TONY CLAYTON-LEA visits Windmill Lane Recording Studios, one of Ireland’s top tourist attractions
Windmill Lane Recording StudiosEVEN before you walk into Windmill Lane Recording Studios, there is a sight to behold: the entrance is a remarkable example of Art Deco-style architecture. We’re not sure what brief the building’s designers had, but from its original use as an electrical power station for Dublin’s tramlines, thereafter a factory for the production of Bovril, and then (in the 1970s) a well-appointed snooker hall, you can be assured the beautiful façade lured workers and snooker hustlers alike with its ‘come here to me’ elegance.
There is, of course, an agreeable irony in that what began as an electrical power station is now an electrical power station of an altogether different stripe, but that’s what you get when (as Seamus Heaney didn’t specify) ‘hope and history rhyme.’ There is nothing like the frontage of this building in Dublin (if not Ireland), but then you could say the same about what’s inside.In 1990, the main recording studio facility moved to 20 Ringsend Road, Dublin, from its original location of Windmill Lane, on the corner of Creighton Street. Founded by Brian Masterson and James Morris in 1978, the studios were predominantly used to record traditional Irish music acts, notably Planxty, whose final three albums (1979’s After the Break, 1980’s The Woman I Loved So Well, and 1983’s Words & Music) were completed there.
U2 on tour (Getty Images)U2 and the studio rocks the world
IMPATIENT winds of change, however, were pushing and shoving through the music industry during this time, and increasingly Windmill Lane Recording Studios became known not just nationally but internationally as the go-to place for bands and musicians to record anything from demos to albums. One of these bands was U2. Their 1980 debut album, Boy, was produced by Steve Lillywhite (who to this day remains one of U2’s regular extra pair of ears).
Further U2 albums were recorded (or part-recorded) at the original Windmill Lane Recording Studios – these include 1981’s October, 1983’s War, 1984’s The Unforgettable Fire, and 1987’s The Joshua Tree.
The international rise of U2 is recognised as a sea change in Irish music history. Factor in the dominance of RTE’s 2FM radio station and the presence of Hot Press magazine, and you have a three-pronged pop culture attack that no one could either ignore or withstand. International bands and pop stars hopped onto Aer Lingus flights, checked into Dublin’s five-star hotels, and then made a beeline to Windmill Lane Recording Studios.
The list isn’t just endless, it’s downright impressive, with the likes of Clannad (1984’s Legend), Status Quo (1980’s Just Supposin’, 1981’s Never Too Late), Kate Bush (1985’s Hounds of Love, 1989’s The Sensual World), Steve Winwood, The Waterboys, AC/DC, Def Leppard, and Van Morrison putting on the headphones, facing the microphones, and making music that people not only loved but bought in their millions.
Shaun Davey in Studio 1 during the recording of the Brendan Voyage in 1980 (courtesy of Windmill Lane Recording Studios)Ringing the changes in Ringsend
Fast forward to the 90s and beyond. With Windmill Lane Recording Studios now located in Ringsend, U2 once again availed of advanced technology and sound equipment for 1991’s game-changing Achtung Baby, 1993’s Zooropa, 1997’s Pop, 2000’s All That You Can’t Leave Behind, 2004’s How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, 2009’s No Line on the Horizon, and 2017’s Songs of Experience.
It wasn’t (and isn’t) all about U2, however. As the 90s rolled on, Windmill Lane Recording Studios—now with three recording studios—hosted not only bona fide rock’n’roll legends such as the Rolling Stones, David Bowie, and Bruce Springsteen but also a broad range of emerging songwriters and musicians of every variety, from solo acts to orchestras (Studio One is the only independently operated recording space in Ireland that can accommodate and record an 80-piece orchestra).
Inevitably, things change and people move on. In 2006, Brian Masterson and James Morris sold Windmill Lane Recording Studios to none other than Van Morrison. No stranger to the environs of the studio (Morrison had previously recorded 1988’s Irish Heartbeat, 1995’s Days Like This, 1997’s The Healing Game, and 2005’s Magic Time there), it remains something of a mystery that when he took ownership, he didn’t use it to full advantage.
By 2009, Morrison had upped sticks, and in came Naomi Moore, Aidan Alcock, and Tony Perry, the present owners (the trio also oversee the long-established music/film/animation entity, Pulse College, which offers a range of qualifications from FETAC Level 5/6 to a BA Hons in Music Production).
One of the first things they did was to upgrade the studio equipment to state-of-the-art. One of the second things they did was to breathe deeply and absorb the history that seeped from the walls. They also quickly set about positioning the studios as one of the best in the world, hosting some of the world’s most commercially successful musicians.
And there’s the rub. You can have as much high-quality sound equipment as you want, and you can have as many high-profile artists as you like, but if there isn’t that proverbial X Factor swirling in and around the mixture, you could be on a hiding to nothing. If a business has that special ingredient, as well as a blend of ambitious yet realistic business strategies, then the sky’s the limit. Unless the sky caves in thanks to a global pandemic.
Presentation Disc Gallery, Windmill Lane Recording StudiosOpening up: the Visitor Experience
On February 20th, 2020, Windmill Lane Recording Studios launched a Visitor Experience tour that allowed people access not only to the wonders of the recording studios but also to absorb the history of the work and the talents of world-famous musicians.
Of course, COVID-19 put a temporary halt to things, but from the time masks were put into storage, the Visitor Experience has made a difference to how the studios are viewed. People are pleasantly surprised, Windmill Lane Recording Studios CEO Naomi Moore informed Hot Press, by the sizeable number of artists that have used – and continue to use – the facilities.
During the tour, as music/pop culture enthusiasts stroll along the corridors and walk into the recording studios, “we just don’t talk about the artist but also the recording spaces.” The tour also features a ‘Grammy Wall of Fame’ (featuring a multitude of albums by artists who recorded at the studios), a ‘Graffiti Wall’ (which references the location of the original studios) where you can see the scribbles of famous (and soon-to-be) rock/pop stars, and an interactive experience where you can mix a music session with a virtual band.
There’s a reason why the Visitor Experience tour is not only one of Ireland’s primary tourist/music fan attractions but also why it has been voted by Tripadvisor as one of the world’s best pop culture visitor experiences (clue: it’s as smartly entertaining as it is casually informative).
There’s also a reason why an attraction such as this appeals to corporate/professional team-building outings (clue: you can rap or play air guitar much better than your boss in the recording studio), and there’s a reason why the studios are used as event spaces for media/record company launches (quite simply, it’s a cool place to hang around in).
What is at the heart and soul of Windmill Lane Recording Studios, however, is one of the very things that makes life worthwhile: music.
“Music is the future and always will be,” says Naomi Moore. From the continuous number of significant international artists who make sure they book studio time when they’re in Ireland to soundtrack recordings for feature films, games, and animation, the extent of what can be achieved is almost endless.
In other words? Watch this space. .
See More: Dublin, Irish Tourist Attractions, Rock Music, U2
