facilities were advertised as follows, as of 1973:[3]
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Partial list of albums recorded at The Manor[edit]
- Let's Make Up and Be Friendly (1971–72) – The Bonzo Dog Band – the first band to use the studio, in November 1971
- Rock On (December 1971) – The Bunch featuring Sandy Denny, Richard Thompson, Trevor Lucas and others.
- Sandy (1972) – Sandy Denny
- Trouble at Mill (March 1972) – King Earl Boogie Band
- Two Weeks Last Summer (April 1972) – Dave Cousins
- The Academy in Peril (1972) – John Cale
- Mekanïk Destruktïw Kommandöh (1972–73) – Magma
- Flying Teapot (1972–73) – Gong
- Tubular Bells (September 1972 – March 1973) – Mike Oldfield
- Men Opening Umbrellas Ahead (1973) – Vivian Stanshall
- Double Diamond (1973) – If
- Legend (May 1973) – Henry Cow
- Castle in Spain (album) (June 1973) – CCC Inc.CCC Inc.
- Faust IV (June 1973) – Faust
- Spring Suite (July 1973) – McKendree Spring
- October (1973) – Claire Hamill
- Phaedra (December 1973) – Tangerine Dream
- Dandruff (1974) – Ivor Cutler
- You (1974) – Gong
- Unrest (February–March 1974) – Henry Cow
- Blame It on the Night (1974) – Kevin Coyne
- Ghosts (July–September 1974) – Strawbs
- Slapp Happy (1974) – Slapp Happy
- Desperate Straights (1975) – Slapp Happy/Henry Cow
- In Praise of Learning (1975) – Henry Cow/Slapp Happy
- Local Lads Make Good (1975) – Supercharge
- Rubycon (1975) – Tangerine Dream
- Ricochet (1975) – Tangerine Dream
- Deep Cuts (spring–summer 1976) – Strawbs
- Bloodletting (1976) – Boxer
- A Day at the Races (1976) – Queen – backing tracks
- A Period of Transition (album) (1976) – Van Morrison
- White Music (October 1977) – XTC
- Wavelength (1978) – Van Morrison
- Manorisms (1978) – Wet Willie
- Gene Simmons (April 1978) – Gene Simmons
- Frenzy (November–December 1978) – Split Enz
- Metal Box (June–July 1979) – Public Image Ltd
- Present Tense (July–August 1979) – Shoes
- Metro Music (August 1979) – Martha and the Muffins
- Towers of London (July 1980) – XTC
- The Flowers of Romance (October 1980) – Public Image Ltd
- Strada facendo (1980–81) – Claudio Baglioni
- The Nature of the Beast (1981) – April Wine
- La Folie (July–September 1981) – The Stranglers
- English Settlement (October–November 1981) – XTC
- All Fall Down (March 1982) – The Sound
- Mummer (September–December 1982) – XTC
- Head First (January–March 1983) – Uriah Heep
- Born Again (mid-1983) – Black Sabbath
- The Swing (1984) – INXS
- Concert: The Cure Live (1984) – The Cure
- La vita è adesso (1985) – Claudio Baglioni
- Power Windows (1985) – Rush
- Peace (Summer 1986) – The Cult
- Gone to Earth (September 1986) – David Sylvian
- Wild in the Streets (1987) – Helix
- Hold Your Fire (1987) – Rush
- All About Eve (Summer 1987) – All About Eve
- Once Around the World (1987) – It Bites
- Thunder and Consolation (1988) – New Model Army
- Trash the Planet (1989) – Spy vs Spy
- Wish (September 1991 – February 1992) – The Cure
- The Ethereal Mirror (1993) – Cathederal
- Gold Against the Soul (1993) – Manic Street Preachers
- Wild Wood (1993) – Paul Weller
- Grand Prix (September–October 1994) – Teenage Fanclub
- Carnival of Light (1994) – Ride
- No Need to Argue (1994) – The Cranberries
- The Bends (1995) – Radiohead
- Stanley Road (1995) – Paul Weller
- All Change (1995) – Cast – the last band to record at the studio
References[edit]
- ^ "Tubular Bells (M. Oldfield)". Iankitching.me.uk. Retrieved 4 December 2012.
- ^ "'Tubular Bells' studio up for sale | News". Nme.Com. 6 June 2010. Retrieved 4 December 2012.
- ^ Notes in 25th Anniversary Edition of Tubular Bells, 1998.
External links[edit]
Coordinates: 51°50′44″N 1°18′18″W / 51.84556°N 1.30500°W
