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?? Just a few minutes by train from Manchester Piccadilly station is the Greater Manchester town of Stockport.
This pleasant town was home to the Strawberry Studios – born Inner-City Studios – one of the busiest studios in the North of England between 1967 and 1993. It was known by this name from 1968 when Inner-City was acquired by Peter Tattersall and Dave Stewart and renamed after The Beatles’ song Strawberry Fields Forever. Peter was manager of Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas, a Liverpool group that emerged during the Merseybeat era and was managed at the time by Brian Epstein and received its first hits thanks to songs signed by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, such as Do You Want To Know A Secret?, I’ll Be On My Way or Bad To Me (the latter two were discarded by the famous songwriting tandem to be recorded by their band). The Beatle connection doesn’t end there, as Dave Stewart -future member of 10cc and avid “client” of these studios- was an active collaborator of McCartney’s in the 80s, including co-writer for Macca’s 1986 album Press To Play. Paul himself comes full circle by choosing Strawberry Studios to record the McGear album for his brother Mike (McCartney) McGear.
It is the recording site of Joy Division’s mythological debut album Unknown Pleasures which was recorded during April 1979.
Other delights recorded here were:
Joy Division: the Transmission single and, during the Unknown sessions, the Earcom 2 EP; The Smiths Hand In Glove; New Order Ceremony; Buzzcocks recorded their singles Everybody’s Happy Nowadays and Why Can’t I Touch it?; an inchoate Stone Roses recorded their 1985 debut single So Young and Tell Me with Martin Hannett also as producer. 10cc with Dave Stewart recorded Deceptive Bends and Windows In The Jungle; Ramones Pleasant Dreams (1981), Barclays James Harvest (Octoberon, 1976), A Certain Ratio acr:mcr (1990), The Durutti Column (Without Mercy).
Led Zeppelin’s final album, In Through The Out Door (1979) although recorded at Polar Studios in Stockholm (Sweden), was mastered at Stockport Studios and other albums were also mixed at Strawberry although not recorded here such as The Return Of The Durutti Column (1980) the debut of Inspiral Carpets, Life (1990) and 1991’s The Beast Inside; Bummed by Happy Mondays.
Suggested song: Everbody’s Happy Nowadays (Buzzcocks)/ Hand In Glove (The Smiths): recorded here in a single day in February 1983 for their debut single for £250, although Morrissey returned days later to re-record his vocals as he had been unhappy with his original performance. Two months after the single’s release a new version of the track was recorded and intended for inclusion on their debut album The Smiths but this was scrapped and a remix of the one recorded at Strawberry Studios was used for the LP instead.
Nearby place to visit: just 300 metres away -on Apsley Street- is Robinson’s Distillery, the home of Trooper beer inspired by Iron Maiden’s song The Trooper. It includes a nice store to buy a variety of products including various Maiden beer related products (casks, kegs, mugs, glasses, etc).
INFO BASED ON THE BOOK “MANCHESTER: THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO ROCK HISTORIC PLACES” by Marcelo Lamela
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
?? A pocos minutos en tren desde la estación Manchester Piccadilly se encuentra la ciudad de Stockport, perteneciente al Greater Manchester.
Esta agradable ciudad fue sede de los Estudios Strawberry –nacidos Inner-City Studios-, uno de los más activos del norte de Inglaterra entre los años 1967 y 1993. Con este nombre se lo conoció desde 1968 cuando fue Inner-City fue adquirido por Peter Tattersall y Dave Stewart y rebautizado así por la canción de The Beatles Strawberry Fields Forever. Peter fue manager de Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas, un grupo de Liverpool surgido durante la era Merseybeat que fuera manejada en su momento por Brian Epstein y recibiera sus primeros éxitos gracias a canciones firmadas por John Lennon y Paul McCartney, como Do You Want To Know A Secret?, I’ll Be On My Way o Bad To Me (estas dos últimas descartadas por el famoso tándem compositor para ser grabadas por su banda). La conexión beatle no termina acá ya que a su vez, Dave Stewart –futuro miembro de 10cc y ávido “cliente” de estos estudios- fue activo colaborador de McCartney en la década de los 80, incluso co-compositor para el álbum de 1986 de Macca, Press To Play. El propio Paul cierra el círculo al elegir Strawberry Studios para grabar el álbum McGear para su hermano Mike (McCartney) McGear.
Es el sitio de grabación del mitológico álbum debut de Joy Division Unknown Pleasures que se registró durante el mes de abril de 1979.
Otras delicias registradas aquí fueron:
Joy Division: el single Transmission y, durante las sesiones de Unknown, el EP Earcom 2.; The Smiths Hand In Glove; New Order Ceremony; Buzzcocks grabó sus singles Everybody’s Happy Nowadays y Why Can’t I Touch it?; unos inciáticos Stone Roses grabaron en 1985 su single debut So Young y Tell Me con Martin Hannett también como productor. 10cc con Dave Stewart grabó Deceptive Bends y Windows In The Jungle; Ramones Pleasant Dreams (1981), Barclays James Harvest (Octoberon, 1976), A Certain Ratio acr:mcr (1990), The Durutti Column (Without Mercy).
El disco final de Led Zeppelin, In Through The Out Door (1979) si bien fue grabado en Polar Studios de Estocolmo (Suecia), se masterizó en los estudios de Stockport y otros discos también fueron mezclados en Strawberry aunque no fueran grabados acá como The Return Of The Durutti Column (1980) el debut de Inspiral Carpets, Life (1990) y The Beast Inside de 1991; Bummed por Happy Mondays.
Canción sugerida: Everbody’s Happy Nowadays (Buzzcocks)/ Hand In Glove (The Smiths): grabada aquí en un solo día en febrero de 1983 para su single debut por £ 250, si bien Morrissey regresó días más tarde para regrabar su voz ya que no había quedado conforme con su actuación original. Dos meses después de la salida del single se grabó una nueva versión del tema pensada para ser incluída en su álbum debut The Smiths pero la misma fue desechada y utilizarían en cambio para el LP, un remix de la grabada en Strawberry Studios.
Lugar cercano a visitar: apenas a 300 metros –sobre Apsley Street- se encuentra la Destilería Robinson´s, la casa de la cerveza Trooper inspirada en la canción The Trooper de Iron Maiden. Incluye un lindo store para comprar diversos productos incluso varios relacionados con la cerveza de Maiden (barriles, porrones, vasos, etc)
INFO BASADA EN EL LIBRO “MANCHESTER: LA GUIA DEFINITIVA PARA CONOCER LOS LUGARES HISTORICOS DEL ROCK” por Marcelo Lamela
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