The Regent Sounds recording studio, used by the likes of David Bowie, Jimi Hendrix and The Rolling Stones, is set to reopen in its iconic London location.
According to The Guardian, the studio’s site on Denmark Street, nicknamed Tin Pan Alley, will become a “landmark” spot for rock’n’roll, jazz and blues through a multimillion-pound investment.
Regent Sounds, which has been closed for decades, will display and exhibit unearthed and historic items that hold significance in music history. This includes T-Bone Walker’s fabled 1949 Gibson guitar, which inspired a generation of rockers.
The shop will reopen on Thursday (September 25), after an overall investment of almost £6m. According to the Guardian’s report, however, work on the studio itself is yet to begin but is likely to be completed within a year.
However, the shop has now been extended to allow more soundproof booths for interested buyers to try out available instruments. Once the whole building is ready, fans can enjoy existing on what Patrick Racz, a co-owner of Regent Sounds, called “hallowed ground”.
Racz is investing in the studio, having made his money as an inventor, creating the world’s first three-way tap which delivers hot, cold and purified water. Now, he’s using this money to revive the studio.
One of his investments includes a collaboration with Nikon, developing technology for authenticating instruments.
Regent Sounds is where The Rolling Stones recorded their first big hit, ‘Not Fade Away’. It is also where the Beatles recorded ‘Fixing a Hole’, a key track on their iconic album ‘Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’.
The Kinks, Genesis, Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie and the Eagles were amongst the other notable musicians to have used the space to record. Speaking about the legacy of the building, Racz said: “Typically, on any given day you have at least 30 to 50 groups of people taking their photographs outside the shop. People come from all over the world. It’s like a rite of passage.”
There will be a celebration of Regent Sounds’ “rebirth” this week, alongside the publication of Tony Bacon’s new book Electric Blues! T-Bone Walker and the Guitar That Started It All.
According to Crispin Weir, another co-owner of Regent Sounds, the studio will become a fully functioning analogue studio again, using the original equipment used by Hendrix and others.
