VISITING ABBEY ROAD STUDIOS

A few weeks ago, on February 22nd to be exact, I got the golden opportunity to visit the legendary Abbey Road Studios. My University chose a few of us to spend an afternoon exploring the Studios and seeing it at work. This is everything that I took from it.

The Control Room for Studio One

Fun facts: Abbey Road Studios used to be called EMI Studios back in the day when they were established in 1931. They are situated on Abbey Road, London. The Studios helped shape sonically many bands, such as Pink Floyd and the Beatles, the latter as the band mostly associated with Abbey Road. The Beatles named their album ‘Abbey Road’ after the road the studio is on. After the album’s success, it was then decided that the Studio would then take the name it’s now famous for.

It was all excitement when we walked through the iconic door. Coming from a musical background and being a vocalist myself, this was something I always dreamed of doing.

We were given a tour as we walked to Studio One. As expected, the Studio is massive. It is often used to record film soundtracks, with sometimes even a hundred instrumentalists recording at one time. The control room alone is spectacular to be in.

A band from BIMM got the opportunity to record an original song in the studios, and some lucky studios got to watch the whole process and learn.

The most exciting part for me, however, was when we were taken to Studio 2, which is where The Beatles recorded. Maybe it was just I, but I felt an aura of excitement that I was standing where some of the Greats stood and created their magic.

The people working there explained a lot about the build, acoustics and how everything works; what tools they use and which equipment is used when.

Above anything else, it was an incredibly inspiring day. It made me realise that even though I’ve changed my studies to journalism, my dream of doing singing professionally still exists.


Even though I did not get to record myself at Abbey Road, it was nonetheless a dream come true. The Studios are not open to the public, therefore to be handpicked for a visit was an honour. Hopefully, I will return sometime in the future to lay some vocals. I guess I do just want to do it all. As long as it’s all in the name of music.

Maria x