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42-599: In January 1969, the Nazz traveled to England to record their second album at Trident Studios . However, after only a day's worth of work, the Musician's Union barred the Nazz from recording in the United Kingdom because the paperwork to allow them to record there had not been filled out properly. The only recordings they managed to do at Trident were a rough cut of "Christopher Columbus" (which ended up being omitted from

84-482: A lot of time practicing. It wasn't like he was classically trained or strove to be a soloist." Stewkey, however, maintained that Rundgren often did not make enough effort, saying that during the Nazz Nazz sessions he often came in with a new song and expected Stewkey to record the keyboard part on the spot, with no time to learn or rehearse it. Rundgren said "A Beautiful Song" "was the obligatory epic. Each record had

126-630: A single disc, feeling that it was pretentious for such a new and unknown band to release a double album. The record label acceded to their wishes. Much of the leftover material was used on the posthumous Nazz III album. On first release in April 1969 there was a limited edition by SGC Records on red vinyl. Most SGC copies were on black vinyl. A reissue by Rhino Records in the 1980s was also on red vinyl. The album has also been released by Rhino on CD. All songs written by Todd Rundgren . Album Single Trident Studios Trident Studios

168-453: A tribute to him on his personal blog. Even after the split with Queen, one of Sheffield's other companies, Trilion Video was contracted by the band in 1975 to produce the music video for Queen's song " Bohemian Rhapsody ", which has been regarded as the first modern music video. In 2013, under a publishing deal with Amazon, Sheffield released his personal memoirs titled Life on Two Legs: Set The Record Straight , with his inside story of

210-447: A tune at the end you could skip if you wanted to. I made the assumption - and therefore imprinted it into the band - that one of the things that made The Beatles and Beach Boys successful was to bring in other sorts of instrumentation." Another instance of this was running wet fingers around the rims of wine glasses for "Letters Don't Count". The band spent an entire morning tuning the wine glasses. Bassist Carson Van Osten departed

252-577: A very "musical" EQ section. Along with channel strips from early Neve and Helios consoles , original Trident A Range modules have kept a healthy resale value and are much sought after by engineers who like to combine old-school analogue gear with cutting-edge digital recording technology." Trident also gained a reputation for the sound of its piano, which can be heard on the Beatles' "Hey Jude", Elton John's "Your Song", Carly Simon's " The Right Thing To Do ", Queen's " Killer Queen " and many other tracks. It

294-724: The "White Album"). Other well-known albums and songs recorded at Trident include Elton John 's " Your Song ", David Bowie 's The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars , Lou Reed 's Transformer , Carly Simon 's No Secrets , and Queen 's albums Queen , Queen II and Sheer Heart Attack . Other artists recorded at Trident included the Bee Gees , Chris de Burgh , Frank Zappa , Genesis , Brand X , James Taylor , Joan Armatrading , Joe Cocker , Golden Earring , Harry Nilsson , Kiss , Tygers of Pan Tang , Lou Reed , Peter Gabriel , Marc Almond , Marc and

336-514: The Dickies . Tony Stratton-Smith's Charisma Records was also one of the most regular clients of the studios during the 1970s. Genesis recorded several of their most renowned albums there, including Trespass (1970), Nursery Cryme (1971) and A Trick of the Tail (1976). The jazz fusion band Brand X recorded their debut studio album Unorthodox Behaviour here (1976). Other artists from

378-570: The Hunters' biggest hits, "Teen Scene", featured on the soundtrack to the 2009 film An Education . Sheffield later started a record shop with his wife, in Waltham Cross , Hertfordshire , converting the upstairs into a recording studio which proved popular with local musicians wanting to record their own music. When the shop was sold while he searched for larger premises in London , much of

420-714: The Mambas , Smack , Soft Cell , Rick Springfield , the Rolling Stones , Rush , Free , Thin Lizzy , Tina Turner , T.Rex , Van der Graaf Generator , Yes , Black Sabbath and John Entwistle . The Sheffield brothers had a relaxed working attitude, but also emphasised high standards of audio engineering . The studio's state-of-the-art recording equipment helped attract many major artists to record there. The studios are still in operation, now specialising in post-production for TV and Film. In mid-1968, Trident Studios

