Jamelia, Rolf Harris and Lemmy - you wouldn’t think they’d have much in common, now, would you? But they struck a chord, the three of them, when they were hanging out at South London coolest exclusive members club – the café at Terminal Studios.
“They got chatting and got on really well – I only wish I’d had a camera handy,” laughs Charlie Barrett, Terminal’s managing director. “That’s the great joy of this place, our customers never know who they might meet or who they might strike up a conversation with and who knows where that might lead? The collaborative possibilities are endless!”
Over the 28 years that Terminal Studios has been in business, more than 5,000 acts have passed through it’s doors, occasionally stopping off at the café to hang out with like-minded people who share a passion for music and a weakness for chef Bridgette’s home-made chocolate cake. From its humble roots under railway arches at The Elephant & Castle, Terminal Studios has mushroomed into a five-studio 20,000 square foot complex that is seen by many as a music industry sanctuary; a relaxed, comfortable and totally unpretentious place where artists can work on their next album or forthcoming tour, safe in the knowledge that they won’t be bothered by anyone – unless they want to be.
“I wouldn’t say anything goes, but we are very relaxed with our customers,” Barrett adds. “That’s the beauty of Terminal and probably the reason why so many of our customers keep coming back. I think that people are the most important ingredient in any business. My staff are all friendly, helpful people by nature and most are musicians, so are very non-judgemental. It doesn’t matter if an artist is an unsigned kid or a superstar; they all get treated with the same respect. We don’t stand for any Prima Donna nonsense, we’re a bit too long in the tooth for that. When artists come here they tend to check their egos in at the door and we rarely have problems with people trying to throw their weight around.”
It’s fair to say that Terminal Studios, now located in the increasingly trendy Bermondsey area, close to London Bridge, started life by accident. After retiring from his late 1970s band Portraits, musician Tony McGrail decided to invest his cash in a rehearsal studio initially for his own band to use, as he simply couldn’t find anywhere to rehearse.
“Tony and his wife Cindy, having built the studio for themselves, saw a business opportunity, as they were inundated by bands they knew wanting to use it.” Barrett explains. “They opened Terminal for business in 1980 on the back of a £7,000 loan from Tony’s dad and it was an immediate success. South London really needed a facility like Terminal and although it was pretty basic it was soon booked up.”
By 1982, the McGrail’s felt the time was right to expand and approached old friend Charlie Barrett as a potential business partner. Barrett had known Tony McGrail since 1978 when he’d auditioned as a bass player for Portraits. The timing of the offer was good because he had just left his band, The Fixx, who were at the top of the American charts at the time and was looking for something to do with his US royalties.
“We moved the complex to a new industrial unit and added a 24-track recording studio, which opened in 1984,” Barrett explains. “The idea was that bands would come to Terminal to rehearse, then feed into the studio to complete their projects. It didn’t quite work out like that but we did hit a boom period and attracted lots of artists including Jamiroquai, Bucks Fizz, Dr. & The Medics and The Stereo MCs who recorded their first album at Terminal. It was a great time for the industry and great time for us. We spent many a night burning the midnight oil recording our own projects and much fun was had by all.”
The fun, however, came to an end during the late eighties when changes in recording technology meant that bands could afford to buy the equipment they needed to record and set up their own home studios. Record companies began negotiating the rates for serious commercial facilities down to rock bottom.
“If it hadn’t been so sad it would have been laughable,” says Barrett. “In 1984 we were charging £600 a day for the recording studio. By 1992 that had dropped to £200 and frankly the writing was on the wall.”
McGrail and Barrett decided to split the company with McGrail taking the recording studio for his own use and Barrett taking the rehearsal studios. He moved Terminal to new much larger premises at London Bridge, the same building it currently occupies, and was able to expand the number of rehearsal rooms.
The expansions included the establishment of a successful hire department, offering a comprehensive stock of backline and PA equipment. A sales department stocked with spares and accessories, selling flightcases and musical instruments followed and Terminal began offering storage facilities for bands’ equipment. Other services added to the company’s roster included transport, musical instrument repairs and the supply of personnel for tours and sessions.
“We had a brief but intense flirtation with setting up a production company but that turned out to be a diversion too far,” admits Barrett. “None of the bands we represented landed a deal so we decided to stick with doing what we do best.”
In 1996, Terminal acquired more warehouse space in the building next door to its own. Bands wanting to store their own equipment at the facility soon filled this.
“Demand for storage just keeps growing, which is why we’re now expanding again,” Barrett says. “We’ve been looking to do this for some time, so we were delighted when we were able to secure the building behind our existing facility as it allowed us easily to merge the two into one much larger complex. The new building, which we moved into in March, has given us an additional 5,000 square feet of space that we badly needed.”
With a track record of 28 years standing, Terminal Studios is undoubtedly one of the UK music industry’s success stories. As a business, it has survived the vagaries of the industry by being adaptable while, as a rehearsal complex, it has succeeded because it always insists on defining its own style.
“Our customers are incredibly loyal. They come back time and time again because they know the staff and like the fact that we provide a friendly, helpful atmosphere, ” Barrett says. “Of course we see artists come and go; some make it, while others don’t – and sometimes a band will split up only to become two new bands, both of which will come back here. The late 1990s were interesting because music was all about DJs and they came with a new set of requirements. We managed by investing in the specific gear they needed and by beefing up the PA systems which were now taking 100% of the musical load, so they became regulars too. We’ve had the Chemical Brothers in so often they virtually live here and outfits such as Bassment Jaxx & Groove Armada are regulars.
The current resurgence in live music is helping fuel demand for Terminal’s five studios, much to Barrett’s delight. “I have nothing against manufactured pop – we’ve had our fair share of boy and girl bands through the studios and we’ve been very happy to see them but I have to admit to preferring live music because that’s where I started. It’s great to see kids picking up instruments again and making a load of noise and I’ve noticed that record companies are once again investing in long term relationships with bands.”
Terminal’s unique ability to deliver great facilities in a friendly, cost effective way continues to make it a popular choice – not just with established bands and their managers, but with new bands who often use the complex for showcasing to record companies. The younger A&R scouts – the ones who are more innovative because they are hungrier – are often spotted lurking around Terminal’s corridors, eager to spot the next big thing. Deals have been done as a result of this unintentional service and everyone at Terminal is always delighted when the complex inadvertently plays a part in helping to push a young artist’s career.
However, for Barrett, the overriding pleasure of the job lies not just in helping newcomers but in meeting old heroes who he has admired for years.
“We’ve played host to an incredibly diverse selection of artists over the years but the biggest thrill I get is when we get look after old timers like David Bowie, Ronnie Wood, Jeff Beck and Peter Frampton who have all been here in the last 18 months. Brian Wilson rehearsed for his recent shows here which, for me, put the icing on the cake, I can die happy! Those guys are history and it’s nice to feel that we’re playing a small part in keeping them where they are.”
