The Ghosts of Maida Vale

Available for over a year

In 1934, the BBC bought a roller-skating rink in west London and turned it into a home for the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Walk around Maida Vale studios today and it still feels like a makeshift conversion - no architect in their right mind would design a building in which the main access route is a 120 metre corridor down which two people can barely pass. And yet, for 92 years, the world’s greatest musicians have been coming here to perform and record for the BBC. From now on, they will do so for new owners. In The Ghosts of Maida Vale, we hear rock and pop musicians and presenters, past and present, including Jarvis Cocker, Annie Nightingale, Squeeze, Beyoncé, John Peel, Adam Ant and The Beatles. Writer and presenter Matthew Sweet, alongside like-minded artists, conjures the spirits and echoes of Maida Vale studios with reminiscences from the worlds of classical music, radio drama, wartime propaganda and the electronic music pioneers of the world famous BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Many of the recordings made here since the 1930s have been preserved on disc. In the 1960s the Beatles recorded 52 editions of their show Pop Goes The Beatles!, many from Maida Vale. These programmes capture the evolution of their style. In 1977 Bing Crosby made his last ever recording in Studio 3. Between 1967 and 2004, John Peel’s sessions laid down an immensity of work by artists including Led Zeppelin, The Slits, Fairport Convention and Nirvana. The story of the BBC at Maida Vale has been told many times – this programme brings that story to a close. Writer/presenter: Matthew Sweet Producer: Debbie Kilbride Editor: Sukey Firth A Mighty Real production for BBC Radio 4