462-534: The Trident Group, was also the original manager of the British rock band Queen , as well as other acts. Trident invested heavily in the band while the name of the band provoked shock and proved difficult to promote, and therefore played a major role in breaking them into the mainstream by helping them obtain a contract with EMI Records . The song " Death on Two Legs " was written by Freddie Mercury about

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504-531: The UK to obtain a 16-track machine. The Trident A Range consoles were originally designed and built as an in house project by Malcolm Toft who was chief recording engineer at Trident and Barry Porter who was in charge of studio maintenance. Other studios heard about it and placed orders for consoles and Trident Audio Developments was formed with Malcolm Toft as managing director. Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles

546-469: The album Abbey Road . John Lennon and Yoko Ono later returned with the Plastic Ono Band to record " Cold Turkey " featuring Eric Clapton on lead guitar. Many of the Beatles' Apple Records artists used Trident Studios, including Badfinger , Billy Preston , Mary Hopkin , Jackie Lomax and James Taylor . Part of George Harrison 's triple album All Things Must Pass , containing

588-523: The album's final track list) and instrumental tracks for "Under the Ice". The band thus returned to I. D. Sound in Hollywood, California (the studio where they recorded their debut album) to record the album, with James Lowe as engineer. It has often been claimed that the album was originally entitled "Fungo Bat", but Nazz members Todd Rundgren , Thom Mooney, and Stewkey have all maintained that "Fungo Bat"

630-436: The artists were for recording and publishing, but Queen had no management, so they insisted that Trident also take on that responsibility. Trident, initially reluctant, eventually agreed and Queen signed an agreement with Trident Recording, Publishing and Management, on 1 November 1972. The management at the time claimed the deal allowed the band full access to the studio's cutting edge facilities, and supported them by providing

672-536: The artists who recorded at Trident, as well as copies of the original Queen management contracts from 1972. The book has a foreword by Paul McCartney . With the growth of electronic music and home studios in the 1980s, the music industry began to change and Sheffield sold the studio. He founded one of the first Apple Computer dealerships in the UK, importing early Apple computers from the United States in 1986, complete with step-down transformers which enabled

714-634: The band's falling out with Sheffield. Though the song makes no direct reference to him, Sheffield sued both the band and the record label for defamation . This resulted in an out-of-court settlement, thus revealing to the public his connection with the song. Sheffield denied that he had mistreated the band in his capacity as manager, and cited the original 1972 management contracts between himself and Queen in his autobiography published in 2013, Life on Two Legs: Set The Record Straight , in his defence. Shortly after Sheffield's death in June 2014, Brian May posted

756-447: The beginnings and growth of Trident Studios , and its role in recording the music that made it famous worldwide. It also details how Queen were "discovered" and managed by him and Trident, and the lead-up to Freddie Mercury writing " Death on Two Legs (Dedicated to...) " (The "dedicated to..." being him) about the acrimonious split with Sheffield and Trident. The press release and website promised exclusive photos and untold stories about

798-457: The best producers and engineers - so long as the foundations of the band's first album Queen were recorded 'off peak'. Roger Taylor later quoted these early off-peak studio hours as "gold dust". After the album was completed the Sheffield brothers had great difficulty finding a record label to take on the album and release it. Finally, eight months later, the brothers decided to take on

840-480: The early EasyJet airline advertising campaigns and their first online booking system, and held other notable advertising accounts and went on to gain awards within the industry for its work. Prior to his death, Sheffield together with two of his sons and a former sound engineer from Trident Studios continued to work within the music industry and assisted in the development of a mobile music app named "Trackd" which allows musicians to record collaboratively directly on

882-465: The final mix of 'Hey Jude' on four giant Lockwood / Tannoy speakers which dwarfed everything else in the room ..." The band also recorded some songs for their 1968 double album The Beatles (also known as the White Album) at Trident – " Dear Prudence ", " Honey Pie ", " Savoy Truffle " and " Martha My Dear " – and on February 22, 1969, they first recorded " I Want You (She's So Heavy) " there for

