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| Step Inside: Google Presents 'Inside Abbey Road: A Virtual Tour'. |
This is possibly the coolest thing that Google has done with its street view webcam technology. Of course, the whole taking pictures of every street in the world is pretty cool too as well as enormously helpful, both to stalkers and lost people. They might be the same thing, we may never know.
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| Studio One: Famous film scores from Star Wars to Harry Potter have been recorded in this room. |
Google has effectively mapped out in pictures the most famous studio in the world, Abbey Road Studios in St. John's Wood, London. People who have never been inside can now see the interior of Studio One (which is the BIG one that's normally used for scoring films with large orchestras), Studio Two (Perhaps the most famous studio in the world) & Studio Three (Which is perfect for the more intimate recordings. Great for solo artists who only work with a couple of instruments).
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| Studio Two: This is the room where most artists want to record in. All because of four guys from Liverpool. |
You also get to explore the Mastering suite where so many legendary recordings were and still are transferred from tape to disc and where final alterations could be made before the record was released to the public.
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| Studio Three: This is the smallest of the 3 studios in the building, perfect for an intimate recording session. |
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| Mastering Suite: Where the finishing touches are put to the albums before the public can hear them! Is that a copy of 'Abbey Road' I spy on the table? |
For anyone who's been inside the studios, you'll know that they are not just any studios, they are THE studios. Abbey Road was officially opened by EMI in 1931 by Sir Edward Elgar and in Studio One is where he recorded 'Land Of Hope & Glory' (That's the 'Graduation Theme' for anyone who grew up Stateside). Back then it was just any old recording studio until the late 50s when Cliff Richard and The Shadows started to record there.
It was in June 1962 when a van rolled up in the car park, after driving 200 miles from up north in Liverpool, that the studios destiny was about to be irrevocably changed. The Beatles and George Martin first met on that day and went on to make all their music (bar the Let It Be album) in these studios, including their final recorded album in summer 1969 which, if the studios weren't already famous enough, the album made sure they were for all time. The 'Abbey Road' album has the distinctive cover of George, Paul, Ringo and John walking across the pelican crossing just outside the studio. To this day, fans and tourists alike flock to this site to have their photo taken doing the same thing, much to the annoyance of motorists.
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| Nobody puts the Hofner in the corner... |
Explore Abbey Road Studios for yourself here:
https://insideabbeyroad.withgoogle.com/en
