BBC Maida Vale Studios

Image: © David Dixon Taken: 30 May 2015

Maida Vale Studios is a complex of seven BBC studios on Delaware Road. It has been used to record thousands of classical music, popular music and drama sessions for BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio 6 Music since 1946. Music sessions were once a mainstay of BBC Radio programming as there were strict limits on the amount of commercially recorded music that could be aired (known as needle-time restrictions), so the BBC regularly booked musicians to record music exclusively for broadcast. The site was built in 1909 as the "Maida Vale Roller Skating Palace and Club". Over a period of fifteen months in 1933/1934, the skating rink was reduced to a shell and then rebuilt. The arches at the doorway were preserved. It was one of the BBC's earliest premises, pre-dating Broadcasting House, and was the centre of the BBC News operation during World War II. It has been the home of the BBC Symphony Orchestra since 1934, where they have given invitation concerts, usually free. An unusual feature of these concerts is that they were often recorded, which means that in later years the orchestra sometimes were able to do re-takes. It is the largest classical music studio in London. In 1958 the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, most famous for the “Dr Who” theme, was created and based here until its demise in 1998, and the pioneering "Delaware" synthesiser made by EMS takes its name from the Studios' address.

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