The musical legacy of Stockport’s Strawberry Studios is being celebrated in a three-hour documentary special this Easter Sunday at 6pm on Imagine FM, the radio station based in the original Strawberry Studios building.
The documentary has been made to tie in with Seven Miles Out’s fundraising concert ‘Strawberry Studios Stockport’ taking place at Stockport Plaza on Wednesday, March 30.
Presented by Sam Roscoe, the documentary features classic songs recorded at Strawberry from the 1960s to the 1990s and interviews with key people involved including Peter Tattersall who founded the studio with Eric Stewart of 10cc in 1967.
Musician Clint Boon, of The Inspiral Carpets, remembers recording vocals there in the 1990s with Noel Gallagher, who was a roadie for the band at the time.
A Stockport resident for the past 10 years, Clint says he is proud that the iconic studios are literally on his doorstep and makes a point of driving past the building with his sons telling them ‘Paul McCartney of The Beatles recorded here’.
The High guitarist Andy Couzens, an original member of The Stone Roses, talks about recording the band’s first tracks with producer Martin Hannett whose idiosyncratic recording methods were legendary such as putting microphones in the toilet and putting drummers on the roof.
The documentary was the idea of John Barratt from Seven Miles Out who organised all the interviews for Imagine FM.
John said: “The legacy of Strawberry Studios is important to the town and its impact on the Manchester music scene should not be under-estimated.
“It’s one of the many reasons why I’m proud to come from Stockport and we should make more of this as a tourist attraction.”
The documentary also features anecdotes from Julia Adamson and Jonathan Barrett who worked as sound engineers at the studios, Kevin Parrott of Brian and Michael, who had a number one hit with Matchstalk Men and Matchstalk Cats and Dogs in the late 1970s, and Stockport writer Mick Middles, who has written books on Joy Division, The Smiths, The Stone Roses and Simply Red who all made their debut recordings at Strawberry.
The Strawberry Studios Stockport concert on March 30 is introduced by Clint Boon and features classic tracks recorded at the studios performed by a host of Stockport musicians including The Hayes Sisters, Mama Goose, Dr Uke, Blank Cheque, The Hidden, Square One, Carnation, Liam McClair, The Fuse and The Small Blonde and The High.
Tickets are priced £10 and £5 for children available from The Plaza box office and Seven Miles Out.