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924-541: The former Trident Studios , and being the original manager of the rock band Queen . Sheffield was born in Enfield , the son of Walter Sheffield, a panel beater . He was educated at Albany Boys School. Sheffield enjoyed moderate chart success as a drummer in the Hunters , as well as starring as the drummer with Cliff Richard in a television performance at the London Palladium in 1958. More recently, one of

966-527: The former then opened The Mad House, later known as The Music Station. The original Trident mixing desk also survived, and was purchased in the early 1980s from the studio's owners by songwriter and former Cure bassist Phil Thornalley . It is now housed in Thornalley's own recording studio, Swamp Studios in north-west London. The Swamp is actually based around the Trident Tri‑mix desk. Since 1981,

1008-406: The group shortly after Nazz Nazz was recorded. The band did a few shows as a trio, with temporary bassists taking Van Osten's place, but before long Rundgren also felt the tensions in the group were too much and quit. The album was originally intended as a double album but as its release date approached, the two remaining members of the Nazz (Stewkey and Mooney) both pushed for it to be pared down to

1050-524: The hit " My Sweet Lord ", and Ringo Starr 's " It Don't Come Easy ", were also recorded there. Harry Nilsson recorded " Without You " at Trident, and portions of several of his 1970s albums. The history of the Sheffield brothers and Trident Studios is also linked to the early discovery and success of the rock band Queen . In 1972, Trident Studios started two record production companies, one of which (Neptune Productions) initially signed three artists, Mark Ashton, Eugene Wallace and Queen. The agreements with

1092-422: The keyboards was another major point of contention. Mooney said that he once caught Rundgren having a session musician record over Stewkey's keyboard parts in the early hours of the day, when Rundgren thought none of the other band members would be in the studio. Rundgren explained: "It became too difficult to teach Stewkey the stuff I was working on. Stewkey was a fairly utilitarian keyboard player; he didn't spend

1134-468: The label who recorded at Trident were Van der Graaf Generator , Peter Hammill , Lindisfarne and Peter Gabriel . Charisma's first Van der Graaf Generator release, The Least We Can Do Is Wave to Each Other , was recorded at Trident from 11 to 14 December 1969. Most of the album was recorded on eight-track, but the last song, "After the Flood", was recorded on 16. Trident was also among the first studios in

1176-464: The machines to operate on UK voltage. The company also opened specially designed offices, known as a bureaus, to allow Apple and PC computer users to scan, print and use the Apple computers on a per-hour basis. Together with three of his sons founded the advertising agency Tableau, using his knowledge of the entertainment industry and experience from early desktop publishing. The agency was responsible for

1218-571: The original equipment was purchased by Chris Blackwell , the future founder of Island Records . Sheffield went on to launch Trident Studios in 1968 with his brother Barry, turning a disused engraving works in St Anne's Court , in the Soho area of London, into one of the leading recording studios in the world. " My Name Is Jack " by Manfred Mann was recorded at Trident in March 1968, and helped launch

1260-620: The risk and fund the release themselves and Queen released their self-titled first album under the Trident label in a license deal with EMI Records in the UK and Elektra Records in the US. Trident subsequently released Queen II and Sheer Heart Attack under this same arrangement. After the band left Trident, they signed directly with EMI and Elektra for A Night at the Opera . In March 1968, Manfred Mann recorded Trident's first number one at

1302-585: The room ... The recording was done on Lockwood Tannoy speakers, and had to be equalized post-recording to fix the balance of high-end notes. The speaker drivers used were 15-inch dual-concentric Tannoy Golds, which had been newly developed, mounted in cabinets made by Lockwood, UK. They were black in colour and fabricated in Formica with a gold bezel. Two of the original loudspeakers still exist and more information can be found here at The Original Trident Studios monitoring Loudspeakers - A History Trident Studios

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1344-556: The studio's reputation. Later that year, the Beatles recorded their song " Hey Jude " there and part of their self-titled double album (also known as the "White Album"). Other well-known albums and songs recorded at Trident include Elton John 's " Candle in the Wind ", David Bowie 's " Life on Mars ", " Changes " and The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust , and Queen 's albums Queen , Queen II and Sheer Heart Attack . From 1972 to 1975, Sheffield, under one of his companies within

