Paul McCartney reveals his favorite studios and best memories of working at those facilities

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Paul McCartney reveals his favorite studios and best memories of working at those facilities
By Matt Friedlander
Tuesday, June 2, 2020


MJ Kim/MPL Communications Ltd.

In the latest installment of his "You Gave Me the Answer" Q&A feature, Paul McCartney reveals which recording studios he enjoys creating music in the most, and shares some favorite memories from those facilities.

"My own studio in Sussex [U.K.] is a great favorite, but it's also really cool to go back to [London's] Abbey Road because of the memories of the exciting times I had there," Sir Paul shares. "I also love Henson Studios in [Los Angeles,] where I made most of Egypt Station."

McCartney says his favorite memory of working in his home studio was making the 1995 Beatles reunion track with his old band mates George Harrison and Ringo Starr.

"Because it was so remote, nobody knew that George, Ringo or myself had got together," Paul recalls. "So, it was very cool and it was very private. Those were fabulous sessions."

McCartney's favorite Abbey Road highlight was recording the orchestra for the epic Sgt. Pepper's track "A Day in the Life."

Paul remembers that producer George Martin was initially worried about the expense of hiring an orchestra, but the band insisted.

"He said, 'Well, if you're going to hire a symphony orchestra you can tell them what to wear,'" recalls McCartney, who says the band wanted the musicians to wear "posh" evening suits, and also requested that they put on funny hats and fake noses.

"A few people in the orchestra were good sports and put them on," says Paul, "and it was a fun session."

As for Henson, McCartney says he enjoyed the experience of working with producer Greg Kurstin on tracks for his latest solo album, Egypt Station. He also had fun popping in on other artists who were recording there at the same time, including Chaka Khan and Black Eyed Peas' will.i.am.

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You Gave Me The Answer - What Are Your Favourite Recording Studio Stories?

Did you know that ‘The Lovely Linda’ was recorded to test Paul’s home studio set up? And that much of theBand on the Run album was recorded in Lagos, Nigeria? Every recording has its own story, so when @BevatronDrummer on Twitter asked Paul "Do you have a favourite studio to work in, and if so, which would it be?" we were taking bets on which studio Paul would say.

Paul: My own studio in Sussex is a great favourite, but it's also really cool to go back to Abbey Road because of the memories of the exciting times I had there. I also love Henson Studios in LA where I made most of Egypt Station.

PM.com: Do you have any favourite memories from those places?

Paul: Recording the Beatles track ‘Free As A Bird’ at my studio in Sussex. Because it was so remote, nobody knew that George, Ringo or myself had got together. So, it was very cool and it was very private. Those were fabulous sessions. ‘Free As A Bird’ was made with John's vocal taken from his old cassette demo, and then the three of us played live along with it. It was really exciting, because having him in our ears and playing along with him felt like he was really there, just in another studio. That was a really lovely memory.

There are so many great memories at Abbey Road. It’s very hard to choose one, but just to pick out of the bunch, I think it was recording the orchestra on ‘A Day In The Life’. That was pretty special. It was crazy, because we told George Martin that we wanted to use an orchestra and he said, ‘No, no, it's way too expensive!’ We said, ‘It doesn't matter. We’re The Beatles, we can do that at this point in our career!’ So, he said okay.

Then, once we realised we were going to use a symphony orchestra, he said, ‘Well, if you're going to hire a symphony orchestra you can tell them what to wear’. We wanted evening suits – full, posh orchestral attire. They came along with that, and we said, ‘Can we really tell them what to wear?’ Yes. So, we suggested that they also wore funny hats and funny noses. That was very, very Beatles; we liked taking it to the extreme. A few people in the orchestra were good sports and put them on, and it was a fun session. That was fabulous to do.

And Henson… I think really the favourite memory from Henson was just making the Egypt Station album. I was in the habit of visiting some of the other studios in the building, because there are a few there, and if anyone was in the building working I would go and say hello to them. Just wandering round all the other people, nosing in on the sessions. There were people like will.i.am and Chaka Khan. You know, some pretty cool people. So, I enjoyed wandering around, and then beyond that just making the Egypt Station album with Greg Kurstin.

Paul McCartney records at Henson Recording Studios
© 2018 MPL Communications Ltd / Photographer: Tyler Curtis

 

PM.com: It must have been quite a surprise for them to have you just pop in!

Paul: Well, most people don't mind. I won't go and look at them in the middle of something. I pop my head round the door, and if they look like they’re just hanging out, I’ll go on, butt in, and just make a nuisance of myself!

Oh, how we’d love to be a fly on the wall in those studios… If you could listen in to one of Paul’s recording sessions over the years, which one would it be and why? Let us know in the comments!