MONDAY 21 MAY 2012 I love days like Today! Days like Today don’t come round too often. In fact this Today started ‘off key’. A grumpy old man two kids on bikes and a lot of unnecessary attitude. Not what you need on a Monday morning. Not what I need any morning actually. But with a visit to Olympic Studios courtesy of Chris Kimsey scheduled for lunch time and with the appearance of the sun soon thereafter the harmonics of Today improved rapidly. How could they not! Chris Kimsey is a legend a visionary and an absolute star. If you don’t know of him I need only point out that he engineered and co-produced five Rolling Stones albums to get your attention. Factor in production credits for the likes of INXS Jimmy Cliff Spooky Tooth The Chieftains Killing Joke Psychedelic Furs and Peter Frampton amongst many many others and you will see why Chris’s return to Olympic albeit in a self-described ‘pop-up’ studio is not just reassuring it’s positively exciting! A flicker of hope that the Olympic flame has not gone out! And who better placed than Chris to tend that flame and fan it back to strength. Don’t get me wrong Studio One is gone. For good. As you climb the stairs from the reception area a huge vaulted ceiling maybe 7metres high looms above an imposing but devastated space littered with remnants of the Virgin-owned Toyoshima-designed studio hanging from the walls. This is the site of what will become the Olympic Cinema ‘members-only’ club. But the noise of the past still echoes. And what a beautiful noise. I can’t help but mourn the loss. After all I was raised on Olympic food: The Rolling Stones The Beatles The Who Led Zeppelin Queen Eric Clapton The Small Faces The Jimi Hendrix Experience David Bowie The Jam Pink Floyd Duran Duran and Procul Harum. To name a few! Thankfully Chris has vision. He desperately wants to get musicians back through the doors to record in this historic space. This ain’t no Wessex no Townhouse either. Chris’s enthusiasm for the potential of Studio Two is contagious. And he has an ally in the building’s new owner Stephen Burdge who is keen to maintain a musical heritage alongside the building’s history as a cinema. It is no small relief to hear that property developers are most definitely NOT welcome here (alas poor Wessex …) There are other plans under discussion for the rest of the building but none set in stone just yet. In a time where the music community is negotiating its way through a period of significant change perhaps you have ideas that you would like to throw into the pot? Perhaps a joint vision realised would be more likely to bear fruit. Drop us a line and we can filter your ideas forward. You may not get another opportunity like this! I love days like today. By the way did you know the Olympic torch went out today? Not in Barnes! SUBSCRIBE TO OUR ‘MAILING LIST’ VIA THE BUTTON ABOVE