1386-734: The studio, the single " My Name Is Jack ". From 1968 to 1981, some of the most reputed artists used the studios for their recordings, including David Bowie , Elton John , Marc Bolan / T.Rex , Carly Simon , Frank Zappa , the Rolling Stones , Free , Genesis , Lou Reed , Joan Armatrading , Black Sabbath , Lindisfarne , Dusty Springfield , the Mahavishnu Orchestra , Krisma , Jeff Beck / Rod Stewart and other artists. Elton John's " Your Song " and Carly Simon's " You're So Vain " were both engineered at Trident by Robin Geoffrey Cable, who later went on to produce two albums for

1428-438: The studios have changed name(s) and hands multiple times, with the original building remaining in situ . On 15 June 2017, a British Plaque Trust permanent blue plaque was unveiled outside the building at 17 St Anne's Court, London in the recognition of the multiple David Bowie albums recorded there. The following is a partial list of work either recorded, mixed or mastered at Trident Studios between 1968 and 1981, edited from

1470-518: The timeline on the Trident Studios official website. A Further list of albums is available at Albums recorded at Trident Studios 51°30′52″N 0°08′02″W  /  51.5144°N 0.1339°W  / 51.5144; -0.1339 Norman Sheffield Norman Sheffield (25 September 1939 – 20 June 2014) was a music and advertising industry figure, most noted for his music industry recording and management roles, ownership of

1512-485: Was a British recording facility, located at 17 St Anne's Court in London 's Soho district between 1968 and 1981. It was constructed in 1967 by Norman Sheffield , drummer of the 1960s group the Hunters , and his brother Barry. " My Name is Jack " by Manfred Mann was recorded at Trident in March 1968, and helped launch the studio's reputation. Later that year, the Beatles recorded their song " Hey Jude " there and part of their self-titled double album (also known as

1554-525: Was a handmade C. Bechstein concert-sized instrument that was over one hundred years old. The piano was offered for auction in November 2001, but failed to sell. From 1968 until 1974, Trident used four large monitoring loudspeakers in the control room. These speakers were mentioned by Paul McCartney: Words cannot describe the pleasure of listening back to the final mix of "Hey Jude" on four giant Lockwood / Tannoy speakers which dwarfed everything else in

1596-435: Was just a joke working title which they never would have used for the actual release. Guitarist and songwriter Todd Rundgren assumed the role of producer and began composing keyboard-oriented material heavily influenced by singer/songwriter Laura Nyro . The other band members objected to this change in style and to Rundgren's suddenly asserting control of the group as producer, with drummer Thom Mooney later commenting, "Todd

1638-438: Was one of the early recipients of one of the first production models, and ultimately purchased three new from Trident and one from a broker at a later time. David Bowie , Rod Stewart , and Frank Sinatra are among the early artists who first recorded hit records on Cherokee's first 'A' Range console. "Though it had a very limited run, the Trident A Range console gained a reputation for its very distinct and pleasant sound with

1680-497: Was sold in December 1981. It was bought by its senior engineer, Stephen Short , along with three other investors. In 1986, Short bought out the other investors and opened Trident 2 which was opened in 1983 and the investors were J.P. Illiesco and Rusty Egan . There were also another group of producers and investors who tried to buy Trident in the 1980s after its initial closure, headed by Neville Kernick-Nixon, Flood and John Keating;

1722-416: Was the first in the UK to use Dolby noise reduction , and employ an eight-track reel-to-reel recording deck. While Abbey Road Studios still used only four-track at the time, Trident's Ampex eight-track machine drew the Beatles on 31 July 1968 to record their song " Hey Jude ". Paul McCartney later said about recording the track at Trident: "Words cannot describe the pleasure of listening back to

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1764-413: Was turning into a, um ... affectionately I would say, a narcissistic megalomaniac. I say that with great love, too, because it includes an incredible, overwhelming talent. But also the narcissism of wanting to share space with no one." Lead vocalist/keyboardist Stewkey objected so strongly to some of the new songs that he refused to sing them, leaving Rundgren to handle lead vocals himself. The recording of

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