Indispensable reading for anyone interested in the iconic Abbey Road Studios, their history, the recordings made there and the artists who made them. As an Anglophile, audiophile and unapologetic Beatles nerd, there was slim chance David Hepworth's book would be anything less than a hit with me - and it certainly delivered. This history of London's famous Abbey Road Studio was an enjoyable read, well researched and insightfully written by a talented music journalist. It’s significant, then, that the photo chosen for the cover shows the four walking across the road with Abbey Road studios behind them - it’s the white building on the left of the picture. Lennon leads the group - which is also significant as he was the first member to permanently quit The Beatles.

Loved this book, I am a huge fan of the studios and all of its history .. especially around the 1960’s with 4 lads from Liverpool. Many people will recognise the famous zebra crossing. Some visitors may have graffitied their name on its hallowed outer walls. Others might even have managed to penetrate the iron gates. But what draws in these thousands of fans here, year after year? What is it that really happens behind the doors of the most celebrated recording studio in the world? The white Volkswagen Beetles that bears a number plate saying “28IF” - Paul would have been 28 IF he’d had survived (he’d actually just turned 27); the police van on the cover is usually seen at traffic fatalities; and the four Beatles represent a funeral procession: George is the gravedigger, Paul is the corpse, Ringo is the congregation and John is the priest. He does a really meticulous job of here of charting the history of the world-famous studios, and it makes for a fascinating read.The artwork for the book is beautiful, with an iconic white Abbey Road Studios wall autographed by some of the famous names who have recorded there. Every so often, once a month, I believe, the wall outside of the Studios is white washed, and within a few weeks it is covered in names again. The title appears on a road sign with the 'NW8' of the postcode for Abbey Road, St. John's Wood. Forgotten the title or the author of a book? Our BookSleuth is specially designed for you. Visit BookSleuth

A lovely brief history of the studio and technicians of Abbey Road Studios, made eternally famous by the Beatles. One thing that spoiled this book for me … The documentary on Disney+ named “If these walls could talk” is basically a documentary adaptation of this book .. in the sense of its the same stories and musical milestones. I did learn some extras from this book (as apposed to the doc) but nothing special.What has been going on there for over ninety years has called for skills that are musical, creative, technical, mechanical, interpersonal, logistical, managerial, chemical and, romantics might be tempted add, close to magic. The Beatles’ Let It Be album was released in May 1970, but the material had been recorded over a year earlier, meaning that Abbey Road was the last set of material to be produced by all four Beatles. In fact, the last session to see John, Paul, George and Ringo in the studio together was on 20 August 1969. I am not a huge fan of Hepworth's work. Whilst he always seems to write about things which I want to read, I find his style quite tiresome to get through. It hurts my head, sometimes. I don't know what it is.

We are now collecting some items for reuse and redistribution to local community groups/activities including laptops, some furniture, baby items and bicycles. Ask staff for more details. For me, the main and most interesting point to taker from the narrative is that the music that we have listened to and loved was the product of a combination of the artists themselves who supplied the vision of what they wanted to achieve, and the technicians and producers, without whom the sounds that we hear could not have been made reality. Hepworth quite rightly brings those people into the spotlight and deservedly so.

Current/valid photo ID from a recognized agency (i.e. Passport, UK Photo Card Driving Licence, UK Government ID card or similar); and David Hepworth has been writing, broadcasting and speaking about music and media since the seventies. He was involved in the launch and editing of magazines such as Smash Hits, Q, Mojo and The Word, among many others.