Blog Posts by Paul Trynka

Paul Trynka looks back at the relationship between the biggest band of all time and the studio that helped them create their sound.--Barney Hoskyns, Editorial Director, Rock's Backpages

As a studio-full of Beatles fans sat down to watch A Hard Days Night in Abbey Road on 19 March, 2005, every single person present was aware of the studio's iconic status. What they might not have realized is that, 50 years before, Abbey Road already inspired an almost religious reverence.

Norman Smith, who worked on the Beatles' first sessions and introduced Pink Floyd to the studio in 1967, still recalls his induction in 1959: "You were made very aware of the respect required for this tradition. You had to wear a lounge suit. The technical engineers all wore white coats. And it wasn't until you'd enjoyed some success that you were allowed to call people by their first names."

Fashioned by EMI from a Georgian family home in 1930, Abbey Road established its reputation with recordings by Elgar, Yehudi