AIR Studios Montserrat (abandoned)
Montserrat /
Salem /
World
/ Montserrat
/ Salem
/ Salem
abandoned / shut down, recording studio
Overseas branch of Beatles producer George Martin's AIR (Associated Independent Recording) Studios London.
Built in 1977 for the isolated, paradise location and the tax benefits, AIR Studios Montserrat recorded many top acts during the late 70s and 80s: Elton John, Dire Straits, Duran Duran, Paul McCartney, Rush, The Police, Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, Little River Band, Sheena Easton, Luther Vandross, and Supertramp all recorded albums from 1979-1989.
The first major act to record here was Jimmy Buffet in 1979, who, ironically, named the album and the title track "Volcano" after the (then long dormant) Soufriere Hills volcano. Jimmy was evidently perturbed upon being informed that the studio stood in full view of the same massive volcano that once formed the island with lava flows, and so he penned a humorous tune about what he'd do if the volcano suddenly woke up: "Ground, she movin' under me / Tidal waves out on the sea / Sulphur smoke up in the sky. / Pretty soon we learn to fly / I don't know where I'm-a gonna go when the volcano blow."
In 1989, Hurricane Hugo did Category 4 damage to all of Montserrat, severely damaging 90% of the buildings, including the studio, which was closed, stripped of equipment and condemned for habitation, ending AIR's presence on the island. When the unthinkable happened and the Soufriere Hills erupted in 1996, 90% of the island's population answered Jimmy Buffet's 1979 hypothetical question by "going" the heck off the island, usually to Antigua or even to the U.K, who gave the Montserratians full British citizenship so they could emigrate if they wanted.
The building itself still stands and hasn't been too badly affected by the eruptions, although in the same state of degeneration as the rest of the exclusion zone buildings.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgDnk5p2w3M
Built in 1977 for the isolated, paradise location and the tax benefits, AIR Studios Montserrat recorded many top acts during the late 70s and 80s: Elton John, Dire Straits, Duran Duran, Paul McCartney, Rush, The Police, Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, Little River Band, Sheena Easton, Luther Vandross, and Supertramp all recorded albums from 1979-1989.
The first major act to record here was Jimmy Buffet in 1979, who, ironically, named the album and the title track "Volcano" after the (then long dormant) Soufriere Hills volcano. Jimmy was evidently perturbed upon being informed that the studio stood in full view of the same massive volcano that once formed the island with lava flows, and so he penned a humorous tune about what he'd do if the volcano suddenly woke up: "Ground, she movin' under me / Tidal waves out on the sea / Sulphur smoke up in the sky. / Pretty soon we learn to fly / I don't know where I'm-a gonna go when the volcano blow."
In 1989, Hurricane Hugo did Category 4 damage to all of Montserrat, severely damaging 90% of the buildings, including the studio, which was closed, stripped of equipment and condemned for habitation, ending AIR's presence on the island. When the unthinkable happened and the Soufriere Hills erupted in 1996, 90% of the island's population answered Jimmy Buffet's 1979 hypothetical question by "going" the heck off the island, usually to Antigua or even to the U.K, who gave the Montserratians full British citizenship so they could emigrate if they wanted.
The building itself still stands and hasn't been too badly affected by the eruptions, although in the same state of degeneration as the rest of the exclusion zone buildings.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgDnk5p2w3M
Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Associated_Independent_Recording#AIR_Montserrat_-_Montserrat_Island.2C_West_Indies.2C_Caribbean_Sea_.28mid_1970s-1989.29
Nearby cities:
Coordinates: 16°44'28"N 62°12'53"W
- DM Corporation 414 km
- Rockdale Career Academy 2881 km
- Silvercup Studios 2901 km
- Fishers on the Knob 3218 km
- Sweetwater Music Technology Headquarters 3496 km
- Digital Azteca Miramontes 3912 km
- Paisley Park Studios 4283 km
- Bear Creek Recording studio 6413 km
- The Art Institute of Vancouver 6506 km
- Hook End Manor Studios 6585 km
- Montserrat (British Overseas Territory) 2.5 km
- Centre Hills 2.9 km
- Guadeloupe Passage 44 km
- Five Islands Harbour 52 km
- Parroquia de Saint George Gingerland 57 km
- Antigua 59 km
- Nevis 60 km
- Saint James Windward Parish 62 km
- Saint Kitts and Nevis 75 km
- Antigua & Barbuda 82 km
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