History
Originally housed across two Victorian terrace houses at 201-203 Hackney Road, London, the studios were opened in 1986 by two local jazz musicians, Dill Katz and Colin Dudman, as a cost-effective alternative to London’s more established music studios.
The buildings themselves are said to have a somewhat illicit history, prior to the music studios taking residence, with one building "reputed to be a rendezvous for illicit trysts between Lord Hamilton and Lady Hamilton" and another of the terraces said to have been a club run by notorious East End gangsters the Kray brothers.
After a difficult financial period the studios were forced to declare insolvency in 1996 and the business was bought by current owner and CEO, Viv Broughton. Broughton is a published author and gospel music historian and had been one of the early members of The Pretty Things.
At this time The Premises Music Education Programme was established as a music-based charity, which ran a New Deal work programme and still provides workshops and courses throughout the year, often in partnership with like minded non-for-profit organisations.
In 1998 the charity purchased the Freehold (English law) of neighbouring properties and secured the future of the studios in their current location at 205-209 Hackney Road, although the original 201-203 Hackney Road studios have remained within the greater complex as long let studio spaces. Upon expansion the original buildings were demolished to make way for a bespoke new building with studios and offices over three floors. In May 2010, the arrangement between The Premises Studios Ltd and Full Frequency Ltd, the lease holders for 201-203 buildings, was dissolved. The Premises Studios business operates only in 205-209 Hackney Road.
In 2007, The Premises Studios finished work on a large acoustic recording space. This was the first solar-powered recording studio in the United Kingdom and believed to be the first in Europe.
Read more about this topic: The Premises Studios
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