The birth of Liverpool’s most iconic recording studio
We recently came across a handful of photo’s of The Motor Museum in a prior life! Before the building was converted into a recording studio in 1988, it existed as a public museum for rare vehicles. Hence the name The Motor Museum!
This is how the building looked pre-1988 as The Lark Lane Motor Museum.
The Motor Museum Recording Studio was initially built by Hambi Haralambous in 1988, then known as The Pink Museum. It was designed by Phil Newell, who built the revered (but sadly deceased) Townhouse and Manor studios in London. Phil is famously credited for creating those big sounding drum rooms used heavily on records during the eighties and nineties, and enjoying a popular resurgence today!
https://www.vox.com/videos/2017/8/18/16162440/recording-studio-mishap-shaped-80s-music
Here are some great shots of the construction phase of the recording studio. Check out all the original metalwork around the mezzanine, and the stained-glass window – all still there today!
The design of the studio remains largely the same as it did when it was opened twenty-nine years ago. The live room was changed from a dead room to the much more pleasing ambience we have today, and the control room has gone through a couple of rounds of updates. Other than that, the strength of the original design has stood the test of time and is a great testament to the character of the studio. The fact that nearly thirty years on it is still at the frontline producing iconic new British artists proves the magic that lives in the building!
