London’s Abbey Road studios, where The Beatles recorded many albums,
has been made a listed building, protecting it from plans to
radically alter it.
The venue has been given Grade II status – the second-highest
category – for its role in shaping British music.
Culture Minister Margaret Hodge listed the studios on the advice of
English Heritage saying it had “produced some of the very best music
in the world”.
Its owners EMI recently denied reports it was to be sold off to ease
debts.
Listing for the property, whose official address is 3 Abbey Road, was
granted due to its historic, rather than architectural, merit.
It means any future owners must be careful to make sure the character
of the property is treated with respect, but it does not prohibit
internal changes.
The Beatles used Abbey Road for 90% of their recordings, naming an
album after the studios in 1969.
Other notable recordings there included Pink Floyd’s Dark Side Of The
Moon.
The Department for Culture Media and Sport said the listing
acknowledged the studios’ “outstanding cultural interest” and was to
ensure recording artists for generations to come could continue to
make and record music in the same rooms as musical icons.
Last week figures such as Sir Paul McCartney voiced their concern
that EMI was reported to be hoping to sell the studios, while Andrew
Lloyd Webber expressed an interest in buying the complex.
However, EMI later said it did not want to put the property up for
sale.
EMI bought the property for £100,000 in 1929, transforming it into
the world-famous studios that have hosted artists as diverse as
composer Sir Edward Elgar in 1931, to Pink Floyd and Blur.