Abbey Road Studios was founded in 1931 as EMI Recording Studios. Artists such as Peter Sellers and Cliff Richard recorded their world hits here. However, a release on September 26, 1969 ensured that the street, the studios and the zebra crossing would go down in music history together: “Abbey Road” by the Beatles. The cover shows the “Fab Four” on the zebra crossing directly in front of the studios. Since then, Abbey Road has attracted tourists from all over the world to recreate the famous photo.
To this day, Abbey Road Studios remains an important venue for recording and producing music. Its significance extends far beyond London and continues to shape the international music industry. Thanks to the Internet, it is now also possible to access the know-how of the studios and their employees online.
Munich Freedom at Abbey Road
It wasn’t just British bands that worked at Abbey Road Studios. German artists also recorded and continue to record their albums here. For many years, Studio 1 was the only studio that could accommodate an entire orchestra. It was here that the German pop group Münchener Freiheit recorded one of their greatest hits with the London Symphony Orchestra: “As long as you can still live your dreams.” With this in mind, it was a matter of the heart for the “Dieters Weinbar” podcast team Dirk Würtz, Andreas Kunze and Matthias Brückner to have the “St. Antony Hymne” composed by “Kunze” mastered at Abbey Road Studios. Through a personal contact, this wish has now come true.
Mastering of the St. Antony Hymn
Mastering is necessary to perfectly match all instruments and voices. The perfect man for the job was mastering engineer Alex Wharton, who has worked on albums and singles for The Beatles, The Pixies, Marvin Gaye, Mumford and Sons, Radiohead, Keane, Massive Attack and Coldplay, among others. To this day, Wharton is a sought-after expert in the remastering of old recordings. In doing so, he brings them back up to the state of the art in sound technology.
Back to the St. Antony anthem: The finished mix was sent to London. Only a few days later, the vinyl-ready version came back from the studios with the following comments: “Lovely warm and rich sound, hope you like the master. All the best, Alex.” Yes, we love it, Alex!
You can listen to a small excerpt from the song here. The song is often sung in the winery when parties take place and people sit happily together. Cheers to life!
Listen: If you feel like “dropping by” Dieter’s wine bar, you can stream the podcast directly here: www.st-antony.de/podcast
