Ridge Farm Studio was one of the very first residential recording studios in the United Kingdom. The studio operated for over twenty five years, and had artists, musicians, and producers from all over the world record and produce their music there.
The studio was established in 1975 by a lighting technician named Frank Andrews, who had toured across the UK with bands such as Queen, Abba, and the Rolling Stones. Andrews returned home from tour to discover his parents had moved to a different place, which is where Ridge Farms Studio was born. He started the studio with his brother, Billy, as a quiet place for bands to rehearse. Ridge Farm Studio did well enough that Andrews was eventually able to buy the property from his parents. It remained a popular location well into the 1990s, after the surge of Britpop. However, bookings eventually dwindled. Joe Jackson was the last person to record there in 2002.
It was located in the village of Rusper, England near the Surrey and Sussex border. The oldest part of the building, originally a mediaeval farmhouse, and what was to become Ridge Farm Studio was built in the mid-17th century and additions to the building were added over the centuries. The studio was surrounded by 12 acres (49,000 m2) of land that included gardens, orchards, meadows and woodland.
With a client list that ranged from The Smiths, Bad Company, Queen, Peter Gabriel, Ozzy Osbourne, Pearl Jam, Oasis, The Three Tenors and more, Ridge Farm Studio closed in early 2003. It is now used as a facility for weddings, banquets and meetings.
The studio rose to popularity when The Smiths recorded their second album Meat Is Murder. The album then caught the attention of Joe Jackson. Jackson was the last to record in 2002 at the studio.
Client list of artists, musicians and producers by year
1975 Bad Company, Queen, Back Street Crawler
1976 Jethro Tull, Robin Trower, Automatic Fine Tuning
1977 Thin Lizzy, The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Hawkwind, Roy Harper, Lone Star, Gallagher & Lyle, Mick Taylor, Camel
1978 Roxy Music, Bad Company, Steve Hillage, Magazine, Gong
1979 Steve Hillage, The Slits, The Pop Group, Penetration
1980 Ozzy Osbourne, Whitesnake, The Undertones, Echo & the Bunnymen, The Three Degrees, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, The Beat, Bonnie Tyler, Judie Tzuke, Bill Drummond, Ulf Lundell, Steve Lipson
1981 Ozzy Osbourne, Lindisfarne, Uriah Heep
1982 Bad Company, Mick Ralphs, John Cooper Clarke, Chris Kimsey, Native, Y & T
1983 Peter Gabriel, Ozzy Osbourne, Michael Schenker Group, Paul Brady,((The Passion Puppets))
1984 Dexys Midnight Runners, A Flock of Seagulls, Captain Sensible, Limahl, Naked Eyes, Tony Mansfield
1985 The Smiths, Little Richard, a-ha, Clannad, The Escape Club, Hipsway, Gary Langan
1986 Frankie Goes to Hollywood, The Mission, The Adult Net, Ian Broudie, Rush, Trevor Horn, Stock Aitken & Waterman, Tim Palmer, Steve Lipson, Paul Samwell-Smith
1987 Wet Wet Wet, Curiosity Killed the Cat, All About Eve, The Bolshoi, Miguel Bosé, Tony Mansfield
1987 Grayson Hugh wrote the songs for his debut 1988 RCA album "Blind To Reason" while staying here during the summer of 1987.
1988 Status Quo, That Petrol Emotion, Peter Collins, Simon Hanhart, Gary Langan, Hurrah!
1989 Prefab Sprout, Energy Orchard, Giant, Thomas Dolby, Rafe McKenna, Gary Katz
1990 The Inspiral Carpets, Echo & the Bunnymen, Holly Johnson, Spike Drake, Andy Richards, Jimbo Barton, Geoff Emerick, Spike Stent
1991 Pearl Jam, Seal, Beverley Craven, Tin Machine, The Levellers, lan McCulloch, Trevor Horn, Tim Palmer, Paul Samwell-Smith, Warne Livesey, Andy Richards
1992 Sade, Sam Brown, Love and Rockets, Thunder, The Saw Doctors, The Almighty, Ned's Atomic Dustbin, Paul Samwell-Smith, Pat Moran, Andy Wallace
1994 Gun, Skin, Julian Cope, Dodgy, The Almighty, Kiri Te Kanawa, The Three Tenors, Paul Samwell-Smith, Chris Sheldon, Mark Wallis, William Sheller, Mark Opitz
1995 The Bluetones, Wet Wet Wet, Paradise Lost, English National Opera, Kiki Dee, Black Sabbath
1996 Oasis, Paul Weller, M People, Teenage Fanclub, The Wildhearts, Garry Christian, Simon Dawson, Andy Wright, Al Clay, David Bianco, Owen Morris
1997 Oasis, Goldie, Portishead, Kula Shaker, Beth Orton, Ana Torroja, Mark Wallis, Steve Harris, Youth, Gary Langan, Tony Mansfield
1998 Supergrass, Cast, Mansun, Billie, James, The Lightning Seeds, Leon Redbone, Animal House, Hugh Jones, Tony Mansfield, Gil Norton, John Cornfield, Sam Williams
1999 Steve Hillage, Dave Allen, Khaled, Puressence, The Crocketts, Bird & Bush, John Fryer, Jim Abbiss, Danny Cummings, Franz Plasa, Peter Schmidt, Steve Harris, Mark Wallis
2000 James, Muse, Ed Harcourt, Superstar, Gloss, Big Sur, Brian Eno, Gary Langan, Mark Wallis, Al Stone, David Bottrill, Lars Winnerbäck
2001 Beth Orton, My Vitriol, David Knopfler, The Rockabeats, Echt, Brainstorm, Franz Plasa, Tony Mansfield, John Timperley, Chris Kimsey, Michael Brauer
2002 Status Quo, Joe Jackson, Bonnie Tyler, Shaun Escoffery, Rich Costey, Kevin Moloney, Yu Imai, Jamie Cullum
Ridge Farm Studio Wikipedia (Text) CC BY-SA